Prior to Enterprise embarking the remaining bullion initial uncertainty had lingered about which warship would bring the remaining gold back to the UK. On May 13th a signal was despatched to HMS Devonshire ordering her to Scapa in company with two destroyers, but to also to enquire at Tromsø whether she ‘should transport 20 tons of gold to UK.’ A day later (May 14th) and the order was rescinded stating that ‘HMS Devonshire is to remain in the north for the present’. But it wasn’t until May 21st that the order went to HMS Enterprise to carry out the transportation to the UK.173
15
HMS Enterprise
HMS Enterprise was laid at down John Brown’s shipbuilding yard in June 1918. She was launched in December 1919 and completed in April 1926 at Devonport. She displaced 7,580 tons with a top speed of 33 knots. Initially she was fitted with seven 6in single mounted guns, although a twin 6 in was later fitted to the No I position, three 4 in AA, and two 2 pounder singles. She also carried twelve 21 in torpedo tubes set out on the main deck as four triple banks. During the 1930s Enterprise was also fitted with a catapult and added a Kingfisher aircraft to her inventory.
Until 1934 Enterprise was part of the 4th Cruiser Squadron serving in the East Indies. She was placed in ‘care and maintenance’, but then was given a major refit and restored to the East Indies, departing for the UK in late 1937. During 1938 Enterprise took on the role of ferrying crews to the China Station, but once more returned home to be paid off in September 1938. However, fortunes changed for the cruiser and she was re-employed on Atlantic escort duties during 1939/40. She was then transferred to the Home Fleet for the Norwegian Campaign.
HMS Enterprise
Enterprise had been part of the Narvik force (April operations in the Harstad area) – Lord Cork & Orrery’s naval command of HM Ships: the battleship Warspite; cruisers Southampton, Effingham and Aurora, the aircraft carrier Furious, repair ship Vindictive and various destroyers. Enterprise’s operation with the naval force was a close shave as she was attacked by U65 on April 19th, but was fortuitously saved by a premature fuse. It would not be her last scrape with German forces, particularly the Luftwaffe.
By May 10th, HM anti-aircraft cruisers Cairo, Coventry and Curlew as well as the carrier Ark Royal, which replaced the battered and bomb damaged Furious, had joined the force. The plan was to avoid an opposed landing at Narvik and to bombard the Germans into surrendering and then invade. Time was running out for the Allies, though. The bombardment lasted three hours, but to the dismay of the Allies no surrender flag came and the follow up Allied invasion never materialised. The weather was atrocious at that time, which no doubt contributed significantly to the decision to withhold the landing. Enterprise, for her part, shelled both sides of the harbour entrance.
On May 12th Enterprise, with the sloop Fleetwood and freighter Margot, landed 820 reinforcements near Mo, despite constant air attacks, and then with five destroyers gave fire support for French landings in Herjangsfjord near Narvik.
Enterprise’s short time in Norway had been a dramatic and fraught affair. She was riddled with splinters after surviving the onslaught of around 150 bombs from German air attack and by the time she embarked the gold at Tromsø it is fair to describe her as in poor state, yet she was still seaworthy.
Very little has been recorded about Enterprise’s role in the bullion affair. Her logbook gives few details and despite extensive searches time appears to have taken its toll on those who served with her. However, making use of the War Diary of Vice Admiral JHD Cunningham Commanding First Cruiser Squadron, it has been possible to piece together her time just prior to embarking the gold.174
The diary records the following on May 18th:
At 2400 “ENTERPRISE” returned with Sir Cecil Dormer, British Minister to Norway, General Marion, [and] visiting Norway on behalf of General Gamelin.’
A further entry on May 21st states:
Colonel Otto Rugg, [sic] the Norwegian Commander-in-Chief, arrived in Tromso [sic]. Received Flag Officer, Narvik’s instructions for “ENTERPRISE” to proceed to England shortly and to embark some 19 tons of Norwegian Government Gold then at Tromso [sic].
