Swedes in the Great War 1914-1919 – Swedish born soldiers. They gave their life. We will remember them.

2026-07-042026-07-06

Swedish individuals in the Somme Offensive: Fates from both sides of the Frontline

During July to November 1916 the Battle of the Somme took place for 110 years ago. The events is normally connected to the dark days for the British units in the beginning of July 1916 and onwards, especially to the amount of casualties on the specific day of July 1st.

Although, this battle went on to November 18th, and involved fightings on different places within the area along and in vicinity of the River Somme in northern France, and soldiers from other countries within the commonwealth and France were involved as well.

A few of those individuals had their roots in Sweden, and here is the small story about some of them who met their fate during those days, between July and September 1916.

July 4th to 9th, 1916

Emil Herman Benzien and Ivar Svenson both volunteered for the French Foreign Legion in the first years of the Great War. Emil signed his papers in Nancy, France, already in 1914 and Ivar signed a bit later into the War, in 1915, from the recruitment office in Central Paris.

Emil Herman Benzien was born in Vänersborg in the landscape of Västergötland, in the south-western part of Sweden, on May 31st, 1890. He was raised by his mother, Anna Charlotta Karlsdotter and his German born father Paul Emil Benzien.

From a group photo with Nordic Soldiers in the Legion.

A couple of years ago I was contacted by Bengt, a relative to Emil Herman Benzien, who told me very interesting things about the family. Although they seemed to know quite little about Emil Herman, and for a while I was unsure if I had the correct Benzien in the casualty lists, but it turned out that this individual, Emil chose to fight for the French side in the war, and not the German, as some of the other relatives did.

Bengt sent me some family photos, and on this picture it can be Emil Herman to the far right, but it is not confirmed. If I look in the Swedish church books it correlates with the age of the other family members and Emil should be the second youngest in the photo.

Emil’s sister, Johanna Emilia Augusta, born in 1879, called aunt “Milly”, told some stories about the family when she lived, but seldom mentioned Emil. As I undertand according to Bengt’s information, it is told that Aunt Milly was married to Kurt Traeger, a German pilot, who, according to the family story, flew together with Manfred Von Richthofen, “The Red Baron”.

Kurt, the pilot, received a silver Cup from the Emperor at that time, Kaiser Wilhelm, and that Cup is now returned to Germany.

When I look in the German casualty lists, there is a note about a German Pilot, Lt Kurt Traeger, who was injured during July 1st, 1916. Imagine, a relative to Emil, in the air on the German side, and Emil below on the ground, fighting for the French troops.

Ivar Svenson (Svensson) was born in Gällstad, also in the landscape of Västergötland, on October 18th, 1890. Ivar was raised by his mother Hilda Charlotta. (surname not known) At the time of Ivar’s birth, there was no known father, but in Swedish newspapers from the actual time, I can read that there is a C. A Svensson, who is mentioned as his father, and it is maybe from him he had his surname Svensson.

According to various Swedish sources, Ivar spent time abroad and he later ended up i Paris and worked as a waiter when the war broke out. In the chaos that occured, all the shops and cafes closed, and suddenly Ivar was out of work.

He then tried to get back to Sweden, but it wasn’t possible, and he later decided to sign up for the French Foreign Legion, and surely met many fellow Swedes at the recruitment office, who were in similar situations.

It is believed that around 40-50 Swedes signed up for the legion at that time. 16 of them fell during the war.

Emil and Ivar fought in the same Regiment, Régiment de Marche de la Légion Étrangère (RMLE) and at the time of the start of July 1916, they both were situated in the region of the Somme.

On the 4th of July, 1916, Emil seems to have been caught by the German troops (cue´ a l´ennemi?) in the area of Dompierre, and is noted to have died at the same date. Ivar has the same note in his French Casualty card, and is noted to have died on July 7th, 1916, in the area of Belloy en Santerre.

Both of the areas are stated of the French map from that time. Dompierre up to the left, and Belloy en Santerre to the bottom right. (Map date October 16, 1916)

I have visited the headstone of Ivar Svenson a couple of times, in the French cemetery of Necropole Nationale De Dompierre. I have not yet been able to find the headstone of Emil Herman Benzien, and I am not sure if there is any existing headstone.

On the other side

North of the area of Dompierre, during the same period in July, the Swedish born German Gustaf Adolf Thielen, and his unit, the German Infantry Regiment No 26, or Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau Infantry Regiment, were defending their positions around Bazentin.

If I understand correctly, his unit, the 3rd Infantry Coy, was defending “Die Braune Stellung”, the Brown Defense Line.

Gustaf Adolf Thielen was born by German parents in Karlshamn, in the landscape of Blekinge, in the southern part of Sweden. He was born on March 31st, 1895 as Gustaf Adolf Carl Svante Emil. He was raised by his parents, his mother Emma Karolina Hermine Pagels, and his father, Wilhelm Theodor Matthius Thielen.

Gustaf Adolf is later registered in Mecklenburg-Schwerin in Germany, and I assume, from the notes in the Swedish church books, that the family emigrated to Germany around 1904. I also assume Gustaf adolf became a German citizen as well.

Gustaf adolf was killed in action on July 6th, 1916, at an age of 21, and did not experience the hard fightings against units from the British, as I understand, 7th Division, in the Bazentin-Le-Grand area which took place from July 14th. The Germans had to defend themselves when the Brits advanced towards High Wood and the area of Longueval and Delville Wood.

Below a map from the diary of 26th Infantry Regiment. Bazentin Le Grand in the middle of the map.

