Swedes at The Western Front

In my research I follow up Swedes in the Great War, especially those who fell and are buried at the Western Front. In my database I have Swedish born soldiers who fought for different nations, such as Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany and North America.

I read a lot of material and I especially like to find text in diaries from Swedes who participated in the battles. A quick analyze shows that it was often the Swedish officers notes who became books which they often wrote when they came home, after having survived the War.

In some notes I can read information about where and when they fought in a specific region, and it is very interesting but at the same time a great challenge to figure out if it could have been like that, that they fought against eachother, from a short or long distance, or met eachother. I know it will be very hard to find out, but it is highly likely that they of course where in the same area, where some of them paid the ultimate price, their lifes.

I will write more about this subject in an upcoming article, but will give you an example in this blog post.

Carl Belfrage (Karl Mauritz) was born in Mölndal (Fässberg) parish April 28, 1887. He was raised by his mother Jenny Elfrida Gustafva Lagerlöf and his father Knut Arcadius Belfrage, together with his twin brother George Knut and their older brother Nils Gustaf.

Carl took his officer exam in December 19, 1908. At new years day in 1908 he became an “Underlötjnant” (sub lieutenant) and at new years day in 1914 he bacame a lieutenant.

When Swedish officers applied for going to War for another country, they were in all cases denied to do that, so they had to resign as officers. Carl did that June 3, 1915, and became a lieutenant in 162nd Prussian infantry regiment.

He participated in the War at the Western Front in following battles:

• Roye-Noyon July 7, 1915 to September 28, 1915
• Autumn battle between La Bassé and Arras in 1915.
• Giessler hight east of Souchez in February 21, 1916.
• Fightings at Givenchy en Gohelle May 21, 1916 to June 2, 1916.
• Battle of the Somme July 20, 1916 to August 21, 1916 and September 25, 1916 to October 7, 1916.
• Fightings at the Yser, October 18, 1916 to February 5, 1917.
• Siegfried front at Ribe-court in Artois April 24, 1917 to May 15, 1917
• Artois in June 5, 1917 to August 9, 1917 and September 17, 1917 to September 29, 1917
• Arras and Albert April 1, 1918 to April 20, 1918
• Hebuterne July 15, 1918 to July 28, 1918
• Monchy and Bapaume August 21, 1918 to September 2, 1918.
• West of Cambrai September 3, 1918 to September 6, 1918
• Armentieres and Lens September 7, 1918 to October 11, 1918
• Antwerpen-Maas stellung October 12, 1918 to November 4, 1918.
• Went back through the German area to Germany between November 12, 1918 to December 16, 1918.

Carl became a Captain October 5, 1916. He received the Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd Class, and he left the German Army in March 31, 1920.

In the book about “Swedes in War”, (Svenskar i Krig) by the Swedish Historians Lars Gyllenhaal and Lennart Westberg, there is a short story from one of Carl’s colleague, the Norwegian officer Lyder Ramstad, when they were out on a patrol in no mans land around Ypres:

“We, as the englishmen, often did patrols. One night we heard only some meters away and small talk from the other side. My comrade grabbed me in the arm and said; – It sounds like when you and Belfrage speaks to eachother! It was like that, the talk was made in perfect Swedish. (Norweigian and Swedes understand eachothers language) We crawled around them and shouted – Hands Up! The three men immidiately gave up. The were very surprised when I talked to them in Norwegian. When we came back to our lines , and Belfrage talked to them in Swedish, they looked very surprised. They were three sailors who fought for the Brits (It doesn’t tell for which commonwealth country). Belfrage decided to help them back to Sweden”

Belfrage wrote his own diaries and they have been made into a book by one of his relatives, Bengt Belfrage, and is called “War memories – The hell on the Western Front” (Vanvettet på Västfronten).

As mentioned above, I will try to compile more analyzes and stories from other sources into a larger article, which I probably will send to the Great War Group.

It is a great feeling to see my own material finally printed and published in a magazine about the Great War. I will really try to write more articles, I have so much to tell about the Swedish born soldiers who fought and fell in the Great War, especially at the Western front.

