The story of Guernsey's Nazi occupation
Eighty years ago, on May 9 1945, the people of Guernsey lined the streets to celebrate their liberation from the Nazis, after five years beneath the jackboot of Hitler's Reich.
Today, their descendants (and some surviving veterans) will line those streets again to celebrate the 80th anniversary of that liberation, in the presence of the Princess Royal.
It promises to be quite a party, but it'll be a celebration tinged with sadness, because today is also a commemoration – of the many lives that were lost, and the many hardships these brave islanders endured.
The Channel Islands were the only part of the British Isles to be occupied by the Nazis. What was it like, living here under Nazi rule? If mainland Britain had been invaded, would the rest of us have shared the same fate?
Hitler turned the Channel Islands into a floating fortress, and though Jersey is larger, he chose Guernsey as his HQ. Its handsome, historic capital, St Peter Port, boasts the archipelago's deepest harbour, and its westerly position guarded the other islands from the Atlantic. Hence, the biggest fortifications were here on Guernsey.
To mark this anniversary, I've come to see what relics of that dark epoch have survived.
I begin my tour down a leafy country lane, a stone's throw from Guernsey's compact airport. Hidden within a row of whitewashed cottages is the German Occupation Museum.
Over a slice of Gâche, Guernsey's distinctive fruitcake, the museum's founder and director, Richard