Grand Cross Military Division 1906 (From a private USA collection)
At the inception of the Order of St Olav in 1847, 12 Military versions of different classes were bestowed representing 33% of the total. This ratio was maintained until 1905 -1910 when the awarded Military versions of the order started to decline and especially for the period between World War I and World War II.
Until 1980 the Chief of the Norwegian Armed Forces reportedly automatically received the Grand Cross. After 1980 the Chief of the Armed Forces receives the Commander 1st Class (with Star). The last Chief of the Armed Forces bestowed the Grand Cross was General Herman Zeiner Gundersen in 1977.
Norwegian Vice Admirals and General Lieutenants receive Commander Class II (without the Star). The Grand Cross Military version has been bestowed to 29 persons since 1910.
ST. OLAV GRAND CROSS CLASS MILITARY
(Sorted by country and year of award - more updates pending)
Norway
Ole Hansen, General Lieutenant, 1910
Odd Bull, General, 1970
Folke Hauger-Johannessen, Admiral, Chief of the Armed Forces, 1972
Herman Fredrik Zeiner Gundersen, General, Chief of the Armed Forces, 1977
Ingvald Mareno Smith-Kielland, Major, Master of the Royal Household, 1991
Kaare Langlete, Colonel, Master of the Royal Household, 1993
Knut Magne Hagen, Lieutenant Colonel, The King's Secretary, 2000
United Kingdom
Awarded to the following Members of the Armed Forces
of the United Kingdom for distinguished services to Norway or the Allied Cause during World War II
Marshal of the RAF The Rt Hon Charles Frederick Algernon (Portal), 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford, KG, GCB, OM, DSO, MC, 1942
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Alfred Dudley Pickman Pound, GCB, OM, GCVO, 1942
Field Marshal Sir John Greer Dill, GCB, CMG, DSO, 1942
Admiral of the Fleet The Rt Hon William Henry Dudley (Boyle), 12th Earl of Cork and Orrery, GCB, GCVO, 1942
General Sir Augustus Francis Andrew Nicol Thorne, KCB, CMG, DSO*, 1945 Remarks: Awarded for the Liberation of Norway 1945 in the capacity as Chief of the Allied Forces in Norway.
Admiral Sir Lionel Victor Wells, KCB, DSO*, 1945. Remarks: Awarded for great service to the Norwegian Navy during his appointment as Admiral Commanding the Orkneys and Shetlands.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick William Bowhill, GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO*, 1945
Marshal of the RAF The Rt Hon William Sholto (Douglas), 1st Baron Douglas of Kirtleside, GCB, MC, DFC, 1945
Field Marshal The Rt Hon Philip Walhouse (Chetwode), 1st Baron Chetwode, GCB, OM, GCSI, KCMG, DSO, 1946
Field Marshal Sir Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, GCB, GCIE, CSI, DSO, OBE, 1947
Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Henry Dacres Cunningham, GCB, MVO, 1947
Admiral Sir Martin Eric Dunbar-Nasmith, VC, KCB, KCMG, 1947
Admiral of the Fleet The Rt Hon Bruce Austen (Fraser), 1st Baron Fraser of North Cape, GCB, KBE, 1947
Admiral Sir Max Kennedy Horton, GCB, DSO***, 1947
Admiral Sir Charles James Colebrooke Little, GCB, GBE, 1947
Admiral Sir Percy Lockhart Harnam Noble, GBE, KCB, CVO, 1947
General Sir Bernard Charles Tolver Paget, GCB, DSO, MC, 1947. Remarks: Awarded for the Norwegian Campaign, 1940
Air Marshal Sir Harold Edward Whittingham, KCB, KBE, 1947
Field Marshal The Rt Hon Bernard Law (Montgomery), 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, 1950
Bernard Montgomery, the hero of El Alamein and North Africa, where he succeeded Auchinleck, was one of the most inspirational military commanders of World War Two. Montgomery was also the senior British military commander at D-Day and retained that position within the west European sphere of the war until the war ended. Bernard Montgomery was born in 1887. He was educated at St. Paul’s School and Sandhurst and in 1908, aged 21, he gained a commission in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. During World War One, Montgomery served on the Western Front. A highly efficient young officer, he was given a