L is for Liberation Monument

The Liberation Monument was designed by Guernsey artist Eric Snell, who was commissioned by the States of Guernsey in 1995. Interested in linking 1945 to 1995 and beyond, Eric looked to create a site-specific structure designed around the shadow cast by an obelisk.

​Unveiled by HRH The Prince of Wales on Liberation Day, 1995, the obelisk is comprised of 50 layers of blue Guernsey granite, representing the 50 years of freedom to the date of unveiling.

The cut angle at the top of the obelisk represents the trauma of the German occupation. Each year on 9 May, Guernsey’s Liberation Day, and only on that day, the tip of the shadow cast by the obelisk travels precisely (within one millimetre and 5 seconds of time) along the back of the curved granite seating. The shadow points to three inscriptions marking significant events on the day the island was liberated in 1945.

The key astronomical calculations were made by David Le Conte of La Société Guernesiaise, who carried out the necessary work to determine the timing and position of the shadow.