During the early hours of the following day, May 22nd, the gold was embarked on Enterprise, although she did not sail immediately. Instead she remained fastened to her station in harbour taking on food and water and generally being prepared in readiness for departure. Then, just prior to midnight on May 23rd Enterprise’s anchors were raised. Crews and control parties were placed at the ready and a little after midnight she slipped away from Tromsø harbour immediately commencing a zigzag course for Harstad arriving there at 03:15. A short time later she secured herself alongside an oiler. At 06:45 five aircraft were spotted, but strangely it wasn’t until an hour later that Enterprise was attacked by German bombers. Seven bombs fell, but fortunately all missed and the ‘all clear’ was sounded at 07:55.
Another air raid commenced at 10:23 but this lasted only 20 minutes before the aircraft were seen off by Enterprise’s defences and with little taste for a fight the Luftwaffe hastily departed. The bombers had fortunately missed their opportunity as shortly afterwards an ammunition ship secured alongside Enterprise to re-supply her. Aircraft were once again spotted; no attacks commenced, but to err on the side of caution the ammunition ship quickly cast off.
What was left of the morning hours passed uneventfully and just after midday Enterprise recommenced her zig-zag journey back to the UK varying her speed between 15 and 25 knots. She passed various trawlers during her passage as well as HM destroyers Bedouin and Foxhound. Her initial orders were to make for the safe anchorage of Scapa Flow, which she duly reached at 18:15 on May 26th. Provision boats were soon fastened alongside and she commenced taking on water and food. Enterprise then remained at her berth (A1) until 16:00 on the 27th when she left Scapa and made for Devonport. This was a risky trip to make as the other two cruisers Galatea and Glasgow had made for Rosyth and Greenock in Scotland respectively. Enterprise’s course took her down the west coast of the UK and unlike Glasgow she was without destroyer escort and in a poor ship state due to bomb and splinter damage. There was no ‘stand down’ and crews remained on constant alert, but the weather was fair and only one unidentified aircraft was spotted after leaving Scapa. The remainder of her journey south proved uneventful. Enterprise, despite her condition, made reasonable time, docking at Devonport (Plymouth) at 06:20 on May 29th and according to the ship’s log: 09:35 ‘finished disembarking special cargo’. Enterprise had valiantly played her part.175
The bullion was immediately transferred to box rail vans belonging to the Great Western Railway (GWR) and with armed policeman escorting the bullion the train headed for London arriving, again without incident, at London’s Paddington Station whereby the bullion was at once taken by covered lorries to the strong vaults of the Bank of England.176
There is a very small postscript to this affair, which again highlights the confusion that existed during that traumatic time, particularly as the evacuation of Norway was about to commence. HMS Devonshire was still at Tromsø awaiting the embarkation of King Haakon when news reached the cruiser that there was a further shipment of material to be made before sailing. In the War diary of the Vice Admiral Commanding, First Cruiser Squadron he notes on the June 6th that:177
At 2355 I received a message from my Liaison Officer to the effect that evacuation was now practically certain, that arrangements had been made to embark 14 tons of bullion and that present weather at Tromso [sic] was favourable due enemy air activity.
The diary later notes: ‘The bullion subsequently proved non-existent’.
Interestingly, the confusion spawned a rumour that persisted into the present and years later the rumour reached the author that hidden somewhere in Tromsø was a substantial amount of gold that should have been evacuated on Devonshire. Whilst not wishing to dampen the hopes of treasure seekers it would appear on this occasion that the rumour is just that.
16
The
‘Sealed Cargo’ Arrives in the UK
Prior to the gold arriving at the Bank of England, plans were being put into place ready for the acceptance of the consignments, or so the Norwegians thought. Messrs Raeder and Sunde, the Norwegian representatives, had visited the Bank of England to request that the bank make arrangements for the transportation and acceptance of the bullion, but curiously unknown to them the first consignment was already in the UK having been transported by HMS Galatea. Arriving at Rosyth in Scotland on April 26th, the bullion was immediately transferred to railway trucks and plans set in motion to rail the bullion to London. The boxes had been delivered by Galatea sealed and in good condition, except for box numbered 551, which had had its seal broken. All the boxes were marked NB. The instructions from the Bill of Lading were clear:
To be forwarded to the Bank of England for the Norwegian Government in the care of Mr Øyvind Lorentzen together with the Norwegian Minister in London.
