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OP FRESHMAN
The successful attack on the Heavy Water facility at Vemork in Norway in February 1943, Operation Gunnerside, is rightly regarded as one of the most daring special forces raids of WWII. Over the years many books have been written about this raid, and it has been portrayed in films (The Heroes of Telemark, starring Kirk Douglas), and numerous documentaries. However, what is less well known is that there was an earlier attempt to destroy this facility, Operation Freshman, the previous year!
In July 1942, the British War Cabinet decided to try to destroy the Norsk Hydro "hydrogen" factory at Vemork due to concerns that the heavy water being produced there could be used as part of Nazi Germany´s program to develop a nuclear bomb. After much discussion, it was decided to use specially trained Royal Engineers to carry out the task.
On the evening of November 19th, 1942, despite some misgivings regarding the weather over the objective, two Halifax bombers, each towing a Horsa Glider took off from RAF Skitten, near Wick in NE Scotland. On board each glider were 15 Royal Engineers, and two pilots. Tragically, due to failures in the navigation and guidance systems, and poor weather, the aircraft failed to identify the landing zones and were forced to turn back. On the return journey, three of the aircraft (one halifax and both gliders) crashed in SW Norway. In total, 41 young men lost their lives; some killed in the crashes, others executed by the German Army and Gestapo. Due to the secrecy surrounding the mission, very little information was provided to the families of the servicemen at the time, other than that they were missing. A short news article was released by the Germans shortly after the raid saying that a number of aircraft had landed in Norway and that all of the soldiers on board had been engaged and killed to the last man. However, it was not until after the war that true horror of the story emerged!
Sapper William Faulkner from Hereford was one of the soldiers killed on Op FRESHMAN. His Grandfather, William had served with the Herefordshire Regiment and was a sergeant major killed in action at Suvla Bay in August 1915. His father, Charles also served at Suvla Bay as a sergeant with the Herefordshire Regiment. He survived the First World War and died ‘on the ranges’ whilst firing a
machine gun pairs practice in 1929.
Dr Bruce A Tocher was born in Forfar, Scotland and is a graduate of Aberdeen University. Bruce was a lecturer at Plymouth Polytechnic and Aberystwyth before moving to Norway to join Statoil. He spent 20 years working in their Research & Development Division before taking early retirement in 2016. He then decided to focus full time on military history, in particular Operation Freshman. Bruce, who is based in Norway has lectured extensively on the subject in the UK and Norway. He has spent six years researching this topic with the aim of publishing a new book on the raid in 2026.
Photographs of the Second World War Fallen
Bob Curtis whose uncle was killed in action with The Herefords on 1 July 1944 is running a programme to get a photograph of all of the 11 Armoured Division soldiers that were killed - this includes the Herefords.
Photographs captured to date can be viewed in the 11th Armoured Division website Roll of Honour via the link: https://sites.google.com/view/11th-armoured-division/roll-of-honour
Can you provide any of the missing photographs for the Herefords?
Visit The Museum
Visits to the Museum must be booked in advance; email hfdlimuseum@gmail.com or phone 07726566602
Introduction
The Herefordshire Regimental Museum
The Museum tells the story of the The Herefordshire Light Infantry, The Herefordshire Regiment and The Herefordshire Rifle Volunteers - all volunteers from a small rural English county. It is a success story; a story of bravery, determination, and devotion to duty, of sadness, of comrades lost, but also that of a job well done. It is a story that deserves to be told and to be known more widely.
About The Museum
The Museum is based in the Army Reserve Centre (ARC) (Suvla Barracks) in Hereford.
It is a Registered Museum (1951) and a Registered Charity (272006) and operates under the auspices of the Ministry Of Defence (MOD) Museums policy and The Army Museum Ogilby Trust (AMOT). It also works closely with The County's Museum, Library and Art Galleries department staff. The Museum holds Arts Council England Accreditation.
It is totally volunteer run and receives no formal funding, relying totally on donations; if you feel able to support the museum see details at 'Support Us' tab.
The Museum is always pleased to receive enquiries and visitors - however visits must be arranged in advance as the Museum is not staffed every day.
