The difference between the victor and the vanquished

The leaders of the opposing sides in the Battle of Jersey on 6th January 1781 both died as a result of wounds received in the battle. Major Francis Peirson, the senior officer commanding British and Jersey Militia forces was killed on the point of victory as his troops stormed the French troops who had been surrounded in the centre of …

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The Battle of Sluys 1340

A naval battle, fought just outside the port of Sluys (in modern day Zeeland, in the Netherlands) between Edward III’s fleet and that of King Philippe VI of France’s, had a significant impact on the Channel Islands . France and England had been at war since November 1337 in what would become known as the Hundred Years War. The war …

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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 …

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Inaugural Jersey Military History Forum 2018

28th February 2018, 2pm to 5.30pm The Ouless Room, Jersey Museum   Invitation All persons and organisations with an interest in Jersey military history are cordially invited to attend the Inaugural Jersey Military History Forum Please see the Jersey Military History Forum Invitation for further details and reply as requested if you are interested in attending. Places are limited. Reasons …

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One hundred years on at Passchendaele – ZERO HOUR

In 2017, the weather has been wet and the night air has had a chill to it. Having got up early, I headed out of Ypres north-eastwards towards Passchendaele and ZERO HOUR. Making my way along the small roads which crisscross the fields which were the battlefield, it is only too apparent that this place is wet! Even with working …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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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 …

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Jersey Past and Present – a bit of nostalgia

Cigarette manufacturers in the last century used to insert a card into the paper packaging in order to provide some stiffness and help prevent the cigarettes from being crushed. It wasn’t long before these cards had pictures printed on them and sets of cards were produced for smokers (or more often than not, their children) to collect. Playgrounds were the …

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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 …

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Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Poingdestre

Died: 11th February 1915 Aged: 54   Alfred Poingdestre entered [Victoria College] in 1869, at the age of nine. In 1874 he went to reside with his parents in France, returning to College in 1878. In 1880 he joined the Militia, and passed thence to The South Staffordshire Regiment in 1882. In 1883 he was transferred to the Suffolk Regiment, …

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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 …

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Who shot Major Peirson?

Although the battle is relatively recent in comparison to some of the medieval battles fought in the Island, the descriptions of the battle written in the immediate aftermath are coloured by a number of factors, which I will come back to, which have left the majority of us less than clear about what really happened. The other major factor in how most …

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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 …

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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 …

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