UM OKKUM
Tey flestu kenna søguna um føroyska íkastið í krígsførsluna undir Øðrum Heimsbardaga: Á vári í 1940 tóku bretskar herdeildir oyggjarnar (sum tá burtur av vóru undir donskum valdi), og føroyska fólkið beyð beinanvegin bretum vælkomnum og fór at samstarva við teir.
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Frammanundan valdaði drúgt vinalag ímillum fólkini í grannatjóðunum báðum, og ígjøgnum øll stríðsárini stuðlaðu føroysku fiskimenninir bretum við áhaldandi at sigla fisk niður á bretska meginlandið.
Føroysku sluppirnar (tær flestu høvdu sín uppruna í Bretlandi og vóru kallaðar dangur. Tað sigst, at navnið kom av, at tær lógu uppankraðar og høvdu ávaringarskelti við orðinum “danger” – vandi – á sær, tí tær vóru í so ringum standi) sigldu vandasjógv í Norðuratlantshavi, fyri fyrstu ferð í søguni undir egnum flaggi. Ikki allir vunnu upp havn í øllum góðum.
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Í 1945, tá friður aftur valdaði í Evropa, nevndi bretski forsætisráðharrin Winston Churchill føroyska leiklutin undir krígnum og lovaði, at Føroyar ongantíð skuldu gloymast í bretska kongsríkinum. Men sum frá er liðið, eru tað støðugt færri fólk í Bretlandi, sum minnast tann lítla, men týdningarmikla leiklutin, ið Føroyar høvdu undir Øðrum Heimsbardaga. Stuðulin frá hesum landi hevði tó alstóran týdning og missurin, tað var fyri, var ómetaliga stórur.
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Málið hjá the Faroe Islands War Memorial Project er at tryggja, at søgan verður endursøgd og varandi fest í minnið.
OUR TEAM
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VANESSA FARMERY
Board Member
I am a new resident in the Faroe Islands as I arrived last summer, to join my Faroese partner. I had visited the islands many times and was familiar with the War Museum at Sørvágur where I learned a little about the history of this country during the British occupation in WWII.
In particular, I was touched by the bravery of the Faroese fishermen who kept on fishing throughout the conflict and took their catch to Britain - thanks to their efforts and sacrifices, fish was always available when other basic foodstuffs were rationed . As the grand-daughter of a Hull trawler skipper, I feel a particular connection with those families who lost their men in the conflict - in fact my grandfather also died, defending the British coast in his own ship which had been redeployed as a minesweeper.
I am an enthusiastic admirer of the National Memorial Arboretum in the UK so, on my most recent visit, I asked about a memorial for the Faroe Islands and was disappointed to find that there wasn't one. The more I thought about it, the more I felt I wanted to change that... and this project was conceived.
INGOLF S. OLSEN
Board Member
I’m a journalist living in Sørvagi in the Vagar island, where Worldwar II set its very distinct
footprints in the form of a military airport built by the British, which is still in use as a now
modern civil airport and the only airport in the Faroe Islands (Vagar airport). However, I
grew up in Glyvrar by the Skalafjørd, in the Eysturoy island, but also there, there were plenty of activities and many soldiers during the war.
My father was one of the Faroese men who ran the great risk of sailing fish to the British
Isles during the war, and so did several other of my family members. For this reason, I grew
up hearing a lot of stories from the war, and this made a great impression on me.
The impact of the British occupation on the Faroese autonomy ideas and rights, with all that it meant then and has come to mean later, has also always been of great interest to me.
In the later years, I have had a certain connection to the War Museum, and this has in only sharpened my interest in World War II, and how its history unfolded in the Faroes and among the Faroese people.
Before I met Vanessa, I had no idea about the National Memorial Arboretum just outside
Birmingham, but having become more acquainted with the history and the purpose of the Arboretum, I agree that it is evident that the Faroe Islands and the Faroese contribution during the war – albeit small in the larger perspective – should have its own memorial here.
ZACH ELLISON
Board Member
I moved to the Faroe Islands in late 2020, I had met my partner in England and moved here during the pandemic to work. My family has been in the military going back generations, I myself and my generation have not, and I feel this is my opportunity to pay my dues to those who have been killed in the war. I was somewhat naive to this country and didn't know anything about it until I had met my partner. I believe there are others who know very little about the Faroe Islands and what they contributed to England during the war, and I would like to help remind those who have forgotten and make sure it will never be forgotten again.