I was chatting to my friend Jim Delbridge about what the next topic we could cover on his BBC Radio Guernsey & Jersey show. We were trying to think of something different that hasn’t really been covered before in our chats and I thought what about all the rumours that circulated around the Channel Islands! The show went out today, 28th July 2024, and we had a great chat about rumours.
There are plenty to choose from and they range from funny, bizarre, plausible to rumours that must have been worrying. When talking or writing about these rumours I like to categorise them as ‘Wish’, ‘Worry’, and ‘Wind up’ rumours.
You might at this point be wondering how on earth all these years on I know about the rumours that circulated and the veracity or not of the rumours! I have numerous diarists, both published and unpublished, to thank for this. The Rev Ord’s diary is a great source of these rumours and he records his assessment of them. He was respected, came into contact with many people through the church. They also confided in him, not just civilians, but also Germans as he was a fluent German speaker.
Often these rumours were based on something that had happened but was then misconstrued and the story grew and grew.
One has to remember that the local population had very little information, especially when the radios were taken away, and little to entertain themselves with during the course of the almost five years of the German occupation. Gossiping and rumours partially filled the void. One thing that does amaze me is how quickly these rumours got around the islands.
Wish Rumours
These are rumours that start to circulate because the local population wish or hope something is about to happen, happening or happened! As time went on they became more and more fantastic! A lot of these types of rumours centred around supposed activity of the allied forces around or in the islands, or the supposed retreat of the Germans and liberation of the islands.
One of these rumours started in the days immediately prior to the Occupation beginning. In the days immediately prior to the Germans arriving there were a lot of rumours about what was going to happen. Including that Channel Islanders were being forced to sleep in parks, which was untrue. After the initial evacuation a rumour was circulating in Guernsey that Ocean Liners were about to arrive and take the entire population to Canada.
Following the escape of eight men from Guernsey in September 1940 there was a rumour circulating the next morning that they had arranged to rendezvous with the Royal Navy to be picked up by a Destroyer or a Submarine depending on which version of the rumour you heard!
In February 1941 there was a rumour running rife in Guernsey that a Royal Navy submarine had surfaced next to a fishing boat and the Captain had a conversation with the two fisherman. He enquired what conditions were like and offered to take them to England. They declined as their wives were still in Guernsey. Anyone who heard this rumour should have known that by this stage that would not have been possible as fishing was strictly limited and involved having a German guard on your boat or German boats keeping an eye on the fishing fleet. That didn’t stop this rumour from circulating.
At varying times throughout the occupation there were rumours that Churchill & Eden had sent messages to the German Government to say that the Islands must be surrendered within forty days or they would be taken by force. Other rumours that circulated where that Eden and Churchill had died/left the Government etc. The King was also rumoured to have abdicated. Run away to Canada or more.
20th August 1942 Violet Carey records in her diary that the latest rumour is that two large boats are to take all the Germans back to Germany. This would have been a bit of a push given the shipping available at the time and the number of Germans in the Islands.
By December 1942 a rumour was circulating that the Islands were to be declared neutral, that the Germans would leave and the International Red Cross would take over responsibility for feeding the Channel Islanders. In addition to this the rumour said that a local defence force was to be raised, presumably unarmed to keep order as the Germans were not taking the enforced labour of various nationalities with them. The ships were rumoured to be sailing under the Jersey flag. Again this rumour was rather far fetched.
Worry Rumours
Worry rumours are those that came about because faced with an unpredictable occupying force who made endless rules and controlled every aspect of life. This led to rumours about what they were going to do next.
Philip Le Sauter has some fantastic turns of phrase in his diary about life in Jersey. On 23rd September 1941 he notes “Today’s rumours also concern our local Nazi builder – he is starting to build a tunnel to France, he is making a tunnel at St. Ouen from the beach to the Airport, and another at Gorey, and he is building another aerodrome at Gorey. Actually, he appears to be wholly concerned with fortifications, building pill boxes and gun emplacements.”