On the 3rd of May 1940 a letter was sent to The Chief Cashier at the Bank of England from the Foreign Exchange Office declaring that:
£2¼ million gold coin has arrived at the Bank and has been set aside for the Norwegian Government. A further ‘23 tons will be brought to the Clyde in the next few days’ and ‘there are some 11 tons more to trace’.
The letter went on to debate the merits of insurance, but that they were unsure if the gold on the other ships would arrive at all inferring it could be lost en route. It also stated the Royal Navy was keen to hand over the metal as soon as possible and…‘this may mean dumping them [the bullion] on the quay pending collection.’ The Royal Bank of Scotland was to undertake the collection, but the letter warned that it might be some time before a bank representative would be on the spot! It was decided in the end not to insure the bullion as the authorities had no idea of the bullion’s port of departure, the type of naval vessel involved or if it was boxed (although Galatea’s arrival and off-loading of the bullion must have given them a clue). A final, and probably the most pressing reason, was they wanted to avoid publicity. Insuring the bullion could have led to breaches of security and it was decided that Police escorts would be sufficient insurance from port to the Bank of England. On May 6th HMS Glasgow brought her consignment in.
Foreign Secretary Koht noted in his book:178
We entered the Firth of Clyde in the afternoon of Saturday 4th May, and the cruiser docked at Greenock. There, men from Bank of Scotland came onboard and took away the Norwegian gold that had been carried over by Glasgow. It was sent to Bank of England in London – and the jokers there asked how on earth we had managed to convince the Scots to give the gold away again, after they had got hold of it.
Meanwhile, to assist in the banking of the bullion, the Norwegian Prime Minister, Johan Nygaardsvold put into place a statement of attorney. It reads:
POWER OF ATTORNEY
--------------------
I, Johan Nygaardsvold, Prime Minister of Norway, in the name of the Norwegian Government, hereby authorise and empower Mr Øyvind Lorentzen, together with the Norwegian Minister and Legation in London to deposit in the United Kingdom the gold belonging to the Bank of Norway which is to be carried in British Warships, and to exercise the rights of the bank relative to the said gold.
Norway, 22 April 1940.
(S) Johan Nygaardsvold
Letters containing information about the Norwegian bullion were shuttling backwards and forwards between various government departments and the Bank of England. Mr Laverack of the Bank of England penned one such letter:
The consignments were landed in Scotland [from HM ships Galatea & Glasgow]. We received short notice from the Admiralty of these arrivals so the Royal Bank of Scotland, London, (Mr Whyte – General Manager) were asked to contact the naval vessels and arrange to escort the metal to London.
The first consignment arrived at Rosyth on the 26th April. The Edinburgh Branch detailed Messrs’ Small and Sutherland (Inspectors) to bring the boxes to London, travelling overnight. A second large consignment (795 boxes) arrived at Greenock about 4pm on Saturday, 4th May and Messrs’ David F. Low and James Fraser (of the Glasgow Branch) took over the metal: they arrived at the Bullion Office nearly 30 hours later. The joint managers at Glasgow, Messrs’ Robert L. Mudie and J.A. Bogie, met the naval authorities at Greenock and gave every assistance.
The London, Midland & Scottish Railway were particularly helpful with their transport arrangements. Messrs’ T.W. Royle (Chief Operating Manager), R.O. Bannister (Assistant Passenger Trains Department) and – Knott (Cartage Inspector) took an active part in the work. I would add that Mr Bannister maintained continuous contact with Edinburgh from his home address during Saturday and Sunday 4th and 5th May, and passed to me all information as to the progress of the second consignment.
Signed: F.W.R Laverack
7th May 1940
NB Glasgow’s gold left for the South at 03:40 Sunday morning. It should have arrived at Euston at 15:30 next day, but delays meant arrival was at 18:35. The bullion was stowed away in Bank of England without incident by 22:00 – receipts given.
