Journal | Denmark and The United Kingdom (an indirect Ukraine Dispatch 31)

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Part I

BEING British, there is a very close bond between The United Kingdom and Denmark, indeed all of the Scandinavian Countries and the Baltic States. The Sea links all of us. We are all maritime peoples. Our history reaches back thousands of years.

The Danelaw (translated from the Old English word Dena Lagu or the Danish Danelagen) is an 11th-century name for an area of Northern and Eastern England that was under the control of the Danish Viking empire (or Danes, or Norsemen) from the late 9th century until the early 11th century. It formally ended in 954 AD.

I write this Dispatch for another reason, too. This website is directly linked to Denmark through the website’s IT Consultancy, and because a young and burgeoning branch of my family is enjoying life and freedom on one of the beautiful islands in the Danish Archipelago.

Part II

WE LIVE in turbulent times, so it is worth noting The United Kingdom’s official Government website statement regarding relations between Denmark and The United Kingdom, and between Danes and Brits.

“We work with Denmark for a positive European future, building economic growth and trade. We improve the strong relationship between our countries and work together to reduce global conflict, increase trade and investment, and to beat threats to our national security.

We work closely with Denmark to respond to minimise the threat from terrorism, building a strong and stable bilateral relationship and on creating peace and security. We explain UK policies to the Danish government, non-government organisations and media. We also report Danish views and policies to the British government.

We support British defence interests in Denmark, including developing links between the British and Danish militaries. We deal with trade and investment issues including helping British companies do business in Denmark and Danish companies do business with Britain.

The embassy works closely with the British Council Denmark on educational and cultural issues and with VisitBritain which deals with tourist enquiries for the UK.”

— Denmark and the UK - GOV.UK (link at end of this Dispatch)

A Maritime View ~ The United Kingdom, Denmark and the North Sea

Part III

A most interesting Paper was sent to me this week relating to Denmark and the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany, as too, was Norway. The Paper actually also reminded me of how Danes and Norsemen had a very distinct way of expressing their opposition and non-compliance. They would deliberately turn their backs upon their occupier. The occupier was given that treatment which hits home below the belt … in effect a statement that proclaims silence and invisibility. This was an incredible act of defiance by the civil populations of both countries, against whom terrible reprisals could be exacted without warning.

Given that Danes were forced into war service by the occupation forces, let us remember that many Danes, having escaped, then served with the British Armed Forces, and in particular with the Royal Air Force, eventually being granted permission to wear the distinctive shoulder flash Danmark or Denmark.

THE DANISH SHOULDER FLASH, by Mikkel Plannthin

This superb article is published by the RAF PATHFINDERS ARCHIVE.

My father’s brother Sergeant-Pilot Kenneth Ernest Webb RAF VR (1921-1943) served with RAF Bomber Command. His combat service was relatively short, being killed in action over Nazi Germany on 16-17 April 1943.

My mother’s brother, Flight Sergeant Flight Engineer Harry Alfred Marshall RAF VR (1922-1945) had a much longer service, being part of the elite RAF Path Finder Force, also killed in action over Nazi Germany on 16-17 January 1945.

I am indebted to the RAF Pathfinders Archive, for I am constantly learning new perspectives on the lives of both my uncles, and especially my maternal uncle.

The Danish RAF-pilot Alfred Greve Frandsen on the left and Captain Michael W. Iversen at the celebration of the Danish Constitution Day in 1942. The photo was arranged for publicity purposes; the Danish flash was not officially allowed by the RAF until 1944, but it was important for the Danish Council to show the Danish support for the Allied cause. Danish National Museum”, FHM204344

Part IV

I’m reminded of this same resilience today as we watch with horror the events in Ukraine.

At this moment, we have ten thousand Ukrainian troops in Britain, training with the British Armed Forces, returning immediately to the front line for the approaching Winter Counter-Offensive by the Ukraine Armed Forces. Between June - September 2022, the United Kingdom trained nearly 5,000 Ukrainian early recruits under Operation Interflex, a program that aims to support 10,000 new Ukrainian soldiers within a year across a network of British training camps. It reminds me of my uncle, whose name I bear, being trained by the United States Army Air Corps to qualify as a pilot with the Royal Air Force at Craig Field, Alabama between October 1941-April 1942.

Let us stand shoulder to shoulder, as always.

It matters not that The United Kingdom is not a member of the European Union. Politics aside (and I find myself rolling my eyes in exasperation at all politicians in all countries) we are still very much part of Europe just as we always have been.

And we are in the vanguard, in assisting Ukraine.

Part V

We must stand resolute, determined, and undefeated against a ruthless enemy who has looked across the border - over which that enemy had no right to cross - with envy and hatred, thought nothing of the death and destruction it has brought upon Ukraine since 24 February 2022, and continues to do so with ever greater ferocity, motivated by just one thought:

The Tyrant

What you’ve got, I want for myself.

And I am going to take it

no matter what you

say, think or do!

Such is the mindset of the tyrant in every century.

Part VI

The tyrant’s light flickers in the fast-moving airflow,
the draught as when a door briefly opens,
and then is snuffed out and is no more.

Even though the light seems permanent, unassailable,
leaving us all with that hopeless feeling
that we cannot extinguish it,
we cannot seek the safety of darkness …

… when it is finally snuffed out,
we look back and find
that along life’s timeline,
The tyrant is the tiniest blip in history,
Even though that blip is

Ugly,
Poisonous,
Destructive,
Self-serving,
An Aberration,
A Stench,
The Fart of debased human nature.

Denmark and the UK - GOV UK

27 October 2022
All Rights Reserved

© Kenneth Thomas Webb 2022

European Map is a jpg Image by usgs-inNzGtPrkHk of Unsplash via Squarespace