Tag: Spitfire

APRIL 1943 PODCAST IS OUT! 18 ARRESTED AND TRIED IN JERSEY, SINKING SHIPS, RAF RAIDS AND MORE!

This episode delves into the experiences of the Channel Islands during the German occupation in World War II, focusing on the crackdown on radios, the arrests of resistance members, the role of women in wartime labour, rationing issues, and the impact of air raids. We discuss various incidents, including trials, sabotage, and the fate of escaped Frenchmen, while also reflecting on community responses to the occupation and the use of art as propaganda by German soldiers.

Also looking at RAF air raids and their impact on rationing, a funeral for downed airmen and much more.

  • The crackdown on radios was a significant aspect of German control.
  • Resistance members faced severe consequences, including trials and harsh sentences.
  • Women were called upon to fill labor shortages during the occupation.
  • Rationing and food supply issues were critical challenges for civilians.
  • Air raids had a profound impact on the islands and their inhabitants.
  • The Germans used propaganda to maintain control and suppress dissent.
  • Sabotage and resistance activities were met with harsh reprisals.
  • The fate of escaped Frenchmen highlighted the dangers of resistance.
  • Community responses to occupation varied, with some supporting resistance efforts.
  • The legacy of these events continues to be remembered and commemorated.

Some pictures relevant to this episode are below.

Notice from the Jersey Evening Post. A similar notice, with some of the words highlighted in bold, was published in the Guernsey Press.
UK NATIONAL ARCHIVES DEFE 2/1296
Coastal defence of the Channel Islands: report by Major G E Rice.
Includes 153 photographs depicting: Fortifications after German occupation of Channel Islands photographs taken by Major G G Rice. Dated 1945.

More details about the Wellington Bomber and a funeral parade by the Germans can be found here 431 Squadron Wellington X HE213 SE-F Sgt. Bidmead.

You can catch all our episodes on this link.

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

NOVEMBER 1941 – FRITZ TODT VISITS, FRENCHMEN STRIKE, ESPIONAGE AND SPITFIRES.

It is November 1941 and there is a lot going on! Link to podcast in player and then details and photographs and more below.

Dr Fritz Todt visits the Channel Islands to assess what fortifications.

We talk about espionage and the arrest of William ‘Bill’ Symes who was arrested for smuggling information out of Guernsey about the German occupation and forces. He ended up in a concentration camp, but was remarkably released to an internment camp. You can read more of his story here.

French workers arrive and then protest before running amok in Town.

Thank you to Simon De La Rue who sent us some information and photographs relating to the tragic death of Ernest Brouard along with some photographs that are below.

Ernest Brouard top left and his wife Lily bottom right taken in 1905.
Obituary from the Guernsey Evening Press
Funeral Notice from the Guernsey Evening Press
A photo of two of Ernest’s grandchildren – Isabel and Richard De La Rue – photographed by a German soldier

I talked about a gentleman in Jersey who was complaining the RAF weren’t bombing Jersey enough and that Guernsey was getting all the attention! During a discussion about RAF activity in the area we gave a nod to one of Nick’s favourite podcasts Never Mind the Dambusters. Go check it out for all your Bomber Command related content.

Two Spitfires crash land in Alderney and we talk about what happened.

The Germans cause a potato crisis with far reaching implications and blame the potato growers!

The other podcast that may be of interest is Ham & Jam a WW2 Airborne Podcast.

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

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