The Almqvist Family earliest ancestors include the Frasers of Lovat. The Frasers of Lovat is a 700 year old Sottish Highland clan, with its epicentre in the small town of Beauly 12 miles west of Inverness. The related Clan Fraser dates back at least 900 years to the 12th century AD.

Origin

The Frasers of Scotland can be traced back to the 12th century.

Simon Fraser held lands in East Lothian at Keith and in 1160, Simon Fraser gifted the church of Keith to the monks of Kelso.

In 1166, Gilbert Fraser was at King William the Lion’s Scottish Court witnessing the signing of royal charters. Sir Bernard Fraser was the Ambassador to England in 1238.

During the Scottish Wars of Independence, Sir Simon Fraser, known as "the Patriot", fought with Clan Fraser and with Sir William Wallace and Robert the Bruce against an invading English army led by King Edward Longshanks of England (also known as the “Hammer of the Scots”). Sir Simon is celebrated for having defeated the English at the Battle of Roslin in 1303, with just 8,000 men under his command against an invading force of 25 000. At the Battle of Methven in 1306, Sir Simon Fraser led troops along with Bruce, and saved the King's life in three separate instances. Simon was awarded the 3 Crowns which now appear in the Lovat Arms for these three acts of bravery.

The Frasers were ultimately victorious at the Battle of Bannockburn 1314, where Alexander Fraser commanded the Clan Fraser. The battle essentially secured Scottish independence for the next 300 years.

These wars are depicted in the Hollywood movie Braveheart from 1995 with Mel Gibson as Fraser’s ally William Wallace. The Frasers of Lovat are also depicted in the TV series Outlander, set partly in the 1740’s Scottish Highlands.

Russell Crowe, the Australian actor known from movies such as ‘Gladiator’, is also a descendant of the Frasers of Lovat.

The top shows the Frasers of Lovat’s motto ‘Je Suis Pret’ (I am ready) with the coat of arms and three crowns from Simon Fraser’s act of bravery.

See above a map of ancient Scotland with traditional Fraser territories in the Highlands on both sides of Loch Ness (in light blue).

Above shows the banquet and hunting tartans of Clan Fraser of Lovat.

Below are the two clans ancestral homes (Castle Fraser for the Clan Fraser and Castle Beaufort for the Clan Fraser of Lovat).

20th Century Frasers of Lovat

In 1944, the 15th Lord Lovat and the Fraser Highlanders were first into battle during the Normandy landings to liberate Europe from Nazi occupation.

Born on July 9, 1911, Scotsman Simon Christopher Joseph Fraser, 5th McShimidh, 15th Lord Lovat, 4th Baron Lovat, was quite a colorful character. After attending Magdalene College in Oxford, he joined the Scots Guards in 1931. When his father died in 1933, 22-year-old Simon followed him as the 15th Lord Lovat and 25th Chief of the Fraser Clan. Lord Lovat was promoted to lieutenant in 1934.

In 1940, the British Army was looking for volunteers for the newly formed elite Commando unit.

The adventurous Lord Lovat, one of the first volunteers, was accepted into the ranks of No. 4 Commando and saw his first action on March 4, 1941, when he took part in the successful raid on the Lofoten islands (Operation CLAYMORE). Crucial to the plan was the personal blessing of Sir Winston Churchill which they duly obtained. Lovat was personally involved in the training of the Commando troops on the West coast of Scotland. He was eventually attached to and led No. 4 Commando. On 3 March 1941, Nos 3 and 4 Commando launched Operation Claymore, a raid on the German-occupied Lofoten Islands. In the successful raid, the commandos destroyed fish-oil factories, petrol dumps, and 11 ships. They also seized encryption equipment and codebooks. As well, the commandos captured 216 German troops; 315 Norwegians chose to accompany the commandos back to Britain. Claymore was the first of 12 commando raids directed against Norway during the Second World War. The Germans eventually increased the number of troops in Norway and by 1944, the German garrison was 370,000 men strong (a standard British infantry division in 1944 had 18,347 men)

On April 21/22, 1942, Lovat, now a major, commanded a section of No. 4 Commando (about 170 men) during the equally successful ABERCROMBIE Commando raid on the French coast south of Boulogne. For the prudent leadership of his men in action, Lord Lovat was awarded the Military Cross.

Four months later, on August 19, 1942, Lord Lovat, took part in the landing at Dieppe, Operation JUBILEE, with No. 4 Commando now under his command. Lovat’s men, reinforced by 50 U.S. Army Rangers, succeeded in destroying the German artillery battery HKB 813 "Hess" near Varengeville (6 x 150-mm guns). The destruction of the battery was the only notable success of Operation JUBILEE.

Lovat managed to get most of his men safely back to England, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.

When it became evident during the planning of Operation NEPTUNE, the amphibious landing phase in Normandy, that a larger number of command units would have to be deployed under a single command, Lovat was promoted to brigadier general and given command of the newly formed 1st Special Service Brigade, comprising No. 3, No. 4, No. 6 Army Commandos, and No. 45 Royal Marine Commando.

Lovat, who landed with his brigade on SWORD Beach in sector QUEEN RED at about 8:40 a.m., then advanced with his men under the sound of bagpiper, Bill Millin, to Pegasus Bridge, which had been seized the night before by airborne troops of the British 6th Airborne Division. Lord Lovat instructed his personal piper, Bill Millin, to pipe the commandos and himself ashore, in defiance of specific orders not to allow such an action in battle. When Private Millin demurred, citing the regulations, he recalled later, Lord Lovat replied: "Ah, but that's the English War Office. You and I are both Scottish, and that doesn't apply". Both men survived the action in spite of heavy fire.

Lord Lovat was badly wounded by shell fragments during the fighting for Bréville on June 12, 1944, and had to be evacuated. Although Lovat fully recovered after prolonged treatment, he retired from military service after his recovery and subsequently served as a politician in the House of Lords for many years. He was awarded the Legion of Honour and the Croix de Guerre by a grateful French Fourth Republic.

Lovat passed away on March 16, 1995, in Beauly, Invernessshire.

The Longest Day, a 1962 film based on the book of the same name by Cornelius Ryan, features "Lord Lovat", played by Peter Lawford.

See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Fraser,_15th_Lord_Lovat

The Almqvist’s are blood relatives to the Frasers of Lovat through Daniel Fraser, born 1787, whose descendants married into the Almqvist family.

Sven Alexander Almqvist, the builder of the first oil tanker in the world born in 1840, was proud of his Scottish Fraser of Lovat roots, and Scottish traditions were upheld by his son Harald Almqvist and family, well into the late 20th century.