Below you will find some photos from the article which is from the Great War magazine “Salient Points”, connected to the association “The Great War Group“. As a member you will get this magazine sent to you quarterly. The material is of high quality and there are different main topics from time to time.

Since the article was sent in I have found some more Swedes and they will be covered in another article.

Please check in my page now and then!

I have come to that stage in my research, when I go more deep into each individual I have in my database. I have now decided to look more into those few Swedish born Brits that served in the Great War and fell at the Western Front.

One of those was 2nd/Lt George Herbert Westerberg.

George was born in Gothenburg, 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 churchbooks 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.

You can read more about George Herbert Westerberg through this eminent page:

http://www.hertsatwar.co.uk/biographies/232821/george-herbert-westerberg

The article says as follows:

“Citizen of Gothenburg fallen in France.

According to information to Gothenburg, has George Herbert Westerberg, the 4th in this month, (actually the 5th according to the diary) fallen in the fightings in France. He was born in Gothenburg and son to the architect and the member of parliament J. A. Westerberg, and was at his death 37 years old. He was a businessman in England and lived near London. He participated as a volunteer in the war on the British side and had officer rank. He is mourned by his wife and his two children, and by siblings in Sweden.”

The picture below show their address, Porch Cottage, 15 Nightingale Rd, Bushey, Herts, in 1911.

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.

George is buried at Dantzig Alley British cemetery. I will take a photo of his headstone when I visit him in July this year. On the picture below you can see the area where he was when he fell and where he is buried.

May George rest in peace.

For my Swedish visitors!

Nu är det på gång! I mitt samarbete med resebyrån Historic Travel så har vi härmed planerat in en resa till slagfälten i Belgien och Frankrike där vi besöker de platser som de svenska soldaterna stred och föll i det första världskriget. Resan kommer beröra en del av de soldater som jag följer upp i mitt projekt som ni kan läsa mer om på denna sida.

Nedan så kan ni läsa den information som skickats ut till de som följer Historic Travel nyhetsbrev.

“Svenskar på Västfronten 31/3-3/4 2023
Denna resa blir den mest gripande resa som jag har genomfört och kommer att bli känslosam för dig som följer med. Den behandlar svenskar som utvandrade till Kanada och andra delar av engelska samväldet och stupade i Första Världskriget på Europas slagfält.
Joacim Hallberg, officer på Göta Ingenjörregemente i Eksjö, har under flera års tid forskat i detta ämne i olika arkiv och kyrkböcker samt besökt gravplatser och slagfälten. Han blir vår guide på resan och personligen ser jag oerhört mycket fram mot detta. Han har valt ut några av dessa människoöden där familjebakgrund, emigration, värvning, förbandstillhörighet, striden och plats där han stupade samt graven på krigskyrkogården besöks. 
Denna resa är ett “absolut måste” för dig som är intresserad av Första Världskriget.
Vi besöker platser i Belgien och Norra Frankrike enligt utkastet bifogat i detta mail.
För detaljer och pris se längst ned på sidan.

En av de soldater som vi kommer att höra och se mer om är Bertil Lindh.

Bertil Albert LindhFödd 31 december 1891 i Hedvig Eleonora församling, uppfostrad av sin Mor Hulda Mathilda Elfrida Borg och hans far Gustav Albert Carlsson Lindh. Bertil hade tre syskon. Enligt kyrkböckerna så är familjen registrerad inledningsvis i Stockholm, i Hedvig Eleonora församling, men även I Malmö, i kvarteret Judith.  Därefter går det att utläsa att delar av familjen flyttar tillbaka till Stockholm, där Bertil registreras i Stockholms Sjömanskår under år 1913. Bertil är då 21 år, och det kan vara i Sjömanskåren som han gör sin militärtjänstgöring. Äldre digitaliserade tidningar nämner att han gick till sjöss tidigare, men 1913 är mer troligt.Bertil tar sig bedömt, i sin yrkesroll som sjöman, till Nordamerika strax efter sin militärtjänstgöring och registrerar sig för kanadensisk militärtjänstgöring i Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, på den kanadensiska östkusten, den 17 april 1915.