No sooner had the gold from Galatea and Glasgow been deposited within the vaults of the Bank of England than the serious business of counting began. The following is a memo issued by the Bank of England accounting for the two deposits:
MEMORANDUM
TO THE CHIEF CASHIER
NORWEGIAN GOLD
1. Both consignments of Norwegian gold have now been opened. The approximate value is as follows:-
Consignment
No. 1
£2 m.
“
No. 2
£6½ m.
£8½ m.
and represents 1,141 bars and 2,579 bags of gold coin.
2. It has not been possible yet to weigh any of the gold but the work will be commenced as soon as possible. In this connection I would mention that each bag is sealed and bears a label, and I would like to have a ruling as to whether the bags are to be opened and the contents net weighed. If this is done the fine gold contents can be set aside as sundry gold coin.
7th May 1940
Nonetheless, despite the memo recording the consignments and their values not all the gold was safe in the hands of the Bank of England. Aside from Enterprise’s consignment, which had not yet arrived, a bagful of coins had been stolen whilst the bullion was being embarked at Molde. A Royal Marine, taking advantage of a damaged keg, managed to smuggle a bag of 1000 coins away. The coins were carefully hidden in one of the rear gun turrets of the cruiser ready to be collected when the ship docked. The offending marine, keen to keep an eye on his loot, also manned that particular turret. It must have been with some relief for the marine when Glasgow berthed at Greenock and her load of the bullion disembarked. Unfortunately for the Royal Marine word was spreading around the ship that some of the gold had disappeared, but no one knew who the culprit was or how much had been stolen. In the haste to get the bullion away from Molde there had been no time to make an accurate count. It was known that one keg was broken, but it was not known how many bags should have been in the keg. However, enough suspicion had been raised for the Police to be informed.
Despite lengthy investigations by the author it would appear little in the way of official records exist to describe events, but what is known is that the Liverpool Police eventually recovered 704 gold coins of the ‘Type 20 Koranas’. The action by the Liverpool Police strongly indicates that the Royal Marine had somehow managed to smuggle the gold off Glasgow whereby he made for Liverpool. The bag originally contained 1000 coins meaning that 296 coins were, and still are, missing; in fact the missing coins were never recovered. The Police investigation subsequently revealed that the culprit was a long serving three badge Royal Marine named as Saunders.179
The following message was sent:
Copy
Secret
Addressed: Admiralty.
From: Glasgow
Your 1344/7. 704 Gold Hungarian coins inscribed 20
Koranas (sic) were stolen from a keg by Marine A.E. Saunders during the shipping of the Norwegian Bullion in H.M.S. GLASGOW on 29th April, and have since been recovered. In accordance with instructions from Flag Officer-in-Charge, Liverpool, the Norwegian Consul in Liverpool was informed and all coins have been handed over to him and a receipt obtained. Marine Saunders was awarded 90 days detention summarily. Written reports have been forwarded to Flag Officer-in-Charge, Liverpool.
…………………………………………………
It is worth noting the dates from the letters and memos that the gold had been missing for well over a month. It is not recorded what Saunders had done with the coins, but rumours abounded amongst the crew on Glasgow that Saunders had tried to sell the coins to a pawnbroker and that the shopkeeper, suspicious of such a large amount of coins, had promptly called the Police. Their quick attendance had supposedly caught Marine Saunders red-handed. Subsequent research has been unable to confirm or deny this rumour. It is also not recorded what happened to the coins after they had been handed over to the Norwegian authorities although the following memo gives an insight on how the matter was dealt with.
From: The Agent,
Bank of England Branch,
Liverpool 2.
6th June 1940
To: The Principal
Branch Banks Office,
Bank of England, EC2
GOLD
Mr. Hill, the Deputy Chief Clerk, reports as follows:
“Concerning the bag of gold which was the cause of the Norwegian Consul’s visit to the Bank yesterday, I was informed this afternoon by Mr. Glover, the Deputy Chief Constable that the Police were not prepared to give any information concerning the circumstances under which the gold came into their possession.180
Gold Run: The Rescue of Norway’s Gold Bullion from the Nazis, 1940 Page 22