Freedom! ........

Today in Guernsey is a bank holiday as we celebrate 67 years since the liberation of the Island from German occupation during WW2. Theer was a cavalcade on the town sea front, tea dance, various stalls, entertainment and huge crowds of people. This is just a bit of the parade. Lots of people were dressed in red, white and ble. A great day and one never to be forgotten.

Liberation of the Channel Islands.......

The Channel Islands were liberated on 9 May 1945, and at last the evacuees could plan their return home and could contact each other. Thousands of Liberation postcards were printed in Guernsey and sent to England. However, the return of the evacuees had to be staggered, so this took place over a period of several months because the island had been badly damaged during the German occupation. The evacuees left the various northern towns by train, arriving in London where they changed trains for Southampton. They then boarded ships to cross the Channel; the interviews capture the excitement that the evacuees felt when they eventually spotted Guernsey on the horizon: 'The sun was just coming up, and I could see St Peter Port! It was even more beautiful than I remembered! As we drew closer, I could see a crowd of people around the harbour, and I wondered if my husband and parents were there waiting for me!'

The interviews reveal that, upon their return to Guernsey in 1945, a number of children were reluctant to leave the families they had lived with in England and that many returned to Guernsey with a distinct northern accent.

Conditions in Post-War Guernsey

Upon arriving back in Guernsey, some discovered that their homes had been destroyed or damaged, whilst others discovered that the contents had been looted. Some could not obtain employment, and returned to England again within a few months.

In addition, the beaches were full of mines and ammunition, and the German army had built fortifications all around the island's coast, which can still be seen today. Although some children settled in well with the parents they had left behind, many told me that they failed to bond after five years of separation. One boy stated "When I got back to Guernsey, I didn't recognise my Dad - we couldn't form a proper relationship, we were like strangers".

One girl told me, 'I left Guernsey as a teenager and returned as a mother with a new born baby, my family did not know how to relate to me'. Another evacuee discovered that two new sisters had been born on Guernsey during the war, she never connected with them, and felt she was not now really part of the family.

Many evacuees still retain friendships with the families in Northern England which cared for them during the war years. For seventy years they have written to each other and spent holidays in England and in Guernsey. They have expressed a wish to thank the people of the North for their kindness during the war.