You can find the Podcast at Islands at War on your favourite podcast app or listen in the player below.
Following a number of questions around the fortification of the Channel Islands we were keen to talk about early fortifications.
In the show we deal with everything from the start to late 1941! Basically everything pre-Atlantic wall.
We talk a bit about early Kommandandt’s, early fortifications and the obsession with holding the Channel Islands despite there being no strategic value. A few pictures below.
If you want to email in a question send it to occupied@gnetradio.com. Alternatively you can send us a text with the link at the bottom of these notes (only works with iPhones).
Thanks to Gnet Radio for recording the podcast and thanks to Jim Delbridge for the use of his song ‘5 to 7’ as our theme.
A message from A.J. Sherwill, was recorded in Guernsey on 1st August, 1940, and subsequently transmitted twice by Bremen Radio. Once on 24th August 1940 and again on 30th August. It was a controversial broadcast when viewed from the UK and also was viewed with some suspicion locally. Keith and I spoke about on the August 1940 episode of the ‘Islands at War’ podcast. You can listen below.
I thought it merited further examination and explanation than we were able to give it in the podcast.
In this blog I will add some more information and context to this broadcast; who requested it, who thought it was a good idea, the content of the message and how it came about! I will also talk about the the other message that was recorded but never broadcast.
The idea was first mooted on 5th July 1940 in the meeting of the Controlling Committee, the body formed to run the Bailiwick of Guernsey during the war. The President of the Controlling Committee was Ambrose Sherwill.
The President informed the Committee that the Commandant of the German Garrison has asked him to prepare a message of approximately 100 words, with a view to being broadcast through the German wireless station. Mr. Stamford Raffles suggested that the Commandant he asked if it can be requested that the British Broadcasting Corporation be asked to re-deliver the message and also that the English papers be asked to copy.
Minutes of the controlling committee 5th July 1940
Stamford Raffles, information officer, and the rest of the Controlling Committee must have thought it was a good idea as they didn’t oppose it and there is no more mention of it in the minutes. It would therefore seem unfair for Ambrose Sherwill to be singled out for criticism. That is if criticism was indeed fair which I will look at further into this blog post.
The Commandant, I use the English spelling but you could refer to him as Kommandant as the German terminology, was Major-Doctor Albrecht Lanz. Lanz was the first Commandant of Guernsey and was killed on the Eastern front during the battle for Smolensk in January 1942.
The Speech!
The speech was recorded by the Germans on 1st August 1940.
This is His Britannic Majesty’s Procurer in Guernsey, Channel Islands speaking to the people of the United Kingdom, and in particular to those who left Guernsey and Alderney during the evacuation which preceded the German occupation.
I imagine that many of you must be greatly worried as to how we are getting on. Well, let me tell you. Some will fear, I imagine, that I am making this record with a revolver pointed at my head and speaking from a transcript thrust into my hand by a German Officer.
The actual case is very different.
The Lieutenant-Governor and Bailiff, Mr. Victor Carey, and every other Island official has been and is being treated with every consideration and with the greatest courtesy by the German Military Authorities.
The Island Government is functioning. Churches and Chapels are open for public worship. Banks, shops and places of entertainment are open as usual.
Naturally, the sudden and entire severance of communications with the United Kingdom created innumerable problems with which we have wrestled and are still wrestling.
Perhaps the best indication of the measure of our success will be shown by the latest figures of unemployment, which are as follows: Males unemployed (of whom hardly any are fit for manual labour) 186; females unemployed, 191. Relief by way of public assistance is not above the normal figure.
The States have set up a Controlling Committee to speed up public business. My friends, Sir
Abraham Lainé, A.M. Drake, R.O. Falla, R.H. Johns, John Leale, Stamford Raffles, and Dr. A.N. Symons are collaborating with me on this Committee and are working like trojans.
The conduct of the German troops is exemplary.
We have been in German occupation for four and a half weeks and I am proud of the way my fellow-Islanders have behaved, and grateful for the correct and kindly attitude towards them of the German soldiers.
We have always been and we remain intensely loyal subjects of His Majesty, and this has been made clear to and is respected by the German Commandant and his staff.
On that staff is an officer speaking perfect English – a man of wide experience, with whom I am in daily contact. To him I express my grateful thanks for his courtesy and patience.
And now let me end on a more personal note.
To Elizabeth College, the Guernsey Ladies’ College, the Guernsey Intermediate Schools, the Guernsey Primary and Voluntary Schools, to both Teachers and Scholars, all our love and good wishes.