On the British side

Later in September 1916, another Swede served with the Brits, and met his final destiny on September 5th, 1916, when he served for the Royal Field Artillery, as a 2nd Lieutenant.

George Westerberg was born in Gothenburg, as George Herbert, in Gustavi parish, June 1st, 1879. He was raised by his Swedish born mother Jemina Marshall, born Andersson, and his father Johan August Westerberg in the town of Gothenburg. George had seven siblings, five brothers and two sisters. His mother Jemina was born in the English parish department in Gothenburg, “Engelska församlingen”.

Some digitized newspapers mention that George went to England and became a businessman around 1899 at an age of 20. George is noted as absent in the Swedish church books in 1901, and he probably left Sweden for England at around 1898-1899. There are no facts available for the moment that confirm the exact date when he left Sweden.

He lived near London with his wife Jane Westerberg, born Clark, and their two children. George became a natural british subject June 13, 1910, after have sworn the oath in front of Winston Churchill. George and Jane got married in the same period in 1910.

George received his commission in the Royal Field Artillery, 106th Brigade in August 1915 and went to the front in March 1916.

In the beginning of September 1916 the unit fought in the battle of the Somme around the area of Maricourt in France, and in the diary from the period it is mentioned that the headquarter is stationed near the place called Briqueterie, north of the town of Maricourt. George is mentioned by name in the unit diary on September 5th, 1916. He died when a shell exploded close to him, when he was on his way back from an observation post.

The page from the unit diary below.

I have visited George’s headstone in Danzig Alley British Cemetery a couple of times and it is always nice to pay attention to the Swedes along the Western Front.

There are other Swedes who fell during the battle of the Somme, however in this article I decided to mention the individuals above.

More themed articles will follow. If you find my articles interesting, you can always support me through “Buy me a coffee”.

2026-06-282026-06-29

A Life Lost to the Siege: How Swedish Nurse Ester Wijk Died Serving in Przemyśl, 1915

In my research I cover Swedish born soldiers who fought and fell along the Western Front. However, quite many Swedish born individuals also fought or were active on other duties on the Eastern Front.

In this small article I will tell the story about a Swedish nurse who ended up together with the Austria-Hungarian Forces during the Russian Siege of the town of Przemysl 1915.

Ester Hildur Maria Wijk was born on December 29, 1881, in Skara city parish in Västra Götaland county in the Western part of Sweden. She was raised by her parents, her mother, Hildur Greta Josefina Forsell, and her father, Per Alfred Wijk.

In the Swedish Church books it is mentioned that Ester was a nurse, and from some sources it is known that she went from Sweden to Vienna in Austria in 1908, and worked as a private nurse for several years, and up to 1911 she contacted the Swedish Red Cross organisation every year to update her address and activity, but after 1911, to 1914, there are no exact details known about her activities or locations.

I assume she was aware about the upcoming war and probably it was a natural thing for her to support the Austrian-Hungarian Forces from her location in Vienna when they needed support by her profession.

There are some photos to be found which are donated by individuals to different archives. Below a photo of Ester as a nurse, and she looks a bit older on this photo, however, I haven’t been able to get the facts about the background of the photo, if it is from the Swedish or Austrian service as a nurse, but the Red Cross symbols are very clear.

I recognize the eyes from each photo, she always have this serious look, and it would be very interesting to know what she was thinking about. It seems that she was very determined, and that was later proved in a way, from different witness accounts from her service during the siege of the Fortress of Przemysl.

The town of Przemysl is today located in the south-east corner of Poland, and it is not very far from the Ukrainian town of Lviv. As I understand the Fortress quickly became a medical station or like a military hospital due to the increasing amount of injured soldiers during the fightings.

In 1914 the No 8 Fortress Hospital was situated with the Fortress. It was a large, beautiful, high-situated building, which in peacetime was used as Seminary.

On November 13th, 1914, the German Red Cross sister, Frida Ohlenshläger, wrote down her first meeting with Ester Wijk at the Fortress Hospital.

“On November 13, 1914, I sent a wagon and a soldier to the commandant of the fortress hospital No. 8 at Przemysl. In the vestibule of the main building, I met a blonde sister and asked her for the regimental doctor.

“The commander is assigned to a completely different building,” she said, and then asked if I was familiar with him in Przemysl.

When I denied it, the sister offered to accompany me. As neither the coachman nor the orderly understood German, and we both knew a word of Polish, the matter was rather complicated, but we finally parted after many difficulties as good friends at my destination. Before that, however, the sister had urged me to visit her often in her free hours. That’s how I got to know Ester Wijk.” (Svenska Dagbladet 1915)

Even before the first siege, from September 22 to October 11, 1914, the Austrian Red Cross had sent Ester to Przemysl and thus she had been separated from her friend Karin Widforss, also a Swede, with whom she had collaborated in a sanatorium in Vienna. For her work during the first siege, Sister Ester received an order (probably the Elisabeth Order). However, the news of this only reached Przemysl after her death.

The first siege was a time of strenuous work for the medical staff of Przemysl. Over 18,000 wounded were confined in the city. In the 8th hospital they lay in all the corridors, and sometimes even in the courtyard. The sisters had to live in the cellars, and from that time on Sister Ester, who, according to everyone’s unanimous statements, had tirelessly fulfilled her duties, complained of her ill health.

Below the story from Frida continues:

“All the doctors highly appreciated her. The chief physician, Dr. Säger, once said to me: “I have been very lucky with this sister. When she is on duty, I can trust that everything is conscientiously prepared antiseptically, without me having to look after it myself.”

On January 30th I went to the 8th hospital to get some information.

