Erling Søiland

Erling Søiland was born as an illegitimate son and grew up at his uncle’s place together with his mother. He was a Norwegian short- and middle-distance runner representing Viking Stavanger. At the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, he was entered for the 800 m and the 1,500 m runs but did not start. His best year came in 1913, when he took three podiums at the Norwegian championships: bronze in the 400 m and silver in the 800 m and 1,500 m.

Søiland was an Army corporal and a life insurance agent before he started a business in Stavanger in 1915 and established Søilands Papirhandel in 1918. Together with his wife, he ran both a paper trade and a photographic business until 1961. In the early 1920s, he began taking photographs, including for Stavanger Aftenblad newspaper and for the police, who did not have their own photographers. He also took assignments for associations, companies and private individuals. His entire archive is now in the Stavanger Maritime Museum.

He was married to Anna Garmansdatter Skjæveland; the couple had three daughters.