Here is a link to a short film about the Lopez Rubio family in Jersey and how they came into existence during the German Occupation through the marriage of one forced labourers brought to the Island and a Jersey girl. Those of you who might have been on one of my tours on the German Occupation of the Channel Islands …
Continue reading
Conflict Archaeology of the German Occupation
Conflict archaeology of the German Occupation is everywhere you look around the Channel Islands. Some of us have it in our homes and gardens! I live right next to the coast on the south of the Island. All around the coast there are examples of conflict archaeology and reminders of both English/British military fortifications (from the period from the early …
Continue reading
Review of Philip Le Sauteur’s Diary of Jersey under the Swastika
The diary was written by Philip Le Sauteur, who, before the Occupation, was the manager of builders’ merchants T F Pirouet & Son, whose store used to be in Union Street, St Helier (where the office block Pirouet House now stands). The owner of the business Commander T Pirouet had been recalled to the Royal Navy at the outbreak of the Second World …
Continue reading
Nazi Germany occupies part of the British Isles – (The German Occupation of the Channel Islands Part 2)
The British government hoped that as open towns, the islands would be spared a German attack which would be costly in civilian lives as well as property damage. Indeed they even naively considered that the Germans would not even bother occupying the undefended islands, which might be able to sit out the war in isolation. For the Germans, victoriously sitting in Normandy …
Continue reading
After 603 years of defending their home, Jersey Militia is disbanded in face of Nazi advance in June 1940. (The German Occupation of the Channel Islands, Part 1)
In June 1940, following the defeat of the British Expeditionary Force in the face of the German blitzkrieg and the evacuation at Dunkirk, the Channel Islands waited with great apprehension to see whether the war would reach them. The Jersey Militia, now voluntary since the First World War, had been preparing since the outbreak of war to defend the Island, albeit …
Continue reading
Squadron Leader Henri Gonay, DFC, CdeG (1913-1944)
A short memorial video to a Belgian pilot in the RAF, Henri Gonay who crashed and lost his life in Jersey shortly after D-Day in June 1944. It is believed that Squadron Leader Gonay had been attacking German shipping to the south of Jersey when his Hawker Typhoon fighter was hit by anti-aircraft fire. His body was recovered from the wreckage …
Continue reading
The Occupation Tapestry, Jersey, Channel Islands – commemorating liberation from 5 years of Nazi rule
The Occupation Tapestry was the biggest community art project ever undertaken in Jersey, and made by Islanders for Islanders. It was conceived in order to tell the story of what life was like during the five years of German occupation. The original idea about creating a tapestry came about when, in the lead-up to the 50th anniversary of the Liberation, suitable projects were sought …
Continue reading
Liberation Day – the story of one of the first British flags flown 72 years ago
A day after Victory-in-Europe Day, the 9th of May is now celebrated as Liberation Day, a public holiday in the Channel Islands. Here are a few of my family’s stories from the time of liberation from the German Occupation of Jersey. My mother Nancy and her parents Josue (Joe) and Lilian Dorey had returned to Jersey in 1937 from Canada. Joe had …
Continue reading
Soldiers’ graffiti from the German Occupation of Jersey
At Resistance Nest La Motte A, on the south-east corner of Jersey, Channel Islands, German troops manning the Kwk 39 5cm gun, used an existing beachside summerhouse for shelter and to house their searchlight. Like many soldiers, they left their graffiti including a rather sentimental thought from one who was perhaps missing his home and family. In the lead-work around …
Continue reading
Resistance during the German Occupation of the Channel Islands – Part 1
I first explain that resistance could be one of three types: Armed resistance of the type already mentioned, whereby resistance groups waged a guerrilla war against the occupiers; Active resistance which is not in the first category, is generally non-violent, but is nonetheless deliberate and designed to harass, annoy or disrupt the occupying enemy; and Active resistance whereby assistance is given …
Continue reading
Learning about the German Occupation – Year 5 Primary School
For Year 5 pupils, the Occupation is part of their curriculum for the year, so joining them in a class at the beginning of the term was perfect timing to tell them about how the Occupation started and the changes to day to day life that occurred almost straight away for children at the time. Here is the note which Class …
Continue reading
British or German? – Who built the most military fortifications in Jersey?
What is also known is that the Germans chose many of the same defensive positions, particularly along coastline, that the British had fortified in the late 18th and early 19th centuries (see also note below on the Germans’ first reaction to these fortifications). In many instances, they even adapted a number of those historic British fortifications, by adding reinforced concrete and modern …
Continue reading
Interactive Guiding and Digital Media Technology
At History Alive! and Jersey Military Tours, we believe that if you are going on a guided tour, you should be entertained and stimulated. It should be more than just sightseeing. It should be the same whether you are going by coach or bus, or under your own steam like walking or cycling. Apart from the obvious of having an …
Continue reading
76 Years Ago – Memories of a 5 year old boy.
A few years ago, my father, Silvanus Yates, wrote down what he remembered about that time, when he and the rest of the family were evacuated to England with the British military forces in the Island. Here is an extract of what he said (and which has not hitherto been published): “During 1938, the British Army had set up a …
Continue reading
History Alive! and Jersey Military Tours Website launch
My “team” – Switch.je (creative web services), Mallet Crane (branding) and BookingHound (online booking software) – have been working hard to pull everything together and putting up with my many questions as to what was possible and what was not. I am pleased with the result and I hope that you will find the content interesting, and then perhaps book a tour. …
Continue reading