“Do you know that Sister Ester is seriously ill?” said the adjutant on duty.

“No,” I answered, and went immediately to her. Pale and very thin, she lay in her bed. My little dog immediately ran up to her and put his front paws on her pillow, while she stroked his shaggy head.

“Oh, just leave him alone,” she said, as I wanted to call the animal back. “It’s a change for me. I’ve been so lonely all this time.”

“If only I had known,” I said, “but now I will come to you more often. It is only a little difficult for me to go up the mountain, as I myself am ill.”

Yes, she replied, now I also feel much better and in a few days I will get up. The sister from the garrison hospital who was taking care of her came in and I said goodbye.

A big concert had been arranged for February 2nd, 1915. An officer I knew approached me and told me that Sister Ester had died that morning at five o’clock.

“But in God’s name, how is that possible!” I exclaimed. She only had an inflammation of the middle ear and was on the road to recovery.

Yes, but on the 31st she (Ester) developed tetanus. They gave her serum and tried every conceivable remedy. The case is quite mysterious, because in the 8th hospital no one had had tetanus for four weeks. On the afternoon of February 4, Sister Ester was buried. It was a windy day and frozen snow covered the streets. The small room on the ground floor of the hospital in which the coffin, decorated with the Swedish flag, stood, had been transformed into a chapel. The Evangelical priest (Przemysl had a small German-Lutheran congregation) blessed her body. ” (Svenska Dagbladet 1915)

The story continues.

Six soldiers carried the coffin down the steep mountain at the foot of which the hearse was waiting. Then the train, with the sisters first and the doctors after them, set off. In the corner of the cemetery where the fallen officers and soldiers rest under a large black cross with the inscription “Mortui pro patria”, a new grave had been dug.

The priest gave a simple, moving speech, after which the coffin was lowered to the loud sobs of the sisters. Many probably then asked the dead Ester for forgiveness for the wrongs that had been done to her.

Then the hospital commandant took the floor. He praised the dead sister, who had left her Nordic homeland to help the suffering, as a model of loyalty and sacrifice. Then he threw three shovelfuls of soil into the grave. The spade then passed from hand to hand. Everyone wanted to show the dead sister the last mark of honor. With that, the celebration was over and everyone dispersed quietly.

Since then Frida visited the grave of Ester once more. Sister Ester had by then had many neighbors, all of whom, like her, had fallen on the field of honor. The wreaths that adorned the grave were still fresh and at the head stood a wooden cross with her name on it, which in simple words tells of how a young, self-sacrificing sister died in a distant land. (Svenska Dagbladet 1915)

The young German nurse, Miss Frida Ohlenschlager from Munich, who was the person who gave the above mentioned context, was captured by the Russians at the fall of Przemysl and subsequently released. She stayed at the Romanish sanatorium to be treated for pneumonia, which she contracted in captivity.

Frida also said that Ester literally was idolized by them for her angelic patience and her unfailing courage, which was certainly put to the test during the days of terror in the enclosed fortress.

Ester died on February 2nd, 1915, and it is not known to me where her final resting place is located. The portrait of her in the newspaper of Svenska Dagbladet, 1915, still shows her serious and determined look in her eyes, and I am quite sure about that she did what she could in her line of duty and service as a Red Cross nurse.

Maybe I one day will be able to find some information about the location she was buried or commemorated. Until then, may she rest in peace.

2026-06-232026-06-23

Fightings in the Houthulst Wood – Examining documents from both sides.

Diaries from the Swedes – Part One

During the summer and autumn I will continue to transcribe diaries from Swedes who fought for different countries in the Great War.

In this serie of small articles I will tell you the information I have taken part of from diaries of Swedes, which I have received from archives and descendants to the soldiers. They belong to Swedes who fought for Germany, Canada and USA.

At this moment I already have the facts from the Swedes who fought from Germany and Canada, and later on this summer I will receive a real treasure, a soldier diary from a descendant in United States, which I have waited for a very long time, it will be very nice to finally open it up in my hands!

There will be analysis around the texts they have noted in their diaries and the results will be connected to the terrain through battlefield maps and other units diaries, whenever it is possible to find, to connect the stories and bring them to life.

In earlier articles I have described some information regarding the Swedes who fought for Canada and Germany, however, now I will dig a bit deeper to see what I can find.

In this small article I will describe some text connected to the actions that took part in the Houthulst Wood, north of the village of Langemarck, north of the town of Ypres, in the area of Flandern in Belgium. The text is from the collection of letters and notes about the Swede who fought for Germany, Lt Marcus Grundberg (Iron Cross 1st Class). Lt Grundberg fought in the Pomeranian Infantry Regiment No 54. (Infantry Regiment von der Goltz) In Sweden Lt Grundberg served at the Karlskrona Grenadier Regiment, before he voluntarily left Sweden for the war.

The date is February 27th, 1918. Below you will find the summary from a messages from the battlefield, through the German levels of Command.

The text translated to English:

The Pomeranians in the Houthulster Forest.
From the field comes the following report:
In the Houthulster Forest, combat activity has recently become more lively again. February 27, 1918, in particular, was a hot day for our troops. At 8:45 p.m., the English began to shell our posts and dugouts heavily. At 10:00 p.m., the barrage slowly advanced, and four ranks of English assault troops followed closely behind. Despite the most stubborn resistance, our posts could not withstand the superior force. In massive numbers, the English infantry surged towards our line. On the left flank, First Lieutenant Grundberg, a Swede who volunteered with great enthusiasm for the German cause, managed to position two machine guns and use them to suppress the enemy attack

For the actions in Houthulst Wood, Marcus received the Iron Cross, 1st Class. Described below.

