80 years on...

Saturday 20 June 2020

Half of Guernsey's population was evacuated to the UK mainland 80 years ago, with those events being remembered and marked this month through a series of different events.

Visits of evacuees to the towns they lived in during the Second World War had to be cancelled because of the covid-19 pandemic but other events are being held locally.

The cancelled events include a Church service which was due to be held in Stockport next weekend, but is instead going to be live streamed on BBC local radio.

In Guernsey, filmed interviews with evacuees will be shared online, along with other written and spoken word accounts of the time and individual's personal experiences including songs from the musical A la Perchoine which have been set to archive photos.

The winning entries from the Guernsey Post Letters Home Campaign will also be published after children were asked to write letters imagining what it would have been like to be evacuated. 

Pictured: The White Rock was bombed on 28 June, killing 34 people and injuring 33 more (image from Occupation Archive).

The commemorations are starting today, as it was 20 June 1945 when the evacuation started - with 17,000 people being taken to the UK over the course of the following week, before the German occupying forces arrived after bombing St Peter Port Harbour.

The attack on 28 June saw tomato trucks targeted, killing 34 people and leaving 33 more injured.

Shortly after the bombing, later on during the evening of 28 June, 1940, the Isle of Sark mail boat left Guernsey, heading for the UK.

It reportedly took 647 passengers to England, which was 200 more than had originally been planned. That was the last boat to leave Guernsey, before the Occupation began on 30 June.

Above: Gillian Mawson has researched the evacuation and the lives of evacuees in England, and documented her findings in a number of books and on her website.

Deputy Matt Fallaize, President of the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture, said:

“The 80th anniversary of the Evacuation is an important date. For some it may seem like such a long time ago, but those who lived through the events of the Evacuation and Occupation remember they had a profound and lasting effect on our society.

"One of my grandfathers was evacuated as a 12-year-old schoolboy and returned to Guernsey years later as a man and when he was alive I always enjoyed talking to him about this part of his life. It is important that the strength and courage shown by our island community and the suffering endured are never forgotten and always commemorated.

"The 80th anniversary is also a special chance to teach today’s children about what their grandparents or great grandparents experienced and our schools will be taking advantage of this opportunity to teach local history.”

Pictured top: Image taken from Gillian Mawson's website HERE.