During my May 2014 trip to National Archives II I searched their file on Norwegian helpers but did not find any list of Norwegians. However, I did find the Appendix C of the escape and evasion report of David C. Besbris. I have posted it below because it might be of interest. It is a cleaner, retyped report of his experiences in Norway and is more readable than any of the documents in his E&E Report No. 453. Click on a page to enlarge it for easier reading. For advice on escaping from Norway, click here.
Names of Besbris’ Norwegian Helpers
- Borklid, Kjetil
- Borklid, Salve
- Borklid, Severin
- Christofsen
- “Dahl, Dr.”
- Frijer, Dr.
- Jouvestal, Lars
- Jouvestal, Ordne
- Nilsson, Arne
- Pytten, Ordne
- Sonseness (Sonnes), Dak
- Sorenson
- Stangel (?)
- Svenssen, Sven
- Thorsland, Hans
Besbris’ Appendix C
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
WWII Netherlands Escape Lines 
Just recently found out that the Norwegians who initially helped Lt. Bresbis were relatives of my family! I was forwarded an email from one of them. He said the flyer they helped was named “David”. They still have his flying helmet. I am waiting for more information from them, but this is very exciting. I haven’t read through his E&E report yet, but I am looking forward to it. What is ironic is that one of the members of the family who came to America also became a navigator and was also assigned to the 92nd B.G. He lost his life exactly a month after this mission while returning from a mission to Bremen.
I know you may never see this but I felt that I needed to respond to your comment. I am the daughter of the late Col. David C. Besbris. I appreciate your relatives for their care of my father. As my father used to say, “It is the Norwegian people who are the true heroes of my story”.
Dear Ava, I was startled to get a reply to the post I made on this website. Thank you for replying! Yes, almost two years ago I saw the photo of your father’s flying helmet and became engrossed in his story. Since then I’ve also been doing some other things, so the story of your dad’s exodus from Norway into Sweden got put on the back burner. However, I do want to pick it up again and hopefully you might have some information that could help. Please email me at: markimlor@comcast.net Thanks again! Mark
Hi – I just found some war papers from your fad here in Norway. Send me an email an I will forward them to you.