The text translated to English:

Lieutenant Colonel Walter till Överste Meister.
8 April 1918.
Most Esteemed Colonel.
It is a great pleasure for me to inform Your Excellency that First Lieutenant Grundberg has been awarded the Iron Cross First Class for his exceptionally brave and prudent conduct. We are proud to have had him almost as one of our own and are very grateful to the Grenadier Regiment for this excellent officer.
With most sincere regards, Your Excellency’s most obedient Welter, Lieutenant Colonel and Commander of the Infantry Regiment von der Goltz

The other side

I decided to try to find which unit the 54th German infantry met in the heavy terrain, which once was a nice wooded area, but at the time in 1918, was a really hard terrain to fight in. Below some example how the wood looked like in October 1917.

**A German concrete blockhouse, Houthulst Forest, 1917.**
**(© & courtesy of Eddy Lambrecht)**

As I understand they met the 5/6th Royal Scots. (The 5th and 6th Battalions of the Royal Scots merged to form the 5th/6th Battalion in 1916.)

When I searching for the diary of the diary from 5/6th Royal Scots, I found the the page about the day of February 27th, 1918, which is described below.

From the text I can find that Lieut. William Knight Good was killed in action. From other sources it is mentioned that Lieut. Good met the 12th Infantry Company from the 54th German Infantry Regiment, when charging against german trenches in the wood. As far as I understand, OLt (Oberleutnant) Grundberg belonged to 8th Infantry Company, but it is of course very hard to tell the exact locations and positions from the different units.

Lieut. Walker and Lieut. Westwater seems to have been wounded in the actions mentioned above.

When reading further down in the unit diary from 5/6th Royal Scots I find the Operation order 135, which is mentioned from the diary pages above, and can read more about the tasks for Walker and Westwater.

I haven’t yet been able to find a specific roster of the officers in the 5/6th battalions, but will try to find more information.

In the Operation Order 135 above the forming location can be found, and it is always interesting to understand where in the terrain they were fighting.

Further on in the diary the positions “Papegoed Post”, “Friant Post”, and “Houchard Post” can be found, and the road between Friant Post and Houchard Post is the Potte Dreef road, also mentioned in the order above. See the map below. The direction of the British attack was, as I understand, towards north-east.

Lt Grundberg received his Iron Cross First Class on or around April 4th, 1918. (according to his letter home to Sweden, to his friend Kirre). Only days later, on April 13th, he was killed in action in the area of Nieuwkerke, further down south of the town of Ypres, during the German Spring Offensive, which started on March 21st, 1918.

He is today buried at Menen German Cemetery, after have been initially buried just 3 km south-east of the village of Nieuwkerke in Belgium. I have visited him many times, also on my latest trip to Belgium.

It has been really interesting to connect the texts from Grundberg’s notes and letters, and connect the text to British War Diaries, and get a better understanding about the situation.

This was the first part in the upcoming serie about diaries and content from these, from Swedish soldiers in the Great War. Please follow me for more stories.

2026-05-232026-05-24

In the footsteps of the Swedes – Taking friends to the Western Front.

I am just home again after a quite hectic week at work, which has been a part of a very hectic period, with lots of travelling, both domestic and abroad. In between I have also managed to complete my planned tour to the Western Front, in which I took along some very good friends and colleagues from work, to show them a part of my research, but also showing them the terrain and places I so often talk about.

Even if they have a quite good knowledge of warfare in general, they are more into the second world war, and also what is happening in the current conflict areas. In this case their knowledge about the Great War was a bit limited, but I am sure they know more now, after have been travelling with me and got some basic knowledge about a small area of the Western Front. However, this small area of the front, in Belgium and a bit of northern France, contains a huge amount of events which in this case also involves small sequences of Swedish presence.

It was a great pleasure for me to do this trip with them, and it increased my mental platform in how to plan and perform upcoming tours when acting as a guide. They gave me some different points of view on certain things, and how to fulfill the different needs of information and knowledge based on each individual expectations.

In my plan I scheduled in visits to places, with connections to Swedes, but also sites that I thought could be of interest to have seen and experienced. The plan was a bit flexible and quite basic, but to prepare myself for some discussions and questions I also brought some guide books about the areas.

But one thing I definitely will look into much more next time are the facts about the battles in more detail. I have concentrated on the individual perspective, in some connection to the terrain, and the general information about the battles, but I realize now that I have to study more details about the specific units in which the Swedes fought. I have seen this coming as natural step in my research, as I until now have been much more concentrated on the individuals and their Swedish history.

I am very grateful for getting those insights during this tour as the curiosity from my friends helped me taking this next step. Although, In my recent tours it has been a good level of facts, but if I decide to step up and now start my business for real as a guide on the battlefield, I have to more deeply consider what target audience I will have and their eventual needs. At the same time I will not be afraid of using the built in knowledge in every tour, within the participants. For me that is very important.

Let me take you through the tour in a couple of small steps, adding some reflections to each of them.

It starts with the very good feeling to finally be on our way after have been talking about this for a long time. There are a lot more colleagues that have talked to about this, but this time it turned out to be four of us to make the tour this time. It has to suit both in time and activities in the general life.

We took the car to Malmö in Sweden and took the train in the morning over to Copenhagen Airport, as I was quite lucky to find decent tickets on the flights from this airport. I kept all the bookings together for all of us, and due to the activities in the Middle East the prices increased rapidly after I made the bookings.

