Haakon Sørbye

Haakon Sørbye (16 March 1920 – 15 September 2016) was a Norwegian engineer and resistance member during World War II. He was a member of the radio group Skylark B during the war. After the war he was a professor at the Norwegian Institute of Technology.

World War II Sørbye attended secondary school at Stabekk, and enrolled at the Norwegian Institute of Technology on 1 September 1939 — the day World War II began. In April 1940, the war reached Norway, with Nazi Germany invading and occupying the country. Sørbye participated in the Norwegian Campaign as a telegrapher, but the Norwegian forces in Trøndelag capitulated by 10 May 1940.

In September 1940, the British Secret Intelligence Service established two stations for radio communication in occupied Norway; the so-called Skylark A was led by Sverre Midtskau in Oslo while Skylark B was led by Erik Welle-Strand in Trondheim. As students formed the backbone of the Skylark B group, Sørbye joined. Other members were Bjørn Rørholt and Einar Johansen. Chemistry professor Leif Tronstad also helped as well. Egil Reksten later took over as leader. Skylark B established regular contact with the intelligence in London in 1941 and helped provide information on German troop and naval movements, as well as vital information about German activity at the Vemork heavy water plant. He was then incarcerated at Møllergata 19 from 27 September 1941 to 16 January 1943, and then at Grini concentration camp until 29 July 1943. He was then shipped to Germany and the Nacht und Nebel camps. He spent much time in Natzweiler. Despite health problems, Sørbye was decorated with the King's Medal for Courage in the Cause of Freedom and the Defence Medal 1940–1945.

After his retirement he has spent much time as a guide with the White Buses, work for which he was awarded a King's Medal of Merit in 2015. He also practised as a radio amateur. His wife Ruth was a skilled geologist. Sørbye died on 15 September 2016.