Han anger ingen adress i Kanada då han troligtvis registrerar sig direkt på rekryteringskontoret från sin sjömanstjänst, vilket var relativt vanligt om man jämför med andra svenska sjömän som sedan blev soldater. Vi vet idag ingen specifik anledning till att han anmäler sig för den kanadensiska armén, men mycket tyder på att han gjorde det frivilligt, då han inte var kanadensisk medborgare. Bertil lämnar Kanada, på skeppet S.S Caledonia, från Halifax, och anländer till England 29 augusti 1915.Bertil ansluter sig den 13:e Kanadensiska infanteribataljonen, The Royal Highlanders, den 4 september samma år, troligtvis i Belgien. Bataljonen tjänstgör sedan i Västra Flandern i Belgien, söder om staden Ieper (Ypres) i sydvästra Belgien.

Bataljonen strider i ett område som brigaden stridit i sedan februari-mars 1915 som kallas för ”The Bluff”, i området Palingbeek. Bertil stupar den 19 april 1916 i hårda strider mot tyska förband mellan skyttevärn nr 31 och 33, och begravs inledningsvis bakom skyttegrav 33, för att därefter flyttas till Hooge Crater cemetery ca 3 km norr hans ursprungliga begravningsplats.Bertil sörjs av sin familj hemma i Stockholm efter att dessa informerats av en brittisk befälhavare. Detta finns även noterat i kyrkböckerna i Johannes församling i Stockholm 1916.“

Det preliminära programmet ser ut enligt följande:

Normalpris: 8550:- 

Erbjudande: 1000:- rabatt gäller till 30/4 (10 platser) 

I priset ingår: 

– Flyg ToR Arlanda, Landvetter, Kastrup- Bryssel 

– Tre nätter på hotell inkl frukost med del i dubbelrum 

– Alla transporter i Belgien och Frankrike (utom ev egna utflykter) – Guidning av Joacim Hallberg 

– Två luncher/middagar 

– Studiematerial

Önskar ni följa med? Anmäl er då till Jan Ågren Historic Travel via följande mailadress:

info@historictravel.se

Välkomna och väl mött! /Joacim

One of the things that moves me are these moments when I can meet the relatives to those Swedish born soldiers that participated in The Great War and listen to them to get more information about the individuals, but also a piece of their local history in Sweden.

One of these moments I had this Saturday morning, when visiting Gunborg, the Niece to Ernst Magnus Robert Kristoffersson and Sjunne Walter Kristoffersson, who both registered for U.S Army after they emigrated to North America from Sweden in 1913. The reason to this meeting was a result from my lecture I had in my home village in March.

One of the participants recognized one of the names I had about the local soldiers who had fought in the American Expeditionary Forces in the Great War, Ernest M R Christopherson, who we know as Ernst mentioned above in the text. He sent me Gunborgs number, and we could arrange a meeting. So glad we met.

Gunborgs mother Aina Ida Viola Kristoffersson was the only one of in total 9 siblings who did not emigrate to North America from the farm Bråten here in my home village of Taberg, in Småland, Sweden. Aina took well care about her parents here in Sweden, but had contact with many of her siblings through letters from North America, almost on a weekly basis. Aina was the youngest of the sibling, together with her twin brother Bror, almost 25 year younger than the oldest sibling.

I am so amazed to hear about those individuals and are lucky to meet people who are still alive to tell the stories.

Ernst was the only one of those two brothers who went over to France. He was registered in the American Draft in June 5th, 1917, when he lived at Wilson Place in Jamestown, NY, where he lived with his sister Bertha and her family. As far as I know his brother Walter lived there as well at that time.

Ernst went over to France in May 27th, 1918, with his unit, 307th Field Artillery (Light), which belonged to 153rd Field Artillery Brigade in the 78th Infantry Division.

If you look on the photo above of Ernst, you can see the Shoulder Sleeve insignia of the 78th Division on his left shoulder.

