The Channel Islands

That's what I think makes him so fascinating. There were a few folks who were the ringleaders and they would place escaped prisoners with various families around the island. After a few weeks they would move them to another family so the neighbours didn't become suspicious of new family members or "French guests" with Russian accents.

It was all very clandestine and no-one was told who the other families helping were so that if anyone was caught they couldn't give up any names.

As you say considering the size of the island, to get away with it for the length of the Occupation was an amazing feat!

 

Gents,

I'm wondering if one of you might be able to assist me. Thanks to the wonderful powers of the internet, a gent has posted the excavation of a tunnel (or possible bunker) in his garden over on Pistonheads.com.

Would any of you know of any likely installations that might have been built into the rock faces in Jersey and is there any information freely available on the 'net which might aid 'the cause'?

Thanks in advance.

 

Hi Stout

Not entirely sure what you mean by the above rock faces. There was a German installation on pretty much every rock face in the Channel Islands by the time they were done (an exaggeration but the truth is there was more concrete, gun emplacements, bunkers and other fortifications in the CI than on the entire French coast on D-Day- pretty impressive for islands of no real strategic use).

Someone above mentioned the Channel Islands Occupation Society- German Occupation Society (Guernsey)

They have been restoring fortifications for years so should probably be your first port of call.

Hope that's a help!

 

I've finally added the first part of the Bob Le Souer interview. I'm hoping to get the rest transcribed by this weekend but things have been a bit mad recently so apologies for the delays in getting this up.

Whilst I'm on here can anyone recommend any other WW2 forums similar to this I should check out?

 

Looks like a nightmare. Did this really happen?

Operation Ambassador - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The objective was offensive reconnaissance, prisoner capture and aircraft destruction on the German-occupied Channel Island of Guernsey. Three landing points were designated but only No.3 Commando landed successfully. One party of No.11 were taken to the wrong island (Sark) and the other encountered a series of boat problems. No.3 Commando failed to find any of the 469-man German garrison and discovered they had to extract themselves by swimming some 100 metres out to their boats as the tide had risen too high for their motor craft to beach among the rocks.

At this stage it was discovered three Commandos could not swim so were left on the beach with additional French currency. They later surrendered. A dinghy was used to ferry weapons to the boats and on the fifth excursion it was dashed against a rock drowning one of the three men escorting it.

 

Thank you, Carl, for sharing the interview. I look forward to reading anything you will share on a story of which I knew very little. A man I knew years ago came from Guernsey. I wish I'd known more then so I could have talked with him about it.

 

I just joined this forum today and this is my second post.

I was pleased to find this thread. A couple of years ago, while in Valparaiso, Indiana, I stopped into a Goodwill resale store. In the video section, I came across a set of nine tapes from the Enemy at the Door, series one and two. This was a reenactment of the German occupation of Guernsey, and produced by Granada Television in 1977 on the Isle of Man. How historically accurate it was may be in question, but it gave me an idea of what went on. Since then, I have been able to get a pen pals wanted ad printed in the current Guernsey Press newspaper, from which I have met some wonderful Guersians and have learned about the German occupation and Guernsey history. Some of my pen pals have also sent me some priceless keepsakes, my favorites being two original 1942 copies of the Guernsey Star, which was the newspaper of the time during the war, books, postage stamps, etc.

I am also collecting newspapers and magazines during the war years of 1932-1945. My most recent additions have been war-era National Geographics. I love to study the politics behind the war, conspiracy, and lesser known facts not normally published in the controlled press.

I would love to hear from anyone who either lived on, any Germans who were stationed at Guernsey, or had relatives living on Guernsey during the war. Any Internet links would be appreciated. Snail mail pen pals also desired. Thanks.

 

Thanks for this Kai. Does anyone else have some additional info on this?

 

I recently visited the Channel Islands. They are very beautiful. I visited some of the Island deffenses and picked up some metal shell cassings and a news paper from the occupation. When I get photos and scans I will put them up.

 

Please do. . Anyone else with anymore info?