17-09-2015, 12:02 PM
Thanks for reading the thread Lawrence and Gary.
Unlike other WW2 & WW1 'battlefield tours' this trip had no real harrowing aspects to it - no battlefields, no commonwealth war graves, little real deprivation, etc. The residents had the opportunity to stay or leave, some had their children evacuated, some left, many stayed. Though the Islands were occupied and Germans were everywhere, as I said earlier, ( apart from the fact that initially, from the air, Germans mistook lorries loaded with tomatoes and potatoes for armaments), Britain decided - wisely as it happened - to leave the islands undefended. Had they decided to defend the islands they would have been turned into a battlefield with much loss of life, both military and civilian, and much deprivation. Despite the presence of the Germans in such large numbers relative to the civilian population, it was a much safer place than say Coventry, Hull or London. Kids went to school, everyone else went about their daily business, in shops, offices, on land etc.
As to 'slaves' many who worked on the defences building tunnels, bunkers, gun emplacements etc were actually well paid - some were local craftsmen, though many young men had left to go to Britain to be in the Services. Those who fared the worst were Slav prisoner and Jews, who were considered sub-human. The main period during which building work took place was 1941 to 1943 and from a civil engineering point of view, really very impressive and apart from all the reinforced concrete, many of the entrances were neatly built from Jersey granite, and look as good today as when they were built, as will be seen on the attached pic of a wall going down a slope to a bunker entrance.
Though clearly it was oppressive to have Germans everywhere, and for the last year or so food was in very short supply due to blockades, the Islanders fared far better than almost anywhere else that was occupied by Germans. Furthermore, in the later stages, the Islanders were better fed than the Germans as they got Red Cross food parcels, and the Germans were forbidden for taking food intended for the Islanders, nor did they. (Cats, dogs, or anything else that would make a meal didn't fare so well).
The most harrowing place I can bring to mind is the village of Oradour Sur Glane in SW France, where in July 1944, German troops en route to Normandy took it upon themselves to slaughter everyone in the village and destroy all the buildings. It's now known as the 'martyred village' and left as it was in 1944, with burnt our cars and so forth, and completely deserted. A new village was later built close by.
Way off the topic of clandestine crystal sets - often mentioned, but rarely seen.
Saw plenty of examples of anonymous tip-offs - notes to the Germans in scrawly upper case writing: 'Mrs Smith has a radio hidden under the floorboards in her front bedroom' etc. 'Twas ever thus.
Unlike other WW2 & WW1 'battlefield tours' this trip had no real harrowing aspects to it - no battlefields, no commonwealth war graves, little real deprivation, etc. The residents had the opportunity to stay or leave, some had their children evacuated, some left, many stayed. Though the Islands were occupied and Germans were everywhere, as I said earlier, ( apart from the fact that initially, from the air, Germans mistook lorries loaded with tomatoes and potatoes for armaments), Britain decided - wisely as it happened - to leave the islands undefended. Had they decided to defend the islands they would have been turned into a battlefield with much loss of life, both military and civilian, and much deprivation. Despite the presence of the Germans in such large numbers relative to the civilian population, it was a much safer place than say Coventry, Hull or London. Kids went to school, everyone else went about their daily business, in shops, offices, on land etc.
As to 'slaves' many who worked on the defences building tunnels, bunkers, gun emplacements etc were actually well paid - some were local craftsmen, though many young men had left to go to Britain to be in the Services. Those who fared the worst were Slav prisoner and Jews, who were considered sub-human. The main period during which building work took place was 1941 to 1943 and from a civil engineering point of view, really very impressive and apart from all the reinforced concrete, many of the entrances were neatly built from Jersey granite, and look as good today as when they were built, as will be seen on the attached pic of a wall going down a slope to a bunker entrance.
Though clearly it was oppressive to have Germans everywhere, and for the last year or so food was in very short supply due to blockades, the Islanders fared far better than almost anywhere else that was occupied by Germans. Furthermore, in the later stages, the Islanders were better fed than the Germans as they got Red Cross food parcels, and the Germans were forbidden for taking food intended for the Islanders, nor did they. (Cats, dogs, or anything else that would make a meal didn't fare so well).
The most harrowing place I can bring to mind is the village of Oradour Sur Glane in SW France, where in July 1944, German troops en route to Normandy took it upon themselves to slaughter everyone in the village and destroy all the buildings. It's now known as the 'martyred village' and left as it was in 1944, with burnt our cars and so forth, and completely deserted. A new village was later built close by.
Way off the topic of clandestine crystal sets - often mentioned, but rarely seen.
Saw plenty of examples of anonymous tip-offs - notes to the Germans in scrawly upper case writing: 'Mrs Smith has a radio hidden under the floorboards in her front bedroom' etc. 'Twas ever thus.
Regards, David.
BVWS Member.
G-QRP Club Member 1339.
'I'm in my own little world, but I'm happy, and they know me here'
BVWS Member.
G-QRP Club Member 1339.
'I'm in my own little world, but I'm happy, and they know me here'
