Fern, who grew up in Cobourg, Ontario, was the first woman to work as a radio operator deep sea, serving aboard a Norwegian merchant ship during the Battle of the Atlantic
Sudbury-based sculptor Tyler Fauvelle (www.tylerfauvelle.ca) has re-created ‘Make Waves’, a life-sized monument commemorating WW II trailblazer Fern Blodgett Sunde, for installation in Norway next year. The original statue stands at the Victoria Park waterfront in Cobourg, Ontario. The twin bronze, commissioned by a citizens’ committee in Farsund, will overlook the inner harbour, and be unveiled on May 8, 2025, the 80th anniversary of the end of WW II and of the Battle of the Atlantic.
Fern Blodgett Sunde (1918-1991) grew up in Cobourg, Ontario, dreaming of a career at sea. Overcoming daunting barriers, she earned a professional wireless radio operator’s certificate in 1941, and then slipped through a regulatory loophole to join the Mosdale, a Norwegian merchant navy ship. Fern became the first woman to work deep sea as a radio operator, serving during the Battle of the Atlantic, which was the fierce fight between Allied and Axis powers for control of sea lanes and supply lines to Britain. In 1942, Fern married the ship’s young captain, Gerner Sunde, and they braved the hazardous North Atlantic crossings together, until shortly after the war. They eventually settled in Farsund, where Fern remained until her death in 1991.
Fern’s story inspired a small sisterhood of Sparks (radio operators), mainly Canadian and Scandinavian women, to follow her to sea toward the end of the war, and beyond.
In Cobourg, the Friends of Fern group, through the Cobourg Museum Foundation, donated $7,000 toward the Farsund monument. The group organizer, Leona Woods, said, “Fern’s statue has become an important part of Cobourg’s waterfront, and her remarkable story an important part of our town’s history. We are so pleased to support this link of honour and friendship with Norway.”
Tyler Fauvelle, who has numerous commemorative artworks installed in Ontario, said, “The monument is called ‘Make Waves’, not just because Fern broke barriers to get on that Allied ship, but also because her life was marked by waves: The waves of social change that came for women during the war, the radio waves of Fern’s work, the waves of Lake Ontario, which called her to sea, and the waves of the Atlantic battlefield she crossed. I’m honoured that my artwork will commemorate Fern in both places she called home.”
By the end of the war, the Mosdale had crossed the Atlantic a record 96 times; Fern was aboard for 78 of those crossings. In 1943, in an unprecedented award to a Canadian woman, King Haakon VII of Norway presented Fern Blodgett Sunde with the Norwegian War Medal.
From 1940 until the end of the Battle of the Atlantic, Norway lost roughly half of its merchant fleet. Of the six sister ships in its class, the Mosdale was the only one to survive the war.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
