Erling Sven Lorentzen (1923–2021)

The Norwegian Royal Court announced today the death of the shipowner, industralist and war hero Erling Sven Lorentzen, widower of Princess Ragnhild and brother-in-law of King Harald V. Erling Lorentzen died in Oslo at 01.30 a.m. on Tuesday 9 March 2021, 98 years old, after a short period of illness.

The king's condolences on behalf of the royal family: «It is with great sorrow we have received the sad message that Erling Sven Lorentzen has passed away. Our thoughts go to his closest ones, who have lost a good father, father-in-law, grandfather and great-grandfather.»

Erling Sven Lorentzen was born at Huseby in Aker (now part of Oslo) on 28 January 1923 as the youngest of six children of the shipowner Øivind Lorentzen, Holmestrand (1881–1980) and Ragna Nilsen, Hamar (1885–1976). During the war he joined the so-called «Kompani Linge» («The Linge Company», i.e. the Norwegian Independent Company 1 (NOR.I.C.1), a British SOE group formed by Norwegian volunteers) in Scotland where he received military training before becoming regional commanding officer in Hallingdal in 1944. When the royal family returned from exile following the end of the war in 1945, Lorentzen served as one of their bodyguards. He met and fell in love with the the Crown Prince Olav's eldest daughter Ragnhild, who was 15 years old at the time. They corresponded while Erling studied at Harvard Business School. The couple was finally allowed to marry in 1953.

After the wedding in Asker Church on 15 May 1953 the couple settled in Brazil where Lorentzen became a successful business man. In the first years he owned a gas distribution company, before he went into the cellulose business, owning a large share of Aracruz Celulose S.A. and working as its executive chairman for many years.

Erling Lorentzen and Princess Ragnhild had 3 children – Haakon, Ingeborg and Ragnhild – as well as 6 grandchildren. Princess Ragnhild died in 2012 and was buried at Asker Cemetery, where it is also expected that Lorentzen will be laid at rest. After her death Lorentzen continued to live in Brazil, but usually spent the summers in Norway, either at his summer place at Ostøya in Bærum or at his childhood home in Husebyveien in Oslo. The last fall and winter was spent in Oslo. He was an active and vital man to the last. As late as in December 2020 he strongly critizised the TV series «Atlantic Crossing» in a letter to the editor of Aftenposten.

I never met Erling Lorentzen, but exchanged a few e-mails over the years, and he was always forthcoming when I asked for assistance to my genealogy inquiries. He had lived a long and rich life and one should of course not be too surprised when he passed away at the age of 98. Still, I had somehow expected that he would at least turn 100, as he said himself that he aimed for! His father was 99 years old when he died, and his elder brother Øivind Lorentzen, Jr. died in March 2020, 101 years old. 

The Norwegian Minister of Defence, Frank Bakke-Jensen, said today: «One of our last war heroes from WW2 has passed away. His war effort, his will to defend his country and his imparting of knowledge to the younger generations will stand as a monument.»

War memorial, Ticehurst, East Sussex, United Kingdom

 In proud thanksgiving 1939-1945.

The war memorial is located where High Street meets Church Street in Ticehurst. The Bell In can be seen in the background. The photos were taken in April 2011.

Ilford War Memorial Gardens, Redbridge, Greater London, United Kingdom

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(5) "To the glory of God and in honoured memory of the ex cadets of then Ilford Wing, Air Training Corps, who gave their lives for their country during the World War, 1939-1948."

(6) Ilford War Memorial Hall, erected 1927.

(7) See the website of the historian John Barnes for more details about Sir Fredric Wise, MP (1871-1928) and his wife Lucy Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir Thomas Wrightson Bart., MP of Neasham Hall, Darlington.

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In October 2011 I travelled with a group from Supporterunionen for Britisk Fotball (SBF) in connection with the association's 25th anniversary. Normally I am staying at the Tavistock Hotel near Russels Square on the Piccadilly Line when I am in London, but the SBF committee had settled for the Holiday Inn Express Hotel near Newbury Park tube station in Ilford (London Borough of Redbridge). A nice hotel in a nice area, although a bit too far from downtown London. But it was a good starting point for our excursion to Birmingham. The stay at Ilford also proved my view that you can find something interesting to see (and write a blog about) almost wherever you are in the world.

If you leave the hotel and walk down the road to the Newbury Park tube station, you will have to pass the Ilford War Memorial Gardens, and I decided to make a stop there on my last day of the visit. According to the information plaque, the land for the Memorial Gardens was purchased in the early 1920s from the proceeds of a public appeal launched at the end of WW1 to provide a memorial for the Ilford men killed during "the great war". It was decided that most of the money collected should be used to build a Children's Ward for the Ilford Emergency Hospital together with a Memorial Gardens, a monument and a Memorial Hall, which should record the names of the war dead and serve as the entrance to the Children's Ward.

