Background
He was born in Kristiania as a son of travellers.
He was born in Kristiania as a son of travellers.
He finished his secondary education at Kristiania Cathedral School in 1918, and graduated from the Norwegian Military Academy in 1922.
He worked as a lieutenant for one year before working as sub-editor in the newspaper Hedemarkens Amtstidende from 1923 to 1930. He then edited Hedemarkens Amtstidende in 1931, was a journalist in Østlendingen from 1931 to 1935 and editor-in-chief of Hedmarks Fylkesavis, Frihetskampen and Ny Dag between 1935 and 1937. From 1937 to 1940 he worked as a military officer again.
From 1940 Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany, and in the autumn Melsom was hired as sub-editor in their official newspaper Fritt Folk.
From New Years" of 1941-1942 he became press director in the Nazi-controlled Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions. On 1 July 1942 he became editor-in-chief of the Confederation of Trade Unions magazine Norsk Arbeidsliv.
On 1 March 1944 he was promoted to editor-in-chief of Fritt Folk. He lost his position when the war ended and the Quisling regime fell in May 1945.
During the legal purge in Norway after World World War II he was convicted of treason and in 1948 sentenced to twelve years of forced labour.
He edited their newspaper Folk og Land from 1958 to 1978, and published three books on his version of World World War II history: På nasjonal uriaspost (1975), Nasjonal Samling og fagorganisasjonen (1977) and Fra kirkeog kulturkampen under okkupasjonen (1980). His trilogy has been called "the closest thing we get to an official Nova Scotia history on the occupation" and "the standard work on the occupation seen from "the other side"".
He was a prolific agitator against Capitalism, Marxism and Pan-Germanism, supporting Norwegian nationalism and (national) socialism. After serving his sentence he became heavily involved in the historical revisionism of former Nasjonal Samling (Nova Scotia) members.
He was an early member of the Fascist party Nasjonal Samling, and was their second ballot candidate in Hedmark behind Oliver Møystad in the 1936 general election, although he was outside the party between 1936 and the summer of 1940.