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Author, film researcher and member of the Swedish Military History Commission.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Foreign Legion Vikings

The about forty Swedes in the French Foreign Legion during WWI are a rather elusive bunch, but I just found a new photograph of one of them, together with a Norwegian volunteer.

Readers of Swedes at War will recognize the name Elow Nilson, the Swede in the French Foreign Legion during WWI that was the most well-known at the time. Well, here is a photo of him I have not seen before:


Elow Nilson and the Norwegian H. von Krogh, an engineer from Trondheim, most probably also serving in the Foreign Legion. From the Swedish weekly Vecko-Journalen, April 18, 1915.

Who knows more about von Krogh and how many Norwegians served France in WWI?

UPDATE 1: A friend in Norway just asked me if I had seen this American website with Elow Nilson´s death certificate. Nope, I had not! Thanks, Roger!

4 comments:

  1. H. von Krogh (Hans) may be the one who went down with the ship Simla during WWII

    http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/simla.html

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  2. Hej!

    Tack för en fantastisk bok!

    Jag undrar: finns Elow Nilssons namn på något franskt monument, förutom det i svenska kyrkan i Paris? Jag får aldrig något svar från de franska myndigheterna.

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    Replies
    1. I Gösta Waldemar Jönssons bok "5 års tjänst i franska Främlingslegionen" finns en bild på en minnestavla över de svenskar som stupade under 1:a världskriget. Har för mig att stenen fanns i Sidi Bel Abbès, men det är nog samma namn på den som i svenska kyrkan i Paris.

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  3. There is one more monument for the Swedes fighting for France, this one: http://larsgyllenhaal.blogspot.com/2010/11/foreign-legion-contribution-remembered.html

    I know of no more.

    Kind regards,
    Lars

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