Watch: Service held at Shetland Bus memorial on 80th anniversary of VE Day

8 May 2025 16:43

A man kneels to lay a wreath at a stone memorial surrounded by people during an outdoor remembrance ceremony.

Norwegian ambassador to the UK Tore Hattrem laying a wreath at the Shetland Bus memorial in Scalloway on the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Photo: Dave Donaldson

A POIGNANT ceremony was held at the Shetland Bus memorial in Scalloway this afternoon (Thursday) to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

There was a speech from Norwegian ambassador to the UK Tore Hattrem, who spoke of the close relationship between Shetland and his country.

“In a world that still sees conflict and oppression, our unity matters more than ever,” he said.

The public service was held in front of the Norway naval vessel KNM Storm, which lay off the waterfront.

Scalloway was the base for the Shetland Bus operation of World War Two, which played a vital role in the resistance against the occupation of Norway by Nazi-Germany by transporting resistance fighters, agents and refugees across the sea.

A crowd gathers for a remembrance ceremony on a street, with people holding flags and wearing uniforms, facing a stone memorial and a speaker.

A service was held at the Shetland Bus memorial in Scalloway on the 80th anniversary of VE Day. Photo: Dave Donaldson

Meanwhile Fishermen’s Mission’s local area officer Aubrey Jamieson also referenced ongoing conflicts elsewhere in world, such as the Middle East and Ukraine.

He said he prayed for a “just resolution and a quick end to hostilities”.

Shetland Bus Friendship Society chairman Charlie Grant described the Shetland Bus operation as a “beacon of hope” for people in occupied Norway.

He also paid tribute to the support and friendship the people of Norway have given to Shetland over the years.

Wreaths were laid at the memorial – which honours the 44 lives lost in the Shetland Bus operation – by a range of representatives.

A modern naval patrol vessel with camouflage paint sails near a grassy shoreline with hills in the background.

The Norwegian naval vessel KNM Storm was present at the service at the Shetland Bus memorial. Photo: Shetland News

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Meanwhile speaking earlier in the day at a memorial event in Lerwick, ambassador Hattrem said the United Kingdom played an “extremely important role for Norway” in the Second World War.

Watch a video of the ambassador speaking at the war memorial in Lerwick below.