I booked an apartment just within 100 m from Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, and I had a nice view from my bedroom window. It was plenty of space for all of us with a modern layout and a nice kitchen. This became our base for our four days of travel. It was also easy to park for free just a couple of hundred meters down the same street. No worries about getting a penalty fee for parking on wrong hours.

First Day

I had a thought to build my plan in a chronological order, but I later decided to put in the stops more based on locations. We started the first day, the same day as we arrived, to visit sites along the road. After an hour in the car and a quick lunch, we first stopped at the beautiful Flanders Field American Cemetery to commemorate the four Swedes who are buried there. I told the story about the Swedes and some information about the different battles they participated in Between August and November 1918. We especially commemorated the soldier I have adopted, the Swedish born Ringius Williams (Ringius Johansson-Wilhelmsson) with some simple, yet beautiful, flowers. It is always nice to visit them.

On the way to Ypres we passed the village of Menen and stopped by the German Cemetery of Menen, which is a huge cemetery with its special characteristics of a German War cemetery, quite dark with a lot of dense, in this case, oak trees. In this cemetery I have been able to locate one Swedish born soldier so far, Markus Grundberg.

A very special stop we made at the Spoilbank Cemetery at the northern part of the area called the Bluff, just south-east of Ypres. On this trip I was joined by Lars, a person who is connected to one of the women who during the war were sending gifts to the soldiers at the front during the war. The grandmother of Lars’s wife, Mrs Bowick, received cards back from the soldiers as a thank you for the gifts, and I have been given the opportunity to go through this amazing collection of the cards, still taken care of by the family today. You can read more about the cards in the article here.

Some of the soldiers who sent a card back to Mrs Bowick fell during the war. One of them, Pte Brewin was one of those who fell in the war, and we took the opportunity to visit and commemorate him during our tour. This was a very special moment.

During the afternoon the first day of the tour, we continued to visit some more places with Swedish connections, and some other nice locations, like museums and restaurants.

During trips like this I am always fortunate to bump into some friends from the Great war community, and this tour was no exception. I met up with Paul Swann, who at the moment stayed at the Talbot House in Poperinge, who kindly organized a free visit to the museum and the house of Talbot House, with great support from the personnel. Thank you very much for this, Paul!

Below you will find some photos from the afternoon that day.

Second Day

We started our second day of the tour to visit some of the places connected to the battle of Messines Ridge 1917, which involved Swedish born soldiers in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). We visited the two Swedes at the Messines Ridge NZ memorial Cemetery, Nils Lundius and Per Conrad Hedberg. We also brought a special token from New Zealand which I had promised Wendy Maddocks to do. Always good to put the presence of today on to the historical site from the past.

Between The area of Messines in Belgium and the area of Fromelles in France, we passed the French Cemetery of Cite Bonjean, in the town of Armentieres, to take photo of one of the three Swedes buried at the cemetery. Since I visited the cemetery the last time, I have now discovered the third one and I needed a photograph of him. His name was Bernhard Richard Zackrison and he fell for the AIF in late september 1916, from enemy shelling in the area, during Australian pioneer activities.

We arrived to Fromelles VC Corner Cemetery and stayed for a quite long time in the area which I find really interesting. We stood at the Australian memorial for a long time, discussing the different fronts, to understand which terrain belonged to who.

This is definitely one of the areas I will look more into, to understand some of the darkest days in Australian Great War History, July 19th to 20th, 1916. Four Swedes has their names on the VC Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial. George Anderson, Charles Franklin (Fryklund), Axel Olof Ohlson and Andrew Olsen. (Andrew Olsen’s brother, Peter Olsen, fought for New Zealand, and is buried at Tyne Cot Cemetery, North of Ypres.)

This photo is from July 2025, from my previous trip.

As the schedule was packed with places to visit, we continued down to the Arras area, to visit the Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge. It is always nice to visit the education centre nearby to get the story of the battle and the trenches in the area.

We also visited the Memorial of Moroccan Division with the special plaque with Swedish text, as a commemoration to the Swedes in the French Foreign Legion, who fought within the division. The Canadian Memorial contains the name of 16 Swedes who fought and fell for the Canadian Force but have no known grave. It is a great memorial.

We also bumped into some other Swedish friends from the Swedish Armed Forces, at the education centre! Sometime the world is very small.

On the afternoon of the second day we turned back towards Ypres, and took the time to pass some other great sites in the area. Like Cabaret-Rouge cemetery, where we visited two Swedes buried in the cemetery, Olaf (Olof) Nyblad and John Fredrick Sjolin (Johan Fredrik Sjölin).

We continued up through the area of Ploegsteert Woods, visited the area of one of the Christmas Truce places that occurred along the front, including the Hideous Football Memorial. I will not give myself into this debate, but I thought it would be nice to show my friends this area. It is always nice to visit the Wooden Cross erected on the site nearby, by an organisation including the historian Taff Gillingham, which is erected on the actual site of the event of the Christmas Truce activities in this specific area. Even if the truce and fraternization actually happened, there is no photographic evidence of soldiers playing football.

The day ended attending the very nice and crowded Last Post ceremony at eight o’clock in the evening, after a short rest in the apartment. We also visited some of the names of 22 Swedish born soldiers commemorated on the memorial. Before we went home I had booked a table at ´t klein Stadhuis Restaurant for dinner, very nice as always. I think we slept well that night, I know that I did.

The Third Day

We decided to start our morning quite early, to have time to visit all the areas and activities that I had put into the schedule for this day. It was mainly planned for follow the events and places connected to the third battle of Ypres, especially the battle of Passchendaele. Before we looked more into that specific battle, we visited the German Cemetery in Langemark and the Canadian Memorial north of Ypres, the memorial erected in memory of the first gas attack in 1915.