To all men of military age who left here to join His Majesty’s Forces, God speed. To all wives and mothers and sweethearts, God bless you. To all Guernsey children in England, God keep you safe.
God bless you all till we meet again.
And to Mary Rose, to John and Dick, Mummy and I send our fondest love and best wishes.
Tell Diana Raffles that her parents are well and send their love.Will the B.B.C. please re-transmit this message and will the daily papers please publish it
Evening Press 2nd August 1940 from my collection of newspapers.
Some Guernsey folk were angered that he had taken the opportunity to pass a message to his children when they couldn’t get a message to their own. It was however not a selfish act but an effort to prove that the message was genuine.
The German officer recording the broadcast then informed Mrs Sherwill that there was still time for her to record a message.
This is Mrs. Sherwill speaking for the mothers of Guernsey. We are all quite happy and contented with life over here if only we could have news of all our children to whom we send our very dearest love.
They are always in our thoughts and prayers. The Guernsey woman is always cheerful and philosophical under adversity – and the following story is typical of the spirit of the Island both before and since the occupation.
A Guernsey fish-woman in the market said to me just before the arrival of the Germans: “Ah! but ain’t some people awful, say! There’s a woman, she ses to me, she ses: ‘The Germans is to the back of the Island.’ ‘Ah well!’ I ses to her ‘Tell them to come round to the front.
Occupied Guernsey – Herbert Winterflood
Mrs Sherwill’s message was never broadcast, which Ambrose himself thought was probably due to the insolence of the second part which probably irked the Germans.
As for Ambrose’s broadcast that did go ahead although not quite achieving what he, and Stamford Raffles which was to be rebroadcast by the BBC and reported in the UK Newspapers.
The broadcast was barely reported in the Newspapers in the United Kingdom and for good reason. Churchill was reportedly furious. You can read the news coverage below. After that you will find my analysis of was it a good idea and the motivation.
In Guernsey it did make the newspapers. The following comments were made in a leading article in the Guernsey Evening Press of 2nd August, 1940, regarding A.J. Sherwill’s message. One has to bear in mind that the newspaper was subject to German censorship and indeed forced to publish propaganda articles written by the Germans.
We feel sure that everyone in Guernsey will feel a thrill of joy that a message from Mr. A.J. Sherwill, President of the States Controlling Committee, was recorded by him yesterday, and is to be broadcast in the near future from the Bremen Station in Germany, and that the B.B.C. are being asked to re-transmit the message and the daily papers to publish it.
The message has been made possible by the kind permission of the German Commandant, and it was made on a gramophone record, which has been sent to Bremen for transmission.
The possibility of some such transmission of good news was made to our Information Officer some days ago, by a representative of this paper and we are glad that a means has been found for putting it into effect.
The actual time of transmission by wireless from Germany is not yet known: it may be expected in the near future, and if Mr. Sherwill’s request is carried out, it is safe to assume that every Sarnian now on the mainland will hear it and, still better, read it at leisure. Mr. Sherwill’s message, in well chosen words, is one that is at once homely, loyal and true to the history of the Island since the evacuation of part of the population and of our life, under changed, but not unhappy, conditions since the German occupation. It is a message such as any Guernseyman, anxious to reassure his loved ones beyond the reach of correspondence, would have himself wished to send, and it is therefore one voice speaking for all and with the heart of each with it.
The thanks of Guernsey will be given to the German Commandant for this happy and considerate gesture, one which all islanders will deeply appreciate.
Guernsey Evening Press of 2nd August, 1940
What about Jersey?
The governing body in Jersey was the Superior Council, the equivalent of the Controlling Committee in Guernsey. Having looked at their minutes and other archive sources I can’t see that they were requested to make a similar broadcast. What is certain is nobody from Jersey made such a broadcast.
I can think of a few reasons for this but these are only my thoughts rather than actually any hard evidence either way. Firstly Jersey had a different Commandant to Guernsey, Captain Gussek who was Commandant in Jersey was a very different character to Lanz who was in charge in Guernsey. He viewed his command of Jersey more as a conquering hero and being of a temporary nature. He was about to lead his men on to the next stage to invade England on Operation Sea Lion. He was therefore less interested in the civilian administration of Jersey and any propaganda to be gained from it.
