Persiska gendarmer skjuter med en kulspruta vid en uppvisning utanför Bagh-e-Shah, Teheran.

Harald Lundberg (1879-1919) traveled to Persia (now Iran) in 1912. The purpose was to recruit as instructor in the gendarmerie year that the Shah's government planned to build up to deal with the straw robbers who made transport and trade difficult. This was done with the help of Swedish militaries who took time off from their regular service. On a number of occasions, the gendarmes and their Swedish commanders went into open conflict with the clans who plundered caravans, etc. Lundberg lived in Persia until the end of 1914 and met his future wife, the nurse Marie-Louise Flygare. During their return journey they married in Bombay and returned to Sweden in the spring of 1915. Lundberg then returned to his career in the Swedish armed forces but died in May 1919 in Spanish sickness. Son Lars H: son Lundberg's family archive (acc. 1996/034) contains photographs and diaries from parents' time in Persia. / JOHE 2018-05-04