A World War II hero honoured in Cobourg and Norway for not only contributions at sea, but paving the path for women to also serve

The daughters of Fern Blodgett Sunde and representatives from Norway lay a wreath in honour of Blodgett Sunde. Photo by Dan Jones, Northumberland 89.7 FM News, LJI

By: Dan Jones, Northumberland 89.7 FM News, Local Journalism Initiative

As the Cobourg Legion Pipes and Drums, opened to begin an emotional tribute, linking two towns and two countries, made possible by a woman bravely serving aboard Norwegian merchant ships.

Identical statues of Fern Blodget Sunde are now erected in both Cobourg her hometown and in Farsund Norway, where her and her husband Gerner Sunde raised their family.

A ceremony Friday where Blodgett Sunde’s two children were in attendance on the shore of Lake Ontario, at her  life-sized bronze statue, titled “Make Waves,” recognized her contributions as the first female wireless radio operator.

Fern Sunde Sletten said her mother truly believed in democracy at a time of global war.

“We remember a brave woman, who believed in and fought for democracy in a world at war. She worked side-by-side and shoulder to shoulder with many other brave men and women. Together they all performed an important job to win the war and reclaim peace and democracy,” said Fern Sunde Sletten, Blodgett Sunde’s daughter.

She always dreamed of sailing the high seas, but knew that women were not permitted to join the armed forces of Canada and Britain.

Blodget Sunde secretly sent a letter to the Norwegian Shipping Company in 1941, praising the work of three Norwegian cargo ships during the war effort.

She answered an urgent call for a radio operator aboard Norwegian ship M/S Modale, where she would meet her husband. Norway had no prohibition against women in the war and she became the only woman on the ship in the radio room.

She made 78 transatlantic voyages, navigating treacherous seas of German U-boats, where 50 percent of the Norwegian fleet would be sunk by the end of the war. Earning the nickname sparks, Bodgett-Sunde would go on to inspire a new generation of women in Canada and Scandinavian countries to join the merchant ships.

In 1943 she was awarded the Norwegian War Medal, the first female to be honoured with that designation.

Norwegian Ambassador Designate Hanne Ulrichsen said Blodgett Sunde’s legacy will be one of courage and societal change.

“Her legacy reminds us that her courage knows no borders, and that history is shaped by those who dare to cross boundaries, literal and societal. Let this statue and its twin across the sea remind us to make waves, waves of remembrance, waves of unity and waves of change,” Norwegian Ambassador Designate Hanne Ulrichsen explained.

A ceremony was held in May in Norway to honour Blodget-Sunde’s contributions. A documentary on her life and accomplishments is being produced.