Old Pictures from Stavanger

Below are two pictures from Stavanger taken at the end of World War II. They were taken by the late corporal Leonard Francis Ellis, who was with the RAF air sea rescue service. He was part of the crew of a high speed launch No. 2559 which was based in and around Stavanger.

The top picture is from Stavanger's western quayside. You can see the Valberg Tower in the background. The children are presumably eating chocolates - a gift from the British. 

The lower picture was taken when Norway's Crown Prince Olav visited Stavanger in July, 1945 - after the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany ended (May, 1945). Seldom have so many people gathered in front of Stavanger's Cathedral.

The following information was provided to us from the owner of the picture: "Below is a picture from Stavanger Harbour, taken during the 2nd World War, in 1939. The original is located in Maryland, USA and belongs to Arthur Andersen. It is 24 x 36 inches and one can see a submarine (probably Nazi) in the lower left. The photo is most likely American (possibly an intelligence photo?) and a US merchant ship is scratched out of the negative 1/3rd from the top on the left. Arthur's grandfather, Osmund Osmundsen, got this photo somehow - maybe through business connections. You can read more about Osmund Osmundsen here."

The timing of the photo has however been debatted, since at least one of the buildings that appears here (Dreyer-bygget) was not completed before 1948/49.

The picture is at least 60 years old no matter how you look at it.

You can find more old photos in the Facebook group "Stavanger før i tiå"