The story of the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square is well-rehearsed: it is a gesture of gratitude from Norway for Britain’s help during the Second World War.
What the official histories fail to record is that the tradition began on a drunken night out organized by the creator of James Bond. Source: The Times.
The Trafalgar Square Christmas tree has been an annual gift to the people of Britain by the city of Oslo as a token of gratitude for British support to Norway during the Second World War. The tradition of a Norwegian Christmas Tree to London was established in 1947, thanking the British people for their assistance given to Norway during the Second World War. Every year, a tall spruce has be felled in Oslo’s forests around mid-November and then shipped over the North Sea. This post was written in 2018. Post from 2018.
- Origin of the tradition: According to a document discovered at the National Maritime Museum, Ian Fleming, the author of James Bond novels, was involved in the first placement of a Norwegian Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square in 1942. He suggested the idea to the Norwegian ambassador after a night out with his friend, Admiral Norman Denning, who worked with him in naval intelligence during the war1
The document is a typewritten note by Admiral Norman Denning, who was the director of naval intelligence in the early 1960s and a colleague of Fleming in the war. He remembers a festive night out with Fleming in 1942.
They had a dinner at the Savoy with a Norwegian commando, Mons Urangsvag, who had brought back two pine trees from a raid on Norway. One of the trees was meant for King Haakon VII of Norway, who had escaped to Britain after the Nazi invasion. The other tree was suggested by Fleming to be placed in Trafalgar Square as a symbol of gratitude. They used two jeeps to transport the tree and some flares to light it up.
This story contradicts the official version, which says that the first tree was given by King Haakon himself and that it came from his summer palace in Oslo. The tradition of the tree in Trafalgar Square has continued since then, and this year’s tree will be decorated by December 1.
Westminster Council, which is in charge of the tree, said that they did not know about Fleming’s involvement but that they would consider updating their history to include him.
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