Anna Charlier
Encyclopedia
Anna Albertina Constantia Charlier (lang) (25 July 1871, Åby
, Skåne County
, Sweden
– 1949) was a Swedish
woman, today most commonly remembered as the fiancé of Nils Strindberg
, participant in the Northpole-expedition
of S. A. Andrée
in 1897.
became engaged 26 October 1896, eight months before the expedition left for Svalbard
.
Anna emigrated to the United States
in 1910 and married Gilbert Henry Conserray Hawtrey. They moved to England in 1914.
Miss Ulla Strindberg – the late Nils Strindberg was her uncle – visited Anna in Torquay
in England
in 1947. She said the following about the visit:
«Anna's husband Gilbert Hawtrey was a wonderful human being who tried in all possible ways to help his sorrowridden wife to forget. But it was all in vain. Anna could not forget.»
Anna's home was filled with youthportraits of the missing Strindberg.
In 1930, when the remains of the expedition was found, Anna happened to be in Sweden. Unable to stay for the funeral she sent a wreath
to her late fiancé. She later received Nils Strindberg's letter to her that he written during his voyage over the ice. It was Tore Strindberg – Nils' brother – that sent them after they had been interpreted (the letters were stenographed).
Anna died during 1949. She had left specific instructions to her family concerning her remains. Her heart was to be removed from her body and buried near the urn that contained Strindberg's ash. Her body was put to rest at a cemetery in Torquay. (Her husband was later buried next to her.) Her heart was cremated separately, with the ashes gathered in a little silver box and placed in the grave near the cremated remains of Nils Strindberg, in Norra begravningsplatsen
in Stockholm
.
ABY
ABY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* Archbishop of York, a senior post in the Church of England* Aby, a village in Lincolnshire, England* After the Battle of Yavin, in Star Wars fiction...
, Skåne County
Skåne County
Skåne County is the southernmost administrative county or län, of Sweden, basically corresponding to the historical province Scania. It borders the counties of Halland, Kronoberg and Blekinge. The seat of residence for the Skåne Governor is the town of Malmö...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
– 1949) was a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
woman, today most commonly remembered as the fiancé of Nils Strindberg
Nils Strindberg
Nils Strindberg was a Swedish photographer who was one of the three members of S. A. Andrée's ill-fated Arctic balloon expedition of 1897. Before perishing on Kvitøya with Andrée and Knut Frænkel, Strindberg recorded on film their long doomed struggle on foot to reach populated areas...
, participant in the Northpole-expedition
S. A. Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897
S. A. Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897 was an ill-fated effort to reach the North Pole in which all three expedition members perished. S. A. Andrée , the first Swedish balloonist, proposed a voyage by hydrogen balloon from Svalbard to either Russia or Canada, which was to pass,...
of S. A. Andrée
Salomon August Andrée
Salomon August Andrée , during his lifetime most often known as S. A. Andrée, was a Swedish engineer, physicist, aeronaut and polar explorer who died while leading an attempt to reach the Geographic North Pole by hydrogen balloon...
in 1897.
Before the expedition
Anna Charlier was one out of eleven siblings and lost her parents early. She worked as a governess and met Nils Strindberg who was a houseteacher for one of the families she worked for. She played the piano, he the violin. Anna and Nils StrindbergNils Strindberg
Nils Strindberg was a Swedish photographer who was one of the three members of S. A. Andrée's ill-fated Arctic balloon expedition of 1897. Before perishing on Kvitøya with Andrée and Knut Frænkel, Strindberg recorded on film their long doomed struggle on foot to reach populated areas...
became engaged 26 October 1896, eight months before the expedition left for Svalbard
Svalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
.
After the expedition
The expedition was not heard of in the following years and was presumed to have ended in disaster.Anna emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1910 and married Gilbert Henry Conserray Hawtrey. They moved to England in 1914.
Miss Ulla Strindberg – the late Nils Strindberg was her uncle – visited Anna in Torquay
Torquay
Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1947. She said the following about the visit:
«Anna's husband Gilbert Hawtrey was a wonderful human being who tried in all possible ways to help his sorrowridden wife to forget. But it was all in vain. Anna could not forget.»
Anna's home was filled with youthportraits of the missing Strindberg.
In 1930, when the remains of the expedition was found, Anna happened to be in Sweden. Unable to stay for the funeral she sent a wreath
Wreath
A wreath is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs and/or various materials that is constructed to resemble a ring. They are used typically as Christmas decorations to symbolize the coming of Christ, also known as the Advent season in Christianity. They are also used as festive headdresses...
to her late fiancé. She later received Nils Strindberg's letter to her that he written during his voyage over the ice. It was Tore Strindberg – Nils' brother – that sent them after they had been interpreted (the letters were stenographed).
Anna died during 1949. She had left specific instructions to her family concerning her remains. Her heart was to be removed from her body and buried near the urn that contained Strindberg's ash. Her body was put to rest at a cemetery in Torquay. (Her husband was later buried next to her.) Her heart was cremated separately, with the ashes gathered in a little silver box and placed in the grave near the cremated remains of Nils Strindberg, in Norra begravningsplatsen
Norra begravningsplatsen
Norra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Cemetery" in Swedish, is a major cemetery of Metropolitan Stockholm. The cemetery is located in the municipality of Solna.Inaugurated on June 9, 1827, it is the burial site for a number of Swedish notables....
in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
.
Anna Charlier in fiction
- In the 1982 Swedish movie Flight of the EagleFlight of the EagleFlight of the Eagle is a 1982 Swedish biographical drama film directed by Jan Troell, based on Per Olof Sundman's novelization of the true story of S. A. Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897, an ill-fated effort to reach the North Pole in which all three expedition members perished. The film...
, based on the book Ingenjör Andrées luftfärd written in 1967 by Per Olof SundmanPer Olof SundmanPer Olof Sundman was a Swedish writer and politician.Sundman was born in Vaxholm. After World War II, Sundman joined the Centre Party and was elected to the Riksdag....
, the role of Anna was played by Lotta Larson - Anna Charlier is one of the protagonists in the novel Anna's Book by George MacBethGeorge MacBethGeorge Mann MacBeth was a Scottish poet and novelist. He was born in Shotts, Lanarkshire.When he was three, his family moved to Sheffield....
(London: Henry Holt & Co. 1983)
Other sources
- Martinsson, Tyrone:Nils Strindberg, En biografi om fotografen på Andrées polarexpedition, (Lund: 2006) SwedishSwedish languageSwedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
)