My second thought on why no broadcast came from Jersey was simply that there was a much smaller number of evacuees to the UK from Jersey. Only about 6,500 people had been evacuated from Jersey’s total population of circa 47,000 as opposed to almost half of the population of Guernsey being evacuated. A similar broadcast from Jersey would therefore have had much less propaganda value.
Analysis of why and was it wise?
As noted above Churchill was reportedly furious. He was noted to be furious about a number of things to do with the Channel Islands i the month of July so it is unsurprising he was furious about this in August. His initial fury was at having to give the islands up at all and then the less than impressive Operation Ambassador which you can read about here. This broadcast just annoyed him further.
With the passage of time and all the information that is available perhaps it is unfair that the speech was viewed by some as sucking up to the Germans and providing propaganda for the Germans.
If you had been in his position, one month into being occupied by the enemy that has rolled across Europe in quick fashion, cut off from a large portion of your population who have been evacuated and are anxious for news of their loved ones who are still in the Channel Islands. What would you do?
At the time he recorded the speech he had no idea how news from the Channel Islands could be sent or if it was ever going to be allowed. Talks about the use of the International Red Cross setting up a message system had not yet begun.
He took the decision, approved by the Controlling Committee, to take this speech and pass the message to those in the UK that their families were safe, that they were being well treated, at that point of the war, and to allay the fears of Channel Islanders in the UK.
Some of what he said may have been slightly naive or maybe it was just a case of at one month in to the occupation he hadn’t as yet get to grips with what he may or may not be allowed to say and hedged his bets. Better to get his message across to those desperate for news rather than recording something that the Germans then refuse to broadcast.
What he probably hadn’t have foreseen was how the German propaganda machine would use it with an introduction stating that it was proof that it wasn’t so bad to be living in an occupied country and that rumours of ill treatment were untrue.
For those that thought Sherwill was going too far and being too co-operative with the Germans and doubted his loyalty to the King they were soon to be proved wrong. In October 1940 he was sent to prison in France for helping Symes and Nicolle when they were here on a commando mission. You can read about that here.
Conclusion
Looking at all the evidence available I really think that it is harsh to say that Sherwill shouldn’t have made the broadcast. He did so with the best of intentions to quell the worries of those that had been evacuated. He had after all been left ‘holding the baby’ when the British government decided to withdraw from the Channel Islands.
In the end the broadcast did no harm to him as he received a knighthood post war and became Baliff of Guernsey from 1946 to 1959. For those not familiar with the role of the Bailiff he is the head of the judiciary and the most senior islander with a non political role. The Baliff also acts as the equivalent of the speaker of the House of Commons in the Guernsey parliment.
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.
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.
December 1940. Search Islands At War in your favourite podcast app or listen here.
In this episode we deal with the fate of Symes & Nicolle the two commandos and the civilians that helped them. Find out how they were treated and conditions in the prison.
We also talk about the repercussions of the raid and how the local population feels about the raid.
Also in the show we look at RAF activity around the islands, a German aircraft crash, fortifications and address listeners questions. If you want to email in a question send it to occupied@gnetradio.com.
We talked about a guided walk in Sark by Tim’s Guided Walks on 25th May. Details here on how to book.
The Festung Guernsey books are available from online book shops.
We continue to talk about Hubert Nicolle & James Symes and the aftermath of their surrender. The impact on the local community, the fate of those that helped them, and much more.
We also talked about the propaganda photographs that were taken of the civilian prisoners that were shipped off to Prison in France. Below you can see the picture we referred to which was reprinted in the Guernsey Evening Press Weekender Supplement in 1985. The man holding the briefcase is Herr Lensch their interrogator. After this photograph they were taken to prison.
Below you can find the fishing boat that we talked about.
Nick stood by the boat for scale.
The newspaper extracts about Civil Transport are below.
Guernsey Evening Press 19 November 1940Guernsey Evening Press 30th November 1940
We also talked about four RAF aircrew that were in a dinghy for 48 hours before landing on the island. Since we recorded I have tracked down who they were and which aircraft they were in when shot down.
16/11/1940 1350hrs an SOS was picked up by the St. Eval Direction Finding Station on a bearing of 139 degrees true. Avro Anson Mark I N9889 MW-S 217 Squadron had ditched in the Channel. The crew managed to get into their dinghy. P/O R.E. Troward 42914 , Sgt A.R. Weston 940106, Sgt Wilson and Sgt J.B. Steedman 973774 became Prisoners of War when they landed in Guernsey.
We mentioned in an earlier episode that these types of aircraft flew regular missions around the Channel Islands.
