| Lest we forget - Poul Hansen | |||
Poul Hansen,
whom we met in Normandy June 5th/6th 2004, carrying his Red Beret
from the Parachute Regiment, was a Danish and British hero. Poul
was a real Paratrooper and a very brave man. Unfortunately
he died shortly after his trip with his Danish Pathfinder
friends to our jump event in Normandy.
Poul was 18 years of age when Denmark was occupied in April 1940 by the Germans. He was a young sailor and being at sea when the occupation came gave him the opportunity to escape to England. Poul and the other Danes volunteered to serve in the British fleet in the hope of one day securing the freedom of their homeland. He was recruited by the secret army, Special Operations Executives (SOE) and was trained in the United Kingdom. There he was trained as a Paratrooper so that he could parachute into the occupied countries with the aim of sabotaging the enemies war effort In 1943 he jumped into Denmark where he made contact with the Danish resistance movement. All that spring and summer he made magnificently brave and daring acts of sabotage against German facilities. During the day he was hiding in the parks of Copenhagen and at night the sky was lit up by his explosions.
Partly due to his tremendous
efforts the German occupation of Denmark failed. At the same
time he and his fellow partisans saved the lives of thousands of
allied airmen by ensuring they did not have to fly over and bomb heavily
defended Enemy installations because the sabotage had been so successful
at eliminating them already.
The heat was on Poul. The Gestapo was after him and close on his heels. The SOE considered he had done his duty for his country and every effort was made to get him to safety. Eventually he made it to neutral Sweden. This did not suit Poul. He wanted to continue the fight for freedom and was allowed to join the Danish Liberation army that was being assembled in Sweden . The plan was for the Danes to join forces with the allies if there was to be an allied landing force planned for Denmark. After the war as befits a man with his talents Poul became a Parachute Instructor in The Parachute Regiment. He was a man who was never afraid of a challenge.
When he was in Normandy
June 2004 he was suffering from cancer. Poul
and his wife did not inform anyone of this. They wanted Paul to be back
among Paratroopers. Paul didn't
complain even though he must have been in terrible pain. His
wife later said that it was one of the finest days in his life, when
he was asked to hand over the diplomas to the Paratroopers and Parachutist from
Pathfinder who jumped into Normandy on
the 2004 anniversary.
Paul received many medals but the award Pathfinder gave him by saluting him in Normandy was one he really appreciated. At his funeral Fred, Paul and Jimmy saluted him on behalf of all Pathfinders . He will be missed.
By Poul Monggaard
Pathfinder Denmark
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