I wanted my friends to experience the environment and the information about those places, to increase their knowledge about things they may have read about earlier. After those places we went to the area closer to the village of Passchendaele, where we stopped at the Passchendaele Canadian Memorial, one of eight similar memorials throughout the Ypres Salient. Here I told the stories about several Swedish born soldiers who fought for the Canadian and Australian Forces, within the third battle of Ypres. We visited both the Passchendaele New British cemetery and Tyne Cot Cemetery before we decided to have a lunch at the restaurant De Dreve near Polygon Wood. Before lunch we visited the Passchendaele Memorial War Museum.

One of the sites I really enjoyed was the was this Museum, which has been renovated and become very informative and fresh, with new displays och digital creations. If you area in the area, don’t hesitate in visiting this museum

After lunch we also visited the memorial about the Brother in Arms, a memorial organized by Johan, who has the restaurant, which has become a large and well visited place, and tells the story about two brothers from Australia. One of the brothers were found in archaeological excavations and later on identified. You can read more about the story here.

If you have lunch at this restaurant, don’t miss out the private battlefield objects display on the upper floor, a very special place to visit.

Before this small tour I spent a lot of time to find more about the Swedes who fought on the German side in the Great War. I have looked through a lot of archives and have been able to find individuals to add to my database.

One of the names I found was the Swedish born soldier Emion Nielson (Emian Nilsson), who probably took his surname after his mother Dorothea Nildotter. Emian was born in Tving parish in Karlskrona area in the Landscape of Blekinge. He was initially noted as missing in action but was later declared “not missed, wounded”. He died of his wounds in October 10, 1917. I will try to cover more information about Emion in later articles.

He is today buried at the German Cemetery in Hooglede, north of Roeselare in Belgium, not very far from Ypres. The plan included a visit to this cemetery as well, to take a photo of his headstone, and to visit the cemetery in general.

On our way back to the apartment and the planned dinner in Ypres, we passed the Sanctuary Wood Museum, with its special content and the famous remains of the trenches in the nearby wood, included in the museum entrance fee. Well worth a visit.

However, a tour with Army engineers, as we are, is not complete without a visit to the Royal Engineer Memorial near Bellewaarde Ridge. This concluded our visits in the terrain. It is always nice to walk in the terrain nearby the memorial, which clearly still shows the traces of the war, and you don’t have to look very close to find shrapnels from the grenades, still present in the fields.

The evening ended with a very nice dinner together with another friend, Wayne Shaw, who I met on the Old Frontline meet up in 2024, led by Paul Reed, who is a great historian. He has inspired me a lot when it comes to what I do within my own project. It was really nice to meet up with Wayne, who continued his trip further down the battlefield areas.

The Last Day

A tour is not complete without a visit to Saint George’s Chapel in Ypres, which is a unique site when it comes to commemoration of the soldiers. We were lucky to meet up with the reverend Richard Clement who gave us a small tour about the chapel, and how they look at the future, when it comes to space for all the memorial signs that people wants to put up in the chapel. We said goodbye to Richard and started our way back to the airport with a lot of different thoughts in our heads.

Conclusion

In many ways this tour affected me a lot. To do this with close friends was very nice. Finally I could show them all the sites that I have visited and talked about all years, even if I only could show them 25 percent of all the sites that I have visited throughout the years. I learned a lot from their input and questions during the tour and they gave me leads in how to perform these type of tours in the future, as we discussed how to handle different target audience, and what type of trips I could prepare further on, if and when I decide to start my own business.

I have to confess that this means a lot to me, I am totally grabbed by the subject of the Great war, and all connected to it, and this tour has certainly strengthened it. The company of my friends have developed me as a person and a future guide, and I hope I will be able to fulfill my dream. I am sure my friends brought home their own experience and it may have increased their knowledge in the subject.

Thank you.

2026-04-252026-04-29

Anzac Day – Commemorating the Swedes at Gallipoli

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations” and “the contribution and suffering of all those who have served”. Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was originally devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served in the Gallipoli campaign, their first engagement in the First World War (1914–1918).

On this day I will hereby commemorate those Swedes who served in the Gallipoli Campaign, for the Australian Imperial Force, and New Zealand Expeditionary Force by telling their story.

Swedish-born soldiers on the front line.

In my research on Swedes who fought and fell on the Western Front in the Great War, I investigate the individuals and connect them to the different locations where they fought and fell, and where they are buried. As you can tell from the name of the project, the focus is Swedish-born soldiers who fell on the Western Front, but I also follow up those who fought on other fronts.

In this article, I will tell the story of some Swedish-born soldiers who fought and fell in the Gallipoli campaign. The focus will be on the individuals, not on the campaign itself. I am sure you can connect the details in this article with information about the campaign from other sources.

Swedes in the Australian Imperial Force

In my research, I currently have just above 600 Swedish-born soldiers, of whom about 60 are confirmed to have been born in Sweden and to have fought for the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). The first thing I think about when reading about these soldiers is what brought them to the other side of the world, only to later become soldiers in the Australian Army. One thing that stands out in the backgrounds of many of the Swedes who fought for the AIF is that they were sailors back home in Sweden. It is therefore easy to assume that they decided to stay in Australia when they passed through on their routes as they sailed around the world.

There were also many Swedes born in Australia to Swedish parents, and these second-generation Swedes also took part in the conflict as soldiers in the AIF. In this article, however, I will tell the stories of three men who were born in Sweden and later became naturalised Australians. I will also include the story of a Swedish officer from the Swedish Army who decided to join the French Foreign Legion. He was injured in fighting in the Dardanelles, but he is buried in France. The other three are buried in Turkey.

