Photo Credit – SJPA 002346 – Liberation Day at the Esplanade
The past month has been a busy one for members of the History Section and several of our members are scheduled to deliver talks for the Société as part of the Liberation 80 celebrations.
Within the Section the importance of the Occupation in local history is well recognised. Whilst after 80 years of liberty it has increasingly become a historical curiosity rather than a “lived-in” experience it nevertheless remains firmly entrenched in island culture and identity. Another of those exceptional cases making the history of the Channel Islands distinct from that of the rest of Britain.
Commensurate with this the Section embarked on a project to document various personal accounts of life during the Occupation, either those of daring events or the more mundane tasks associated with daily living. The project was by its nature multi-faceted, encompassing the documenting of the oral tradition either direct from eye-witness testimony, that which has been passed on via storytelling, and also written sources such as memoires. Our members rose to the task and before too long I was juggling a host of submissions with a combined count perhaps in excess of 10,000 words. I have included some of them below, but hope to share more in the future.
Whilst these types of sources can be something of a minefield for the researcher, particularly where recounted so many years after the event and in consideration of their personal nature, there is also great value. Much can be gleaned as to how individuals, families, and by extension the island at large, experienced, understood and ultimately remembered the Second World War.
Bouonne Libéthâtion!
Oliver Thébault, MA
Secretary – History Section
Photo Credit- SJPA 002336 – Crowd on Liberation Day in the Royal Square, St Helier
