The Failure That Inspired A Nation featuring Tim Field

In 1940, after Germany invaded Norway, a 22 year-old named Jan Baalsrud, escaped into Sweden where he would be trained in espionage by British officials. He acted as a courier between Stockholm, Sweden and Oslo, Norway, but was caught by Swedish authorities, tried and convicted of espionage. He served 3 months of a 5-month sentence and was then expelled from the country. His journey over the next 6 months took him all around the world beginning in Russia, through Bulgaria, Egypt, India, South Africa, United States, Newfoundland, and finally England. There, he would be trained by the British army in special operations. The objective would be to disrupt the Germans and provide a place for the Allies to get a foothold in Scandinavia in an effort to liberate Norway. That was the easy part of his journey. The next chapter of his story would last 9 weeks and cover 80 miles but would test him to the very limits human endurance and threaten the lives and families of anyone who came into contact with him. On this episode of the Missing Chapter, we welcome back Tim Field to explain this untold story!