succession of command posts both in Britain and in India and by 1938, he had been promoted to the rank of major-general. At the outbreak of World War Two, Montgomery was part of the British Expeditionary Force that had to withstand the might of the Wehrmacht’s 'Blitzkrieg'. Montgomery was given the command of the Third Division (BEF) which had to be evacuated at Dunkirk. After Churchill’s sacking of Auchinleck after the failure of the first battle at El Alamein, Montgomery was given command of the Eighth Army in North Africa. He was likened to being like a ferret and being as popular as one! However, unlike many senior officers of the day, he went out of his way to meet the soldiers under his command. He lived a lifestyle that was not typical of a general. Though his command base was a large and luxurious North African house, Montgomery lived in a caravan in the garden. Strictly teetotal and anti-smoking, he made sure that his men had a reasonable access to cigarettes. There is no doubt that he was popular with the men in the Eighth Army. His victory at El Alamein was to turn the tide of the war. The defeat of the Germans at El Alamein, was the first they had experienced and within North Africa, the Germans could only retreat and they quit North Africa in May 1943. It is difficult to overstate the importance of Montgomery’s victory at El Alamein. At D-Day, Montgomery commanded the British and Canadian units that were given the task of taking on the main bulk of the German forces at Normandy. This enabled the American Twelfth Army Group to move deeply into France and head the breakout from Normandy. Montgomery wanted a full-scale rush on Berlin via the Ruhr, but this was overruled by the Allies Supreme Commander, Dwight Eisenhower. Montgomery and Eisenhower had a solid professional relationship but ‘Monty’ did not always agree with the overall strategy of Eisenhower who he believed too frequently favoured the plans of the Americans – including the maverick General George Patton. On September 1st 1944, Montgomery was promoted to field marshall, the highest rank he could reach in the British Army. By now Montgomery commanded the 21st Army Group that succeeded in taking the vital port of Antwerp in Belgium but was involved in the failure at Arnhem. The 21st Group was also deeply involved in the Battle of the Bulge – Germany’s ill-fated attempt to push back the Allies. Montgomery’s group crossed the River Rhine on March 24th 1945. He accepted the formal surrender of the German military at Luneburg Heath on May 4th 1945. After the end of the war, Montgomery consolidated the status he had. From 1946 to 1948, Montgomery served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff and from 1951 to 1958, he was Deputy Supreme Commander of NATO forces in Europe.
Montgomery's insignia of the Order of the Elephant along with his baton and other exceedingly valuable items were unfortunately stolen during his lifetime in a burglary of his home at Isington Mill. He made a TV plea for their return but this was unavailing. Reportedly none of these items ever having been recovered.
Disclaimer: Please note that this is an informative for non-profit site presenting the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, it's history, insignia and Grand Cross awards of the Order since the 1847 inception. Every effort is made to provide a high quality and accurate presentation, however webmaster is not responsible for any inaccuracies in the information presented or links to other sites. Please contact webmaster with any queries, updates or corrections. Thanks. - Armand Knutsen, Webmaster, 2006
Den Kongelige Norske St. Olavs Orden ble stiftet av Kong Oscar I i 1847, og tildeles som «belønning for utmerkede fortjenster av fedrelandet og menneskeheten». St. Olavs Orden er oppkalt etter Norges helgenkonge, Olav den Hellige, og er inndelt i fem grader: Storkors, Kommandør med Stjerne, Kommandør, Ridder av 1. klasse og Ridder. Til ordenen hører det også et Kjede som H.M. Kongen kan tildele innehavere av Storkorset - in Norwegian.
