Channel Islands Occupation

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The Channel Islands are British Crown dependencies. They are largely self governed, with the UK Government responsible for defence, overseas representation and international affairs generally.

The two main regions or bailiwicks are Jersey and Guernsey. The islands of Alderney, Sark, Herm, Jethou, Brecqhou and Lihou are part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, but have a large measure of independence.


Jersey	Guernsey	Alderney	Sark	Herm	Jethou	Brecqhou

Each bailiwick has its own Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief who acts as the personal representative of the crown and the official channel of communications between the Islands and the mainland.

The representative bodies of the bailiwicks are called ‘the States’ - in Jersey, the Assembly of the States - in Guernsey, The States of Deliberation. They are presided over by a Bailiff. Sark is a hereditary Seigneurie with a largely feudal constitution. Alderney has its own States.

The Channel Islands was included as part of the British postal service and used British stamps until the war and occupation.

Mail was carried mainly by boat between the Islands and to / from Britain or the continent.

An aerodrome was constructed in Jersey in 1937 with Jersey Airways being awarded the contract for airmail. The first flight took place on 1 June, 1937 (most postmarked 31 May). Cachets applied in company offices - green in London, purple in Southampton, and blue in Jersey (shown). A.Phillips the stamp dealer used a similar cachet in red (shown).

The mail route was operated daily, except Sundays, leaving Jersey Airport at 6.25 a.m. arriving Southampton at 7.30 a.m. The return route left Southampton at 7.55 a.m., arriving at Jersey by 9 a.m.

Guernsey Airways operated a Southampton-Guernsey service starting 8 May, 1939. Guernsey Airways aircraft D.H.86 (RMA G-ACZP) was flown by Captain B. Walker, leaving Southampton at 8 a.m. and arriving at Guernsey 8.59 a.m.. Covers often show Southampton, 11.45 p.m. postmark of 7 May; a few covers show London 12.45 a.m. 8 May. Cover stamped on front with violet rectangular cachet 'GUERNSEY 8 MAY 1939 SX AIRWAYS' - on back with black circular cachet 'GUERNSEY AIRWAYS - 8 MAY 1939 GZ'.

Cachet on back

The first flight from Guernsey was on 22 May, 1939. Carried by Guernsey Airways Ltd. The pilot, J.W.B.Pugh, flew from Jersey at 6 a.m. to Guernsey in aircraft RMA G-ADVK, leaving Guernsey at 6.28 a.m. and arriving at Southampton 7.25 a.m. The usual postmark is St.Peter Port, Guernsey, 5 a.m. [3 covers shown below].

The Southampton-Guernsey air service was halted on 3 September, 1939 at the outbreak of war. A service between Shoreham and the Islands continued from 8 November, 1939 to 1 July, 1940.

Occupation

The approximate populations of the Islands in 1939 were : Jersey 50,000; Guernsey 40,000; Alderney 1,500; Sark 600. Most Islanders preferred to stay during the occupation - 6,600 left Jersey, 17,000 left Guernsey.

The States voted for conscription of men aged 18 to 41 to match the mainland's conscription law. A Defence Corps for the Islands, (Insular Defence Corps and Royal Guernsey Militia) was just being formed when the occupation started. However, it was recognised that no serious attempt could be made to defend the Islands and 2 battalions stationed in the Islands were withdrawn. The two Lieutenant Governor’s departed on 21 June, 1940 with the last of the British troops. The bailiffs of the two bailiwicks were to assume the duties of lieutenant governor during the occupation.

The demilitarization of the islands was not announced as this would have seemed to be an open invitation for the Germans to invade. Unfortunately on 28 June the Islands were bombed, killing 44 civilians, so an unofficial announcement was made on the BBC that night with a formal notification via the US Ambassador in London made on 30 June.

The Germans had included invasion of the Islands as part of their strategy long before they attacked Poland in 1939. In July, 1938 they had sent at least one agent there and his report was sent to the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW). Germany could not leave the Islands as a base for British operations and it had a propaganda purpose.

The plans for capturing the Islands were called operation Grüne Pfeile, (Green Arrows). A large number of German troops were on stand by in nearby French ports expecting a need for a forceful landing.

