Andreas Bertnes. From the book Vestfold i Krig by Egil Christophersen, courtesy of http://www.slektsdata.no.
Today marks the 100th birthday of Andreas Olaf Bertnes, LA6R, of Sandefjord, Norway. We previously reported the 75th anniversary of his death in 1941. He was arrested in Norway by the occupying Germans for illegally using a radio transmitter.
The QST item we originally reported noted that he was 25 years old at the time of his death and a medical student. Based upon that information, we assumed that he was born in about 1916. It appears, however, that he was younger than reported at the time of his execution. According to the Norwegian government’s publication “Våre falne 1939-1945” (Our Fallen 1939-1945), he was born a hundred years ago today, 21 October 1919. He was the son of Dr. Olaf Bernes, born 1873, and Dorothea Saxlund, born 1885.
Andreas gave his life for his country on 4 December 1941. He was one of four amateur radio operators executed during the war for their resistance activities. He had been active on the air before the war. He was listed in the “calls heard” listings by an English SWL on 20 meters in November 1937 and and April 1938.
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