Eleven Norwegian seamen who had lain in unmarked graves in Cardiff since the Second World War have finally been named and commemorated after more than 80 years.
Records showed that 19 Norwegian naval and merchant sailors were buried at Cardiff’s Cathays Cemetery during or after the war. However, only eight graves were ever marked with headstones, leaving the remaining graves unmarked and unidentified. In 2025 the remaining graves were identified and new headstones placed.
On 7 October 2026, a service was held by the graves to commemorate those who gave their lives in the war effort. Three Swedes – whose country was officially neutral but who chose to serve alongside their Scandinavian neighbours in the Norwegian Merchant Navy – were finally honoured as well as eight Norwegians with a dipping of the British and Norwegian standards.
They were:
Toralf Ansgar Torbjørnsen, UMM (Conscripted Motor Operator, Royal Norwegian Navy)
For Norge
Birger Olaf Østensen
Ferdinand Cornelius Torgesen
Kittil Myrland
Olaf Berner Olsen
Jakob Jakobsen
Johan Arvid Olsson
Oscar Ferdinand Johnson
Peder Pedersen
Harald Johan Bliks
Ossian Johanson
The service was led by Geir Øy, a priest at the Norwegian Seamen’s Church in London. He was supported by the Bishop of Llandaff, the Rt Rev Mary Stallard. The Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Cllr Michael Michael, also attended. Serving and retired members of the armed forces and the Royal British Legion laid wreaths. Several members of the Norwegian community in Wales, as well as visitors attending the Norwegian and Scandinavian Heritage Conference in Cardiff, joined the service.
Haakon Vinje, the head of the Norwegian War Graves Service, Krigsgraver, spoke of the sacrifices of the eleven men, among almost 4,000 Norwegian sailors to have perished on active duty in the Second World War. Norway’s merchant navy paid an exceptionally high price, losing more than 700 vessels.
Krigsgraver launched a special effort in 2010 to try and identify the unmarked graves of Norwegian servicemen around the world. The job became somewhat easier with the widespread digitisation of records, which made them more accessible and easy to search. The effort was stepped up during the pandemic, with volunteers trying to link the names of missing servicemen and sailors in the extensive Norwegian merchant navy with suspected burial sites.
As well as the eleven unidentified graves at Cathays, there were known to be at least four at Danygrayg Cemetery in Swansea, three in Port Talbot, and four at St Woolos Cemetery in Newport. Several have subsequently been identified and marked.
