Frisell was born in Stavnäs, Värmland County. His father owned the Stömne bruk ironworks. Frisell served as an artillery officer in Uppsala but retired in 1910. In 1918, he was recruited as the commander of the Swedish Brigade, a voluntary brigade fighting with the Whites in the Finnish Civil War. Frisell took part in the Battle of Tampere in March–April 1918. After the Finnish Civil War, Frisell lived 10 years in Kenya, where he assisted the British Army in railway construction. Frisell published two biographies of his years in Africa. Hjalmar Frisell died in Stockholm in 1967.[2]