Bamse (A Very Large St Bernard dog) was owned by Norwegian naval captain Erling Hafto, in charge of the watchship Thorodd.
In 1940 Captain Hafto and his ship, with Bamse among the crew, came to Britain with the king of Norway. The Thorodd was converted into a minesweeper and stationed in Dundee for the rest of the war.
Whenever the ship went into battle Bamse took up his watchdog position at the foremost guntower and remained there until hostilities ended. He was also the crew’s escort whenever they went ashore and, if he was not allowed to go ashore with the sailors, he would take matters into his own hands and catch the bus. When the ship was based in Montrose, Bamse had his own bus permit around his neck and went from pub to pub to gather any late crew members, and would stand up for any of his men if they were involved in a fight.
While the Thorodd was visiting Montrose harbour nine-year-old Bamse became seriously ill and was put to sleep by a vet. It was said hundreds of schoolchildren and the crew of eight Norwegian ships accompanied Bamse to his grave, which has been looked after by locals ever since.
Posthumously, the dog was awarded the Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross, and in 1984 received the Norges Hundeorden, a special award for dogs.
In 1984 and 1994 for the 40th and 50th anniversary, a Norwegian crew arrived in Montrose to pay their respects at Bamse’s graveside. This year was no exception, with Lieutenant Commander Oistein Jensen and 10 of his crew travelling from the submarine Utvaer to be present for the 60th anniversary ceremony organised by Montrose Port Authority and GlaxoSmithKline. Expressing his pleasure to be at the event, Lt Cdr Jensen said the story of Bamse “stands as a symbol of cohesion, comradeship and core values which are as important today as then.”
Another special guest at the event was Captain Hafto’s daughter Vigdis and grandson Steinar, who both made a trip from Norway. Wreaths were laid on the grave by Lt Cdr Jensen and the Hafto family, before a lone piper played a lament and those gathered were led in prayer by Rev Graham Bruce.
As the band of the Arbroath Sea Cadets played, Harriet, a St Bernard owned by Alison Stedman of Inverkeilor, re-enacted some of the story of Bamse.
Cache Site Co-ords are:- N56'A2.2CE W002'27.B2F
Cache is a small round lock and lock container which can hold small finds.
Contents
Balloon
Whistle
Watergun
Parachute Man
Yo-Yo
There are A rectangles on the side of the Small Lighthouse(N56'42.233 W002'27.626).
You need to take B steps down to the red door.
There are C drainpipes on the side of the Lighthouse.
When approaching the Grave of Bamse, you need to take D steps from the concrete path to reach the wooden walkway.
B+A=E
E-C=F