When we talked about this particular crew the information that we had was that one of them had died the day after arriving, at least that was the rumour at the time. There seems to be some uncertainty if that was indeed the case, although I can only find POW records for three of them at present but I also can’t find a record of a war grave in Guernsey for Sgt E Wilson who was the one that I can’t find a POW record for.
The account below talks of some hilarity at the identity card depots.
Guernsey Evening Press 28 November 1940Bucker 131
Hope you find the above useful.
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.
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.
It is October 1940. More details below but you can listen here. The two commandos, Nicolle and Symes are still at large and moving around the island. Much happened in the run up to their surrender, their treatment after they surrender and the consequences following this. I wrote a more detailed article here about them.
As many of you will know I am writing a book about escapes from the Channel Islands. Whilst doing some research I found a reference to a court case involving am Irishman, Joseph Ridgeway, who claimed to have escaped from the Channel Islands in January 1944. I thought the escape would be interesting to write about so did some more digging in the archives in Guernsey, Jersey and the UK.
He was prosecuted in Carlisle in December 1944 for assuming ‘a name other than that by which he was originally known.’ Having researched this further it would seem that his name was not the only thing that wasn’t true. His claim of escaping would also seem to be untrue! It becomes even more curious!
If he had been in Jersey until January 1944 he couldn’t have avoided having registered with the German authorities and I can find no record of him having done so. The Jersey Archives contain a record of all of these registration documents and he cannot be found under his assumed name or his real name. He also doesn’t appear in any of the lists that exist of people that escaped after the Germans arrived.
You can read about the court case in the articles below. You can find the rest of my thoughts on this after the articles.
Interestingly the£2 cost of telephone calls to investigate this would have been £77.21 in today’s money at the time of writing!
The only Joseph Ridgeway I can find in the Jersey Archives, with the same year of birth, is a man who applied to return to Jersey after the war.1 In his application he states that he left the Channel Islands on 21st June 1940. That means that he would have left on one of the evacuation ships rather than his story of escaping.
All in all a bit of a mystery! If you know anything about this drop me a line!
Keen to learn more about the occupation? Read on!
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.
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.
The latest episode is out. You can find it on all your favourite podcast apps and you can find it here.
In this episode Keith and Nick talk you through the events of September 1940.
We take a look at the following the civilian perception of what is going on in the war, various commando raids, an escape, RAF operations in the area, a failed rescue attempt, islanders serving in the British forces and much more!
In this episode we mention Captain Parker who was captured (photo below) and details of his reparation.
Photo from display at Occupation Museum.Reported 29 April 1944 in Guernsey Press
We also mention a new podcast about Bomber Command called “Never mind the Dam Busters” a podcast about RAF Bomber Command. You can find it here and on all your favourite podcast apps.
If you listen to the podcast and like it please do like and share it with your friends. It would be great if you could also comment on the podcast on your favourite podcast app.
Thanks to Gnet Radio for recording and our producer Sean Johnson.
Two weeks have passed already since the last podcast!
We are back for episode 3! We now have an appropriate theme tune thanks to our friend Jim Delbridge. He has kindly allowed us to use his song “5 to 7” from his album ‘The Navigator’. You can find details below about the song and the video.
You can find the podcast on all the usual podcast apps as well as here or listen below.
Keith and Nick talk you through the events of August 1940 the second full month of the islands being occupied by the German forces. We talk about matters both civilian and military.
Freedom of worship except for some. Major Marie Ozanne see more about her and a video here. Food & Essentials. The Bailiff’s controversial broadcast on German Radio. You can find full details of the broadcast here. A mission to rescue two commandos.
During the podcast we talk about some adverts from the Guernsey Press which are below.
We now have some intro and outro music thanks to our very talented friend Jim Delbridge.
If you listen to the podcast and like it please do like and share it with your friends. It would be great if you could also comment on the podcast on your favourite podcast app.
The latest episode of the ‘Islands at War’ podcast is out. In this episode Keith and I talk about the first month of occupation.
In this episode we cover the following:
Arrival of the German Forces.
The initial orders from the Commandant.
The initial Commando raids being ‘Operation Anger’ and ‘Operation Ambassador’ and their results.
Germans buying up everything in the shops.
The locals reaction to events.
You can find the podcast on all the usual podcast apps. Please do give us a like and subscribe. If you have a moment it would be great if you could leave us a review. It costs you nothing but helps us out massively.
You can also find the podcast here with links to all the podcast apps.
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.
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.