In the end of this article I will also mention other names of Swedish born soldiers who are believed to have fallen due to service at Gallipoli

437 Private Ernest Lindell

Ernest Lindell (Ernst) was born in Billeberga parish, near Helsingborg, Sweden, on 5 May 1882, and was raised by his parents: his mother, Elna Larsdotter, and his father, Olof Andersson Lindell. He had three siblings: Ivar, Gottfried, and Althea.

In the Swedish church records, it is noted that Ernest was absent between 1905 and 1915, and his date of death is also recorded. He died on 8 May 1915—one day after his 33rd birthday.

He was a sailor and belonged to the Helsingborg Naval Corps, but for some reason he left the corps in 1902, at the age of 20. There are no notes indicating whether Ernest completed his conscription period in Sweden. At the time, it was quite common for young Swedes to avoid conscription, and I see that pattern among many of the other Swedes in my research.

The naturalisation papers from Australia tell us that he arrived in Australia around 1904, at Fremantle near Perth in Western Australia, after travelling from South America. It appears that Ernest worked as a miner during his time in Australia.

Ernest completed his AIF attestation (registration) form on 20 September 1914.

He served with the 16^th Infantry Battalion. The papers do not tell us much about his circumstances in battle, but according to the unit diary, his unit took part in the raid on Gaba Tepe (the landing at ANZAC Cove) on 4 May 1915, which ended in failure. It is stated that he was wounded in the thigh by a bullet, and that he suffered a fractured finger in fighting during the days that followed, probably in the same area. He was transferred to H.M.H.S. “Gloucester Castle” and died of his wounds on 8 May 1915, on board the ship.

Ernest is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial in Turkey. He received the 1914–15 Star, the British War Medal, and the Victory Medal, which were sent to his relatives in Sweden.

720 Private Frank Applequist

Frank Applequist (Frans Ludvig Appelqvist) was born in Landskrona parish, Sweden, on 14 July 1880, and was raised by his parents: his mother, Emelie Charlotta Karlsson, and his father, Ludvig Lindstedt Appelqvist. He had four siblings: Jenny Sofia, Carl Alfred, Augusta Mathilda, and Hulda Fredrika.

The Swedish church records note that Frank received permission from the King of Sweden to leave the country, as required by law at the time. It is also recorded that he left for Australia in 1908, after completing his conscription in Sweden in 1901, at the age of 21, with Norra Skånska Infantry Regiment. He belonged to the Landskrona Naval Corps but ended his service in 1898, and it may have been that experience that led him to a life at sea, which later became his profession.

The naturalisation papers from Australia state that he applied in 1913, having arrived from New Zealand in 1910, also at the port of Fremantle near Perth, Western Australia. He worked as a sleeper hewer and as a sailor before he enlisted in October 1914.

Frank enlisted in the AIF just a few days after Ernest, on 25 September 1914, and belonged to the same unit, the 16^th Infantry Battalion. The documents state that he was wounded on 28 April 1915, and the diary—which is very hard to read—indicates that the unit was around Gaba Tepe. He may have taken part in the First Battle of Krithia, which began on 28 April 1915, but it is impossible to confirm from the diary.

Frank was wounded in action, though the records do not specify how. After he died of his wounds, he was buried at Courtney’s and Steele’s Post Cemetery in Turkey. In his papers, he listed his mother, Emelie, as next of kin; at that time, she lived in Kristianstad, Sweden.

He received the 1914–15 Star, the British War Medal, and the Victory Medal.

1350 Private Victor Grundstrom

Victor Grundstrom (Viktor Einar Adolf Grundström) was born in Söderhamn parish, Gävleborg county, Sweden, on 29 March 1883, and was raised by his mother. His father is unknown, and at the time this was a sensitive matter. He moved from Söderhamn and lived in Gräsmark, in the province of Värmland, when he left for Australia. From the very vague notes in the church records, I can see that he may not have had permission to leave the country, but there is also a large question mark beside the note, and he is listed among absent citizens.

On another page in the church records, there is a note stating that he fell in the war—in Egypt—and died in 1915. The notes are also very vague, but we know they are correct, and they link Victor Grundstrom in the church records to the military facts I have about him.

The first documents connecting him to Australia are his naturalisation application papers from 1911. He stated that he arrived from England in 1909 at the port of Fremantle, near Perth, Western Australia. He worked as an engine driver before he signed the AIF attestation (registration) form on 30 September 1914.

He enlisted in the 11^th Infantry Battalion, in the 2^nd Reinforcement, and the casualty papers state that he was killed in action on 19 May 1915.

The unit diary describes very difficult conditions. There are no dated entries between 15 and 20 May, only a narrative of activities: how the unit took over the trenches and how the enemy carried out raids during the night. There is also a note that the unit received reinforcements during this five-day period. The location Gaba Tepe is also mentioned in entries around 9 May.

Victor is buried in Lone Pine Cemetery in Turkey.

These three soldiers participated in the fighting at Gallipoli between February 1915 and January 1916, and they seem to have been involved in actions around Gaba Tepe on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

In addition to the soldiers mentioned above, I will also give a short account of a Swedish officer who fought in the Dardanelles with the French Foreign Legion.