To test out the unofficial demilitarization claim, Hauptman Liebe-Pieteritz of the Luftwaffe landed at Guernsey with 3 planes overhead to cover him. He had to make a quick getaway when 3 Bristol Blenheims appeared to engage his colleagues, (2 of the Blenheims were shot down). After his report was made, a platoon of soldiers of the Luftwaffe were flown to Guernsey by Junkers transport planes led by Major Dr.Albrecht Lanz on 30 June, between 7-8 p.m. They were met at the airport by Inspector Sculpher, head of the Island's police. The leaders of the invaders were escorted in police cars and a commandeered taxi to the Royal Hotel to meet senior officials. German instructions and regulations were read out. On Monday 1 July, more troops arrived in Guernsey and Jersey and the occupation was completed without hostile incident.

2 July - Germans land at Alderney which had already been depopulated.

3 July - Major-Dr.Lanz and Dr Maass arrive to meet the Dame of Sark, Mrs Hathaway. On 4 July a sergeant and 10 men arrive on Sark.

During August 1940, the German military government organization took over the administration from the troops. The Islands became part of the Départment de la Manche, (sub-district of German military government area A centred at St.Germain-en-Laye).

The occupiers also began to turn their attention to identifying Jews still resident in the islands and declaring anti-jewish orders.

The civil affairs department of the German military government of the Channel Islands was operated by Feldkommandantur 515 in Jersey based at Victoria College House. The Feldkommandantur was responsible for the smooth running of the civilian affairs of the islands and for bringing the policies of the islands into line with those dictated by Germany. Feldkommandant Oberst Schumacher arrived on 9 August, and was followed in September 1941 by Colonel Knackfuss.

F.O.Schumacher established a subordinate office in Guernsey, the Nebenstelle, also responsible for policy in Sark.

FK515 had two main branches - the military (Militärische Führung) and the administrative branch.

The administrative branch was supervised by an Oberskriegsverwaltungsrat, (Senior War Administrator). The postal services fell under his remit.

There was a temporary halt to the postal services following the invasion. Mail between Guernsey and Jersey was then restarted on 10 July, 1940, though the service was not regular and post could take between 1 day and 2 months to arrive.

Island mail was seldom censored - some were taken to Paris to be examined, and after D-Day mail was sometimes censored at the German Feldposts in the Islands. There was some very unofficial ‘internal’ censorship with P.O. sorters watching out for letters addressed to the Feldkommandantur and German Secret Police (Geheime Feldpolize) - they ‘lost’ over 400 letters.

In October 1941 Berlin ordered that the Channel Islands should be made into 'impregnable fortresses'. The Islands were fortified and strengthened - at one point there were 36,000 troops based there. The islands were also used by the Germans as holiday destinations for German troops serving in France. The Germans brought in many foreign prisoners and staff of the Organisation Todt to work under appalling conditions on the construction of fortifications.

Channel Islanders were forbidden to communicate outside the Islands, except by censored 25-word Red Cross messages which took many months to reach their destinations. Small quantities of imports arrived from France, but supplies of most items were often in very short supply or impossible to obtain.

In 1942-43, 2,000 British people, including whole families with children, were forcibly deported to camps in southern Germany. This was carried out partly in retaliation for the internment of Germans living in Iran, and also as a revenge for a British small scale raid on Sark. During the occupation, some Islanders were sent to concentration camps including Buchenwald, Bergen-Belsen, Ravensbrueck, Auschwitz and Neunegamme. Some were sent to Sylt in Alderney, the only concentration camp (named 'Norderney') established by the Nazis on British soil. French Jews were also imprisoned in the camp. At least 31 Islanders from Jersey were murdered in the camps or died from ill-treatment.

After D-Day on 6 June, 1944, the Channel Islands were cut off from all supplies. Food stocks ran extremely short. The International Red Cross sent food parcels by sea from Lisbon in the SS Vega, (1,073 tons). Two food parcels, each weighing about 11 lbs, were distributed to civilians in January 1945. The Vega made five other voyages from Lisbon to the islands in 1945 to bring flour and other supplies.

The war in Europe ended on 8 May, 1945, and the Germans surrendered the islands on the following day, now referred to in the Channel Islands as "Liberation Day".

On 9 May, the destroyers, Bulldog and Beagle, landed with British troops. Pre-paid postcards were issued to the Islanders for brief notes to relatives on the mainland.

King George and Queen Elizabeth visited Jersey and Guernsey on 7 June.

10 September - resumption of first class airmail service to the Channel Islands and between Jersey / Guernsey. Channel Islands Airways formed from Jersey Airways and Guernsey Airways.

The occupation issue stamps were allowed for continued use until 13 April, 1946, (as this was a Saturday, many last day covers were postmarked on 15 April).

Contact : Malcolm Sanders : kg6gb@hotmail.com