Rene's Occupation story - in full

Saturday 09 May 2020

You can now read in full the Occupation diary of a Guernsey woman, including her memories of Liberation Day, after a relative shared them with Express to be published this week for the first time.

Irene Rose - known as Rene - was a young student nurse when she lived through Guernsey's Occupation. She had been in her 20s when German troops arrived in the island.

She took the time to note down her reflections on what island life was like during the Occupation and the difficulties many families faced.

Those writings were stumbled upon recently by Rene's great great niece, who was sorting out old family papers. She decided to share them with Express in time for the 75th anniversary of Guernsey's Liberation.

We have published each diary entry provided to us over the course of this week, and you can read them all HERE. 

Pictured: Liberation Day will be slightly different this year, with all events taking place virtually.

Rene lived in St Peter Port with her parents during the war and, although she had four sisters, all of them had either been evacuated or had moved to the UK.

She had some basic nurse training, which she put into practice throughout the Occupation but, following the war, pursued a career working as the Office Manager for Guernsey Electricity.

In 1969 - a year after her father passed away - Rene sold the family home and left for Bristol, where she lived with her sister before buying her own house.

She never married or had children but continued to work for utility companies in the UK.

In her later life, Rene moved to a nursing home in Bristol, where she passed away in 2013, aged 95.

To read Rene's diary entries follow the links below:

Part 1: "I sincerely hope you will never know the anguish.."

Part 2: "We could only watch and pray for them"

Part 3: Crystal Radios and stolen homes

Part 4: "Small pockets of hope"

Part 5: "Bursting with relief and joy!"

Pictured top: Irene Rose over a picture of Nazi Displays in Guernsey from visitguernsey.com (courtesy of the Priaulx Library & Occupation Archive).