bantamforgot Posted 24 April , 2009 Share Posted 24 April , 2009 Reading a book on the war I came across a note regarding a Swedish,German, Persian force at Hamadah in 1915 ? Did the Swedes take an active part in ww1 , even on a limited scale, I am aware that initially they supported the German cause.? Colin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted 24 April , 2009 Share Posted 24 April , 2009 Dear boysoldier, The Swedes provided the officers for the Persian Gendarmerie. I think they stayed after the war and competed with the British sponsored South Persia Rifles. They were, I think, considered pro German. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bantamforgot Posted 24 April , 2009 Author Share Posted 24 April , 2009 Many thanks Greg, reading of the various neutrals position in ww1 is a fascinating subject. Cheers. Colin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarsA Posted 24 April , 2009 Share Posted 24 April , 2009 As far as I know this was a very small number of swedish officers with german affiliations that served. This kind of service was discouraged by the swedish government. The number of swedish seamen in british service far outnumbered this, and some 300 died in the Mercantile Marine. Add to this the number of swedes in the US Army (Some 25000+, among them my granduncle), the number in the canadian army and a few also in the british army. One, Carl Gustaf Lowe served and died in Gallipoli, Bror Blixen (Karen Blixens husband) served in East africa, as did Eric Von Otter MC, who later died of black water fever in Turkhana in british service. One swede, Ivor Thord-Gray (Ivar Thord Hallström), commanded the 11 Northumberland Fusiliers in France. Kind regards, Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bantamforgot Posted 24 April , 2009 Author Share Posted 24 April , 2009 Thanks Lars. I wasn't in anyway trying to "knock" the Swedish , I was just perplexed when I read of the force as mentioned above, especially in Mesopotamia. As Greg mentioned in post 2 , plus your post these appear to answer my question .I was aware of the seamen etc. however the mention of the "Swedish,German, Persian force" was perplexing. Regards. Colin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarsA Posted 24 April , 2009 Share Posted 24 April , 2009 Colin, I did not perceive any "knocking" in your post, On checking a bit further, there was a larger number of swedish officers in Persian service before the war, and they stayed for a while until ordered hom in early 1915. ATB /Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bantamforgot Posted 24 April , 2009 Author Share Posted 24 April , 2009 Thanks again Lars, so Greg hit the nail on the head with post 2 ? Regards. Colin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete1052 Posted 24 April , 2009 Share Posted 24 April , 2009 Sweden used to be the home of a community of ethnic Germans which went back to the days of the Hanseatic League. A part of my family left Danzig in circa 1750 and moved to Stockholm. From there they moved to the U.S. in 1850. According to our recollection the family did not intermarry with Swedes. There is a piece of furniture with my family's mark in the royal palace in Stockholm and the ancestor of mine who moved to America was a graduate of the University of Upsulla. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarsA Posted 24 April , 2009 Share Posted 24 April , 2009 Colin, Post number 2 is correct as to what happened before WWI. It seems it dates back to 1910, when the british government demanded that the Persian government should uphold order and secure road communication. If not a british force shoulddo it. The persians were allowed to ask a european government, approved by the british and russians on this. This led to Sweden accepting and sending officers to train a gendarmerie in 1911. Higher wages and ranks was an incentive, and a force of 38 Swedes travelled to Persia for this. 16 reserve officers ignored the recall in february 1915 and stayed on in german service. /Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bantamforgot Posted 24 April , 2009 Author Share Posted 24 April , 2009 Query resolved Lars, thanks to you & Greg. An insignificant query I know but it just made me question the fact , it did seem out of context in ww1 , in the area mentioned in particular , thanks to you both. Regards. Colin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushfighter Posted 25 April , 2009 Share Posted 25 April , 2009 Hello boysoldier I posted a little background information about Persia 8 months ago here: http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...mp;#entry995211 It includes an image of a Swedish Gendarmerie officer in Persia. Harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bantamforgot Posted 25 April , 2009 Author Share Posted 25 April , 2009 Good morning Harry, Yet more information ! I had a look at your post which I must have missed & it is indeed welcomed , along with Lars , Greg & yourself I have the complete picture . Many thanks. Colin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark in Staffs Posted 7 April Share Posted 7 April As mentioned above a large number of Scandinavians served in the Mercantile Marine during the war and lived in GB throughout, many married with British wives. Would they have to be registered as aliens even if coming from a neutral or friendly country ? This also applies to any "foreigner" serving on a British ship; I've found Americans, Belgians, Russians, Spanish etc. I've found a few who became naturalized British citizens, but most, it appears, did not so if they died in the sinking of a British ship on which they served as crew they presumably would not form part of the tally of British dead but Swedish, Danish, Norwegian etc. My self imposed task of naming every Briton killed or died on war service is complicated by trying to define just who was British. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now