The first unit of the Division arrived in France May 18, 1918. The last part of the Division arrived in June 12, 1918. The Artillery Brigade supported the 90th Infantry Divison in the St Michael Offensive, and rejoined the 78th Division again in October 4th, 1918.

In between, in July 18th, the 78th division moved to the Arras Area with it’s headquarters established at Roellecourt in France, after had been conducting training in The British Sector near Ypres Front in West Flandern, Belgium.

In October 4th to 5th, the whole Division moved to Foret de la Reine, and then to Clermont en-Argonne area, in France. On october 10th they moved to the eastern part of the Argonne Forest, with headquarters in Varennes. They entered the line in October 15th and relieved 77th Division in the line between Petit Talma – Grand Pre – Chevieres – St Juvin. The unit fought hard in Bois de Bourgogne and in the end the unit had around 7245 casualties and had taken around 432 prioners.

Ernst surived the fightings and in the discharge documents in May 22, 1919, it is mentioned that he has 0 percent disability, but family can now tell me that he struggled with the hearing the rest of his life, which is not strange after had belonged to an Artillery unit.

In the church books I can read that Ernst visited Sweden at least one time during the 1960s, but he died in 1977 in U.S after has been living there since 1913. His younger brother Walter died in 1955 after struggling with a disease.

Walter was registered in the Draft in June 1918, but never served abroad according to the documents.

Both of the brothers registered for the Second World War but never went abroad.

I am very glad that I have met Gunborg and her husband today at their nice farm, just 10 minutes from my home, and after a nice chat we decided to meet again, to be able to have a more detailed dialogue about her relatives, which will be great material in my production of the article I will write in the next version of the book about our home parish Taberg. It will be about the local Swedish soldiers who were born in Månsarp parish, and fought in the The Great War at the Western Front.

Below you will find some more family photos of the soldier Ernest Magnus Robert Chritopherson.

Thank you very much, Gunborg.

“Nov. 1-The capture of the ground south of Valenciennes between the Rhonelle river and the Scheldt canal was of extreme importance so as to compel the enemy to evacuate the town. The Canadian Corps were holding the western approaches to the town and the western bank of the Scheldt canal, and their guns were able to batter the tongue of land where the 51st. Division had been fighting. An attack by Canadian troops in a northerly direction from about Aulnoy could thus be supported by their artillery fire from south, west and north, and offered the best and safest means of capturing Valenciennes.

The attack was made by the 44th. Battalion, of New Brunswick though originally recruited at Winnipeg, on the right, with the 47th. Battalion, Western Ontario, on the left. After taking Famars which again had fallen into enemy hands the 44th, fought their way into Aulnoy, where it was only after hand-to-hand fighting that the enemy was overcome.”

Some words from the book “Canada’s Hundred Days – With the Canadian Corps from Amiens to Mons, Aug. 8-Nov. 11, 1918” (John Frederick Bligh Livesay), from November 1st, when the young Swede Carl Frederick Youngberg went missing at the battlefield, later on declared killed in action.

Who was the young Swede? Where did he come from, and where is his final rest? I will try to tell you the story.

Carl Fredrick Youngberg, or Karl Ferdinand Ljungberg, was born in Sweden June 2nd, 1896, and raised by his parents, his mother Jenny Kristina Liljegren and his father Adolf Ljungberg. Karl had six siblings, Tekla, Ida, Marta, Ruth, Alma, and Gerda. Karl was the only son in the family. Karl was born in the small parish of Vä in Kristianstad county in the southern part of Sweden, and moved after about one year to the place where he lived when he left Sweden for North America, Skegrie, in Malmöhus county, far down south in Sweden.

Karl and his family moves to North America in August 1902, when Karl was only six years old. His mother takes all the kids on the trip over the Antlantic. When I read the Swedish church books, it looks like his father Adolf, the tailor, went over before his family, already in september 1901. which I think was quite common these days.

The transport documents also tells us the same thing.

The census documents tells us that the family settled down in St. Paul, Minnesota, after have arrived to Quebec, Canada.

