Sub Lt Patrick Dalzel-Job RNVR

Prior to and during the German invasion of Norway, an Englishman, Patrick Dalzel-Job was in Norway - firstly mapping the west coast and then later as part of the British force to Norway during April 1940; subsequently he was involved with the evacuation of Narvik for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross of St Olav by King Haakon.

Dalzel-Job's movements in Norway are fairly well documented, but does anyone hold any views on this officer and what he achieved at Narvik and later with the 54th (Norwegian) Flotilla at Lerwick? I am interested in any views/comments/information on this man particularly those who knew him or of him.

After he returned from a two stint at sea, Dalzel-Job worked with X-Craft and Welmans as part of Lord Mountbatten's Combined Ops he then joined Ian Fleming's crack 30 Assault Unit working for the Admiralty often behind enemy lines from D-Day + 4 onwards. After the cessation of hostilities he returned to Norway to marry the young girl he met in the late 1930s.

My intention is to write up my research into a book on this extraordinary man, but also to include the many Norwegians he worked closely with - mostly RoNN and SOE/Comb.ops

If anyone has any information they would like to come forward with then it will be warmly welcomed and gratefully received, fully documented and formally acknowledged within the manuscript with the permission of the individual/organisation.

Thanks in advance & best wishes

Bob

Hello Bob,

I have a small contribution for you. The man you are interested in is listed in a book about Norwegian decorations given to British nationals during World War II. Your post indicates that you are already aware of his decoration, but just in case it is useful to you, here are the details.

Arne Simenstad, Norwegian War Decorations Awarded to Members of the British Armed Forces 1940-1945 (London: The London Stamp Exchange, 1990, ISBN 0948130636)

page 22 says that Temporary Lieutenant P.D. Job, RNVR in 1942 was awarded the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in the grade of Knight 1st Class, "for valuable services during the Norwegian Campaign."

This indicates that some information about this officer might be found using the last name Job rather than Dalzell-Job as in your posting. You say that Job was assigned to the Royal Norwegian Navy's 54th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla. Was he a British Naval Liaison Officer (BNLO) for this unit, or was his role involving intelligence collection or landing operations?

Mark C. Jones

Hi Mark,

Many thanks for the reply - very helpful. The book you mentioned is one I don't have so I will look in to that as I can see it will prove useful. PDJ served with the Flotilla as some sort of leader, but as yet I cannot exactly clarify his role as he then became involved with 54th missions as well as being directly involved himself with spying on the island of Åtløy. Hopefully, further file releases in the New Year will help me answer that one. One of his jobs was to organise VP missions. I take this to mean Vulnerable Point, but again I need to clarify this in the files.

Thanks again, Mark for your help, it's much appreciated.

Kind regards & best wishes,

Bob

Hi Mark,

just found the book online and have ordered it.

Cheers again

Bob

Bob Pearson wrote:Prior to and during the German invasion of Norway, an Englishman, Patrick Dalzel-Job was in Norway - firstly mapping the west coast and then later as part of the British force to Norway during April 1940; subsequently he was involved with the evacuation of Narvik for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross of St Olav by King Haakon.

Dalzel-Job's movements in Norway are fairly well documented, but does anyone hold any views on this officer and what he achieved at Narvik and later with the 54th (Norwegian) Flotilla at Lerwick? I am interested in any views/comments/information on this man particularly those who knew him or of him.

After he returned from a two stint at sea, Dalzel-Job worked with X-Craft and Welmans as part of Lord Mountbatten's Combined Ops he then joined Ian Fleming's crack 30 Assault Unit working for the Admiralty often behind enemy lines from D-Day + 4 onwards. After the cessation of hostilities he returned to Norway to marry the young girl he met in the late 1930s.

My intention is to write up my research into a book on this extraordinary man, but also to include the many Norwegians he worked closely with - mostly RoNN and SOE/Comb.ops

If anyone has any information they would like to come forward with then it will be warmly welcomed and gratefully received, fully documented and formally acknowledged within the manuscript with the permission of the individual/organisation.

Thanks in advance & best wishes

Bob

Hi Bob
You will find much about Daziel-Job in a Norwegian book named " Tusen glemte menn og historien om den virkelige James Bond" ISBN 82-516-2165-9 by Ivar Enoksen. As a matter of fact the book is mostly about him.

Regards
ervold

Hi Ervold,

Many thanks for your reply, which was timely as I now have this book and attempting to translate it in to English. This is hard going, but making progress, albeit slowly. Hard as it is this is a good way to learn Norwegian. There are some interesting images as well, some of which I have seen, but others are new to me.

Thanks again for replying and best wishes for the New Year.

Mvh

Bob

Bob Pearson wrote:Hi Ervold,

Many thanks for your reply, which was timely as I now have this book and attempting to translate it in to English. This is hard going, but making progress, albeit slowly. Hard as it is this is a good way to learn Norwegian. There are some interesting images as well, some of which I have seen, but others are new to me.

Thanks again for replying and best wishes for the New Year.

Mvh

Bob

Thanks and the same to you.

ervold