French Foreign Legion at Gallipoli – The story of the Swede – 12284 Private First Class Pascal Bergman

Pascal Bergman (Paul Pascal Bergman) was born in a Stockholm parish, in a unit called the Finnish Department, but as far as I can see in the church records, his parents and family had no connection to Finland. He was raised by his parents: his mother, Hilda Thingvall, and his father, Paul David Bergman. He had nine siblings: Henrik Johan, David Fredrik, Henrika Paulina, Emanuel Frans, Elisabet Gilberta Sofia, Davida Henrika Ingrid, Carl Stephan, and Sally Johanna Teresia.

In the church records, Pascal is described as an officer. In the Swedish Armed Forces photo collection, he holds the rank of lieutenant. He served with Älvsborgs Regiment in western Sweden, but there is very little information about when he left Sweden, or why he left the army and joined the Foreign Legion.

In digitised newspapers from 1916, I found information stating that he left the Swedish Army in 1911 and, in the autumn of the same year, joined the French Foreign Legion. He quickly stood out for his determination in difficult situations, and he appears to have had a clear path ahead of him for professional success and promotion.

He did not tell anyone what he was doing or where he was; he kept many things to himself.

He served with the 1^st Régiment de marche d’Afrique and held the rank of 1^re classe, which indicates that he had served at least ten months in the Legion.

The newspaper article also mentions that he wrote home to inform his relatives that he had a “minor” injury and that, for the moment, he was in Nizza (Nice), France. From the letter, his relatives understood that he was probably slightly wounded in battle, but he also wrote that he was quite sure he would return to the front again—without mentioning which front.

The article states that he died from wounds received in the Dardanelles, and it is possible that he took part in the fighting at Gallipoli. Some units from the French Foreign Legion went ashore at “Beach S” in Morto Bay, east of Sedd el Bahr, on 28 April 1915.

However, the form from his unit states that he died of “maladie” (illness) on 21 November 1915 in Toulon, France. He is buried in Toulon area, at the Lagoubran Cemetery.

It was—and still is—quite common for Swedes to join the French Foreign Legion, and many stories remain untold. Even today, Sweden and France cooperate closely in special operations, around the world.

Swedes in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force

In my database I today have three Swedish born soldiers who fought and fell in the Great War when they served in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF). However, there were more Swedish born soldiers who served and survived their time within the NZEF. There are data within documents in archives that states that they experienced service at Gallipoli, survived, and later went over to the Western Front to continue their service. One of the Swedes who I believe fought in Gallipoli, was Gustaf Stowe (Stone) with the former Swedish surname of Lagerlöf.

It is mentioned on his photo below that he was serving at Gallipoli. I will continue to research other Swedish born soldiers to try to find more facts about their service and may find data which points at that they served at Gallipoli.

Observation

One observation I make when examining the documents for each soldier in my research is that Swedes who became soldiers and fought for Australia or New Zealand often came from a shipping or naval background. If you read their health declarations, tattoos are very often mentioned, which fits the general image many of us have of sailors. In the case of Grundström, however, it is interesting that no tattoo is mentioned. That is very unusual.

Sadly, I also often find information in these documents indicating that some individuals had a poor attitude towards their superior officers, which often led to situations in which they were punished—either with prison or financially. I see a small pattern that those who joined the New Zealand forces often had a rougher background than those who joined the AIF, but these observations are my own and are not based on any empirical study.

It would be interesting to find out whether their backgrounds as sailors affected them on the battlefield, compared with other soldiers without that background. Did they act differently—in a positive or negative way?

Based on the information about Paul Bergman, the Swedish officer who joined the French Foreign Legion, it is easy to think that he wanted his battlefield experience to sound more dramatic than it may have been. In a newspaper article, I read that he seldom told his relatives about life in the Legion, and that he wrote about the minor injury he had received. The French documents state that the cause of death was illness or infection, and that he sadly died from it. Perhaps he thought the truth might affect how others viewed him if he told them?

We will never know whether it was like that, but it is interesting, because similar patterns can also be seen in modern military life today.

In the future, my intention is to continue to provide more information about the role Swedish-born soldiers played in the Great War (1914–1918), but that is another story.

They will also be remembered

Erik Gustaf Alfred Blomqvist Bloom – January, 23rd, 1887 Kungsholmen, Stockholm – 2nd Battalion AIF, B Company – DOW August 9th, 1915 at Lemnos. Buried Portiance Military Cemetery, Greece.
Gustaf Alfred Lauritz Lowe (Löwe) – October 13th, 1877, Carl Johan, Gothenburg, – 2/R Fusiliers, AIF – Death presumed July 26th, 1915 – commemorated at Helles Memorial, Turkey.
Carl Johan Engelbrekt Miller (Möller) – November 10th, 1883 Haga, Gothenburg – 2nd Battalion, AIF – DOW June 10th, 1915 – Buried Alexandria (Chatby) Military Cemetery, Alexandria, Egypt.
Oscar Alexius Hansson – October 22nd, 1885, Onsala, Halland – 13th Battalion, AIF (M.E.F) – Wounded on Gallipoli Peninsula, May 29th, 1915 – Transported home to Australia, via England. Died February 18th, 1974. Engadine, NSW. Australia.
John Erikson (Eriksson) – March 7th, 1872, Färlöv, Skåne – 7th Battalion, 4/R, AIF – Wounded at Lone Pine, Gallipoli, August 9th, 1915, DOW Alexandria, August 13th, 1915 – Buried Alexandria (Chatby) Military Cemetery, Alexandria, Egypt.
Frans August Welsh (Sjöström) – November 19, 1871, Västra Vingåker – 15th Battalion, AIF – Killed in Action, Gallipoli, August 7, 1915 – Commemorated at Lone Pine Memorial, Turkey.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Lest We Forget.

(Article head photo: Imperial War Museum – Gallipoli, 1915)