The war memorial monument, which features a soldier bronze figure designed by the sculptor Newbury Abbott Trent (1885-1963), was unveiled on 11 November 1922, while the Memorial Hall situated in the north-east corner of the gardens, and the Children's Ward, were finished in 1927. The gardens also serve as a memorial to the 538 local servicemen and women and 552 civilians killed during WW2.

The Ilford War Memorial Hall, which records the names of 1.159 Ilford men killed during WW1, was opened by Lady Patricia Ramsay, formerly HRH Princess Patricia of Connaught (1886-1974), on 25 June 1927. According to the information board outside the hall, it was intended to serve both as a memorial and as the entrance hall to the new Children's Ward, known as the Walter Stevens Wing, of what was then the Ilford Emergency Hospital, later the King George V Hospital.

The Children's Ward was later demolished. The Memorial hall was never used as an entrance to the Childrens Hospital as originally intended, and when the hospital was closed in 1993, the Memorial Hall could easily have passed into history and become totally forgotten. Fortunately the historic significance of the building was recognized, and in 1995 both the hall and the monument were added to the statutory list of buildings of architectural or historic interest. The building was restored and the Council of the London Borough of Redbridge is today responsible for its unkeep. The Memorial Hall is open on Remembrance Day and at other times during the year (check out the website for more information).

War memorials at Digitaltmuseum.no

Kulturnett.no (Culturenet.no) published earlier this week (21 November 2011) an interesting article about Norwegian war memorials which have been registered at Digitaltmuseum.no.

Forsvarsmuseet (The Armed Forces Museum) in Norway has kept a record of the war memorials in Norway since 1979. The survey was, however, rather insufficient and difficult of access. The Armed Forces carried out a national registration of all the war memorials with the help of the Home Guard districts. This registration work makes the basis for today's accessibility.

The survey of the war memorials can be viewed here.

According to the article historical objects, cultural monuments/relics or cultivated areas with defence-related relevance are not included in the Armed Forces' presentation of war memorials.

A war memorial is defined as a memorial of persons or events related to war occurrences and defence-related activity throughout history. A war memorial can be everything from a small plaque on a wall to a large monument in the middle of a city. There are war memorials of persons and events in every corner of Norway, symbolizing courage, resistance and the basic values of the Armed Forces. The vast majority of war memorials have been erected by initiatives of the local community. But the Armed Forces itself has also erected war memorials - both inside and outside military areas.

As of now about 2700 war memorials are included in the register.

I have over the years photographed many war memorials, often in connection with visits to cemeteries. The photos will be included in blog articles in due time. The photo at the top shows a war memorial outside Spangereid Cemetery in Lindesnes at the very south of Norway. Another photo of the memorial can be found at Digitaltmuseum.no. Named on the memorial are Sverre Gundersen (1916-1941), Norman E. Samuelsen (1919-1942) and Toralf Robertsen (1921-1943). The latter was a first cousin of my father-in-law and I wrote a few words about him in the Robertsen booklet published in August 2009 in connection with the Robertsen family reunion at Spangereid. Toralf, who had been a sailor since he was 15, was on board the ship D/S Christian Michelsen which was torpedoed on 26 September 1943.

Postscript 24 January 2017: The website Kulturnett.no was closed in 2013, so the three links in the first paragraph don't work any longer.

Updated on 24 January 2017 at 10.15 (postscript added).

Wilmersdorf Cemetery, Berlin, Germany, Part III

Part I and part II.

(32) Wilmersdorf Cemetery in Berlin had many war memorials and war graves. Here is a "denkmal" for the victims of WW1.

(33) WW2.

(34) One of the victims, C. v. Callenberg (b. 17 February 1891, d. 26 April 1945).

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(36) WW1 and WW2.

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(38) Another WW2 memorial.

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(40) The Columbarium at Wilmersdorf. As I have mentioned before, I would like to see similar memorials in Norway as well. The graves in Norway take up too much space.

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(48) As I mentioned in part II, I had not made any preparations prior to my visit to the Wilmersdorf Friedhof. Therefore I didn't know of any other graves which could be of interest. The cemetery lists a few honorary graves, which includes Gustav Kemmann, architect of the first subway line in Berlin, the actor Guido Thielscher, the author Fedor von Zobeltitz and the politician Eugen Schiffer.

For photos of the Patzek family grave, a map of the cemetery and for directions, go to part I. For other graves, go to part II.