Liberation Day in Jersey

[Guest]

To day is 9th May Liberation day in Jersey & the rest of the Channel Isles. Liberated two days after the Nazi’s surrender. Even then the German Admiral refused to surrender Guernsey until after very “friendly” persuasion. The Islands were occupied by the Nazis, the only part of the British Isles ever to be occupied, after the French collapse in 1940.

Approx half the population left for England & the young men all joined HM forces. The Islands were left occupied & bypassed after the Normandy landings. Todt had spent 10% of their time & resources in constructing the Atlantic Wall in producing the Island's defences. Churchill decided that it would be sheer murder, for all, to attempt to liberate. The Islands & more so the Germans virtually starved in this 11 month period.

Many Islanders were sent to prisons in France & a great number to concentration camps from which many did not return.

Some great resistance. A property owner where we were demolishing showed me the little wireless hidden in the thick granite walls. The church where I used to live had a wireless in the belfry. News was written out & circulated in the community. Discovery was a concentration camp visit usually permanent.

The local Doctor, a pediatrician, so unselfishly stayed to look after the pregnant, young babies & children. He sent his wife & family, for five years, back to England. He used his spare time to renovate a house for their return. To hide the cow he & neighbours hoisted the cow to the first floor & gagged it. The Germans in their constant searches for food of course did not bother to search first floors for live stock. These are just a few of those stories.

Laurie

[Guest]

I hope you and the other residents enjoy your "special" day Laurie ....

If you've got any more stories to tell ... please do ... i don't get tired of hearing them, after all it's all part of history which without story-telling will be lost after time.

[saguy]

hi there .. totaly agree with Colin .. woud not mind reading some of those stories .... so definitely do not be shy in telling them Laurie ......rgds lindsey

[Guest]

A few more Colin & Lindsey. The stories are endless.

A builder we worked with told about the tea scam. They had tea packets delivered intermittently from the Red Cross. They would open the packet carefully use the tea about half a dozen times until there was not much but nothing. They then dried the tea leaves packed it back into the pristine packets & sold these to the Germans. Many other little scams occured.

Not to forget that I was in Surbiton Surrey not in Jersey as a young boy being aimed at by Hitler but he missed. So all of this is from what I have been told. & read. Some Horrific stories which are best forgotten. The Jews in the Islands did suffer & were collected up & sent away despite great efforts by the Jersey & Guernsey Bailiffs both at risk of their life.

A lot of Russian prisoners were sent to the Island to build the Todt defences & the Underground Hospital. They were treated worse than worse. Some were hidden by Jersey people in their homes until liberation. These people were the brave of the brave as they were in danger every second of their life of being sent to concentration camps or shot on the spot. One Lady discovered died in a concentration camp just because she treasured another human being’s life.

Jerry Bags they were called. The young ladies who fraternized with the Germans & then produced babies. Unfortunately they are still suffering in the Island from some bigots I have been told.

There was some resistance mostly boys & youths. Cutting of telephone wires & general minor irritation . The character who lived next door, not with us now, George, did a good deal of this was caught & sent as a youth to a French Jail.

Three characters as youths got themselves a rowing boat. An outboard & scrounged some fuel. This was in November after the Normandy landings & they wanted to join up. They drifted out on the tide under the noses of the German Guards in Rozel Harbour then set out for France. They rested in the Ecrehous, a small Rocky set of Islets midway to France. Set off next day rowing & landed in France after 17.5 hours to cover 13 miles. Many of those setting out, including to England, made it some foundered. One of these characters above Sir Peter Crill became a very distinguished Bailiff of Jersey (Top Man in the Island).

The bravery of the Jersey & Guernsey was unbelievable. Dame Sibyl Beaumont Hathaway, Seigneur of Sark (in charge) refused to take orders from the German Authorities & ruled the roost a remarkable woman. I mention Jersey here a lot but it was the same bravery in all the Islands.

Laurie

[stona]

The bravery of the Jersey & Guernsey was unbelievable. Dame Sibyl Beaumont Hathaway, Seigneur of Sark (in charge) refused to take orders from the German Authorities & ruled the roost a remarkable woman.

Laurie

I read that when German officers visited her residence,as they were bound to do,she made them sign the visitor's book. A small act of defiance but her way of letting them know what they were;visitors,not residents.

Cheers

Steve

[Ian M]

Denmark was "befried" the 4th of may.

Love the stories from You Laurie. like the cow on the first floor.

Ian M

[Guest]

Fascinating read, Laurie. A very interesting post.

Keith

[Guest]

So right Steve. She also made them knock at the door & wipe their feet. What a girl. Now the Barclays Brothers seem intent on spoiling that Island such a shame. They have driven out the only Doctor on the Island.

Another Doc one. Breakfast. Fusty oatmeal made into porrige with water & eaten with part of the daily ration of half a pint of skimmed milk.

Lunch parboiled spuds scortched in a dry pan- no fat- eaten cold on a slice of occupation bread & scrapping of butter.

Supper. More scortched spuds with an egg if available or gruel of minced wheat with sugar beet syrup.

The bread was coarse ground wheat, oats & peas & half mashed potatoe. It sat rather heavily on the stomach & quite deplorably flatulent.

The condition was rather unattractively known as "The Jersey Rattle".

Laurie

The Doc's book is a Doctor's Occupation. By John Lewis the "Doc". A read you do not put down.

[Guest]

she made them sign the visitor's book.

made them knock at the door & wipe their feet.

Absolutly bloody awesome ... what a woman eh?

Not bored yet Laurie ..... any more??

[Guest]

The Doc. He bought a couple of pounds of snuff. Very little tobacco about & snapped up as soon as it arrived. Smoking the snuff proved a disaster. So he tried a mix of tea leaves. No good. So he got some more tea leaves, knackered tea leaves of course, sprinkled them with diluted black treacle, left it to get tacky, then sprinkled on the snuff (very fine tobacco). He suddenly, the Doc. that is, became very popular & gained many friends as though not perfect it was better than nothing.

Pigs & other animals were certified & recorded. Naturally there were illegal pigs. One episode saw a clandestine pig slaughtered just as a young boy arrived to say the Germans were making a search & coming their way. The pig was laid in the bed in the best bedroom, after removing it's trotters & limbs, over which they placed a clean white sheet covering it’s complete body. Some perfume was spread around & the curtains closed. A family bible was on display along with two lit candle sticks.

This all sounds farcical but it was the real thing life or death.

The Germans arrived & started a search top to bottom of the farm house. They eventually arrived in the darkened bedroom with the farmer’s wife sitting at the bed side. She was crying, later she said with fear, the German soldier quickly left this bedroom to continue the search. The wife thudded to the ground she had feinted & the Germans left.

A couple of years ago my brother in law's mother, Poppy, suddenly announced at a family gathering that she considered that I should now be thought of as a Jerseyman. Now that is an honour which I will treasure as the Jerseyman is a very loyal & open person. Poppy, the eldest, came from a family of 14 children. Her family were farming stock. Just shows that even looking after such a large family & providing for it that Mr Farmer had enough energy to make his task more onerous when he got home. As Churchill may have said some stock some vigour. Poppy is approaching her nineties now & lived through all those hard & desperate occupation years most with her mother helping & providing for this vast family.

Laurie

[Guest]

This is all interesting stuff Laurie, i'll keep reading whilst you can be bothered to post...

Nice to here you're considered an Islander now, i suppose you get called McCloud and carry a big sword ..... no ... sorry .....my mistake ..... thats HIGHlander ......

i'll get ma coat!