Call for joint Liberation Day celebration to mark 80 years

Monday 04 November 2024

Guernsey and Jersey should come together to mark the 80th anniversary of Liberation Day with a joint celebration, the British Channel Islands Occupation Remembrance Campaign has suggested.

The campaign calls for a joint event on 9 May to celebrate the shared history and hardships faced by islanders across both Bailiwicks during the German occupation.

Last week, campaign leader Kev South sent an official letter to all politicians in both Jersey and Guernsey calling for such an event to be launched. 

Pictured: The British Channel Islands Occupation Remembrance Campaign wants Jersey and Guernsey to have a shared Liberation celebration.

Mr South, who has family ties to both islands, explained that some of his Guernsey relatives were trapped in Jersey during the occupation, and the majority remained on the islands for the full five years.

The letter read: “This 9 May 2025 heralds the significant anniversary of the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of the Channel Islands in May 1945. 

“The Occupation of the Channel Islands was possibly one of the most difficult moments in our history."

Mr South said: “For such an important anniversary and the significance would it be possible to have a joint event encompassing both representatives from both islands and members of both States present?"

Pictured: The campaign does not seek to replace traditional Liberation Day celebrations in each island.

He explained that the campaign does not seek to replace traditional Liberation Day celebrations in each island but proposes a joint event, potentially on 8 or 10 May, to bring both communities together

“On such significant occasions would it be possible and be right that everyone unites for an extra single event together for all those who went through the Occupation and this significant anniversary of Liberation 80,” he said.