Odense Stige Island

Motor racing on ice, Why?

Stige Island is placed north of Odense in the Odense Fjord.

In the winter 1939-40 the Russian army attacked Finland to conquer the Karelian area. Several towns at the borderline got pounded to rubble by heavy Russian canon fire and air raids. The civil Finnish population suffered from cold and misery in the ruins.

All over Scandinavia the winter was very cold, and due to the outbreak of WW2 there was an overall shortage of fuel.

Many organisations in Denmark arranged humanitarian help. The Danish Red Cross shipped an ambulance corps with a field hospital, doctors and medicine.

This webmaster was at that time a 6 years young boy. I recall that my father on behalf of the Sct. George’s Guild and the Danish Boy Scouts headed a collecting of clothes and blankets in Odense to be shipped to Finland.

The Sports Motorklub Odin got permission to arrange a meeting on the 14th of January 1940 on the deep frozen shallow waters between Stige Island and Seden Beach. The income would be donated to aid the suffering Finnish civilians.

Since the outbreak of the war all motor racing had been banned in Denmark due to fuel shortage. But for this benevolent purpose only this one-off permission was given.

 Israce Stige Ø

There was competition in 2 motor cycle classes and 3 car classes, in total 15 heats.
Although a copy of the programme is saved, no results are available.

B0054012

Knud E. Mogensen takes the chequed flag on the ice of Seden Beach

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