Sudbury-based sculptor Tyler Fauvelle travelled to Farsund, Norway to unveil ‘Make Waves’, a life-sized bronze monument commemorating Fern Blodgett Sunde.
The monument celebrates her trailblazing war effort as a Canadian radio operator aboard a Norwegian merchant ship during the Battle of the Atlantic, WWII. Fauvelle unveiled the bronze on May 8, 2025, the 80th anniversary of VE Day, also celebrated as Liberation Day in Norway.
The public ceremony in Farsund included local dignitaries, veterans, and diplomatic representatives, as well as military and naval officers from Canada, Britain, and Norway. (Visit: tylerfauvelle.ca/make-waves-unveiling-video)
The sculpture is a twin to the one which Fauvelle unveiled in 2020 in the Town of Cobourg, Ontario, where Fern grew up, dreaming of a career at sea. It was considered an impossible dream for a young girl born in 1918.
“Fern made righteous trouble pushing past schools that didn’t want to train women as professional wireless radio operators, and then she broke all kinds of barriers to get on that ship in 1941, the most dangerous time of the Battle of the Atlantic,” said Fauvelle.“I called the bronze ‘Make Waves’, because of that heroic persistence. The name also alludes to the waves of social change that came for women during the war, the radio waves of Fern’s profession, and the waves on the battlefield of the Atlantic.”
Aboard the Mosdale, Fern found herself fighting seasickness and the constant fear of torpedoes, mined waters, surface raiders, and vicious storms. Her marriage in 1942 to the young Captain of the Mosdale, Gerner Sunde, was a leap of faith, as they could not be certain they would survive the war. Gerner’s fury at the Nazi occupation of Norway reinforced Fern’s own outrage, and together they contributed to the Allied war effort by making numerous Atlantic crossings with food, personnel, and munitions. Fern was aboard 78 of the Mosdale’s record 96 crossings. Her remarkable story inspired a small sisterhood of radio operators, mainly Scandinavian and Canadian women, to follow her to sea.
Of the six sister ships in its class, only the Mosdale survived the war.
In 1943, His Majesty King Haakon VII of Norway personally presented Fern with the Norway War Medal, an unprecedented award for a Canadian woman. The medal recognized her courageous service, and highlighted the strong alliance between Norway and Canada.
“Monuments such as ‘Make Waves’ are tangible reminders,” said Fauvelle. “History is always speaking to us. How can we recognize and resist the erosion of our liberties, without the example of those who came before us? This is the art of remembrance, and I take the privilege of creating it very seriously.”
Fern settled in Farsund with her family, and lived there until her death in 1991. The twin bronze stands at Fern Sundes Plass, overlooking the Farsund archipelago and Farsund fjord.
The original bronze commemorates Fern Sunde, and all those who served in the Battle of the Atlantic. It is located at the Victoria Park waterfront in Cobourg, Ontario.
Tyler Fauvelle has been a professional sculptor since 2008. He is based in Sudbury, Ontario, and has numerous commemorative artworks installed in Ontario.
BACKGROUNDER: Fern Blodgett Sunde (1918-1991)
In 1941, during the Battle of the Atlantic, the Admiralty sent a secret letter to The Norwegian Shipping
Mission, expressing appreciation of the outstanding services rendered to the Allied cause by three
Norwegian cargo ships. The letter praised the ships’ radio operators for the “exemplary manner” in
which they followed route instructions and diversions designed to keep the merchant ships out of
danger.
The Mosdale, one of the ships being praised, did in fact have a remarkable radio operator. Her name
was Fern Blodgett, a young Canadian who was the first woman ever to serve deep sea as a wireless
radio operator – a “Sparks”.
Fern grew up in Cobourg, dreaming of sailing the high seas, even though she knew that ships were not
for girls. When WWII broke out, she was determined to serve Canada. Although some radio schools
were reluctant to train women, she persisted, and became the first Canadian woman to earn a
Second Class Wireless Operator’s certificate.
Answering an urgent call for an operator, she made her way to Montreal. Gerner Sunde, the young
Norwegian captain of the Mosdale – and Fern’s future husband – was shocked to see that his applicant
was a woman. Neither Canada nor Britain permitted women to work aboard ships at sea. Luckily,
Norway had no rule against it. The next thing Fern knew, she was a kriegsseiler – a war sailor, the only
woman aboard ship, the only operator in a small radio room, where equipment instructions were in
languages she didn’t know, where a mistake on her part could send the ship into catastrophe, and
where she was horribly seasick.
No one expected her to make the return voyage. With great courage, resilience, and devotion to
duty, Fern kept a bucket by her side, and sailed with the Mosdale for 78 of its record 96 transatlantic
voyages. It was incredibly dangerous – the sea as battlefield held U-boats, mined waters, surface
raiders, fog and terrifying storms. During the early years of the Battle of the Atlantic, ships were going
down faster than they could be replaced. Norway’s merchant ships, such as the Mosdale, were
special targets. When Germany invaded Norway and ordered the fleet back to German-occupied
ports, not a single ship obeyed. In service of the Allied cause, Norway’s tankers and merchant ships
made a significant contribution, but paid a high price – Norway lost over half its fleet to the war. Along
with thousands of Canadians and Allies, Fern did her part during the Battle to keep Allied forces
provisioned. In 1943, King Haakon VII of Norway awarded Fern Blodgett Sunde the Norwegian War
Medal – the first woman ever to receive the honour.
Fern served until the end of the war, and from time-to-time in its aftermath. In 1952, she left the sea
to raise her two daughters, Fern and Solveig Ann, and to work in the garden she loved. Fern stayed in
Norway after Gerner’s death in 1962. She never remarried.
Fern Blodgett Sunde opened the door to a sisterhood of Sparks, mostly Canadian and Scandinavian
women. They followed her to sea, working on Norwegian merchant ships until technology replaced
the wireless radio.
Of the ships mentioned in the Admiralty’s 1941 letter of praise, only the Mosdale survived the war.
In 2020, Canadian sculptor Tyler Fauvelle unveiled a life-sized bronze called ‘Make Waves’. The
monument commemorates Fern Blodgett Sunde’s trailblazing war effort, and all those who served
during the Battle of the Atlantic. The bronze stands at the Victoria Park waterfront in Cobourg,
Ontario.
On May 8, 2025, the 80th anniversary of VE Day (celebrated as Liberation Day in Norway), Fauvelle
unveiled a re-creation of the monument commemorating Fern Blodgett Sunde in Farsund, Norway.
The twin artwork is located at Fern Sundes Plass, overlooking the Farsund archipelago and fjord.
Monuments honouring this courageous WWII kriegsseiler and veteran are now in both places she
called home.
Debra Dupuis, Sudbury, Ontario
Fern Blodgett Sunde and Battle of the Atlantic Commemoration 2020 Committee
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