Now you are probably wondering how people just didn’t go an have a look to dispel the rumours. The issue being that if you didn’t live in the area you had to cycle or walk there to take a look, assuming it wasn’t in one of the forbidden zones.
In August 1943 Violet Carey recorded in her diary that there was a rumour going around that five Organisation Todt workers had tried to burn down St Peter Port, the main town, in Guernsey. Depending on which rumour you heard they were either:
1. In Prison
2. Already been shot
3. Been deported.
These sort of rumours really did cause worry as to what the very unpredictable occupiers were likely to get up to.
In addition to this there was a rumour going around that a German officer had told a local that if his wife and children were injured or killed in Hamburg by the bombing he would shoot five local women. Thankfully this never happened but given the situation it could well have so the worry was real.
One of the most sinister rumours that arose was in late 1944 when the Allies were advancing through France and onwards towards Germany. But while there was a sense of relief that the Germans were on the way to being defeated a certain amount of fear and foreboding existed. In Guernsey there many rumours going around, that gas chambers were being built, so that some civilians would be put in to reduce the population in order to save food. Given that the islands were effectively cut off and there were severe food shortages it is not surprising that this was given some credence.
Another rumour that circulated in both Guernsey & Jersey at this time was that the Americans were going to conduct a 1,000 bomber raid on the islands and that a warning had been issued on the BBC! Such a raid would have been devastating for the islands leading to enormous casualties. Of course those that had an illicit radio set knew that this was untrue, however they couldn’t say anything as to do so would have given that fact away! If they had said this and someone had overheard they could of ended up jailed or shot.
Nobody in the Channel Islands could possibly have known at the time as there was no such broadcast, but this rumour was actually not too far from the truth as the allies had considered bombing the Channel Islands in a number of plans that were formulated over the years to retake the Channel Islands. I wrote about these operations
Wind Up Rumours
Starting a rumour in the hope that it would reach German ears and then cause them to waste time and resources investigating them. These rumours could also be used as a form of resistance by making the German forces doubt if the news they were receiving was true. This wasn’t without risk and occasionally backfired on those starting or perpetuating them.
A classic example of this was in February & March 1941. A practical joke made the Germans look very silly but led to serious consequences for the two teenage maids that started the rumour that British parachutists had landed in Guernsey. They then pretended to be signalling to them which led to the Germans staking out the house and trying to capture the parachutists! Keith and I talked about this on the February 1941 episode of our podcast which you can find here. Keith and I talk about it in some detail on the podcast. Whilst it made the Germans look silly it resulted in serious consequences for those involved in the prank and for others that were suspected to be involved by the Germans.
There were many other rumours that were started either to wind up the Germans and cause them to waste time and resources or just to look silly. They also caused unsettlement in the ranks as Germans worried particularly in the later days as things were turning against the Germans.
Post War Rumours
Unsurprisingly some of these rumours found their way into local folklore and others sprung up. If I had a pound for every time someone told me a story about the occupation that is just not supported by fact I wouldn’t be working a full time job!
The veracity of these stories goes unchecked and are unfortunately perpetuated by some who write about the occupation years without checking if there is a scintilla of truth in them.
I hope that you have enjoyed reading the blog post.
I also co-host a podcast with Keith Pengelley in which we talk about the occupation of the Channel Islands month by month using first hand accounts, diaries and our research in the archives. You can find us on all the major podcast services. Just search “Islands at War” or visit our podcast page here.
You can also follow the blog on Twitter at @Fortress_Island where I share other information and photographs. If you prefer Facebook I also have a page there.
If you would like to receive email notifications of future blogs, you can sign up to the right of this blog post or here. Feel free to look around the website, where I have categorised posts to make them easier to find and other resources such as tours, places to visit and films that may be of interest.
If you have questions or information to share you can contact me by email on Contact@Island-Fortress.Com.
You can also find articles, podcasts, TV appearances and other social media etc here.
I will be adding more as time permits. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoyed it. Please share it on social media or add a comment if you did. Feedback is always appreciated.
Also happy to be contacted with questions about the war in the Channel Islands, media appearances, podcasts etc.
© Nick Le Huray