Karl stated his address as St Paul, Minnesota, in his attestation documents for the Canadian Overseas Forces, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He states that he is born in Stockholm, but as in many cases, when Swedes left Sweden when they were young, they had sometimes hard to remember the exact Swedish location of their place of birth. Below you will also see in his draft papers for the American Forces that he states that he is born in Småland Landscape, but Vä belongs to Skåne Landscape.

Karl left Canada from Halifax, Canada, for Europe. He arrived in England in October 17, 1917 on the Ship S.S Metagama.

He becomes wounded in his hand by a Gun Shot Wound and is treated in Etaples, at the General hospital, in the beginning of September 1918, almost a year from when he arrived in England.

Karl is fighting for the 44th Canadian Infantry battalion when he is killed in action that day, November 1st, in 1918. The unit is fighting in the area around the region of Alnoy, south of Valneciennes, France, where Carl initially is declared “Missing”.

Karl is only at an age of 22 when he is killed. I know that he also was drafted for the American Army in June 1917, but right now I don’t know the reason why he chose to join the Canadian Forces instead. In my research I have a couple of individuals that emigrated to North America, was drafted for the American Forces but later on joined the Canadian Forces for the fightiings at the Western Front.

Carl is buried at Aulnoy Communal Cemetery in France. I will try to visit him this summer in July.

May Carl rest in peace.

It is really great when individuals are coming back to you after you have had your lectures, and bringing more information you didn’t know about, and makes it you look for more.

In this case I was having a lecture in my home parish, one evening in March this year. One of the guests mention through my father that another name has to be added to the list about the local citiziens who participated in the Great War at the Western Front.

I decide to look it up, and I found some interesting information, and also that he is buried at the local cemetery in my parish Månsarp.

The individual is Oskar Fridolf Andersson. He is born in December 29, 1888, in Månsarp parish and is raised at Holmåsen, Renstorp, by his parents Manna Kristina Johansdotter and Peter Magnus Andersson.

It is mentioned in the church book that he is leaving Sweden for North America in May 23, 1908, at an age of 20, which means that he left before he was supposed to do his military conscript in Sweden, the reason is unknown. In October 15th the same year, 1908, his sister Sigrid Margareta also left Sweden for North America.

Oskar arrived Chicago, Illinois, in June 1908, and this is probably the place his sister arrives to later on when she is coming to the States in October same year, as this is the address stated of Oskars Next of Kin.

He later on gives the address Dixon in South Dakota in his papers, which we find in different passport applications and similar. He is living in Dixon to 1916 and is then moving to Chicago. His sister Sigrid is given as Next of Kin when he is leaving North America for France and the Western Front in September 1918.

The paper says that Corporal Oskar Andersson is belonging to 344th Infantry battalion (86th Division AEF) when he left New York on the Ship “Megantic” in September 9, 1918. They arrived Bordeaux in France where the unit built up the Headquarter, where from the 86th Division brought in reserves to the Front in Meuse-Argonne, further North-east in France, which they did until November 8, 1918, when they moved down to Le Mans in France. The war ended three days later on November 11th.

It is not known if Oskar participated at the Front during the months he was there, but he stayed in France until June 29th 1919, when the unit went back to North America, which they arrived in July 1919. Oscar belonged to The Depot Support Company in France before they went back, and it is not known when he switched between the units.

Oskar survived, as we now know, and lived in North America some more years before he went back to Sweden. We know from the passport applications above that he visited Sweden during 1916 and 1917, before he finally moved for good, back to Månsarp, to the parish where he was born. It is not known if his sister Sigrid moved back to Sweden again. Sigrid is married to Gunnar Holmström in Chicago in 1916. Gunnar is probably born in Korsberga, Småland, Sweden, in November 13, 1886, and not in 1888 as stated in the file. They get four children together.

Oskar dies in 1972, at an age of 83, and is today buried at the local cemetery here in my home parish of Månsarp, and today I visited his final resting place, where there is a stone erected as a family grave. I say thank you to Oskar for his contribution in the Great War, and now it feels great to know that it is actually a stone nearby connected to the history of what the Swedish born soldiers did for their new countries in the period of the Great War.

May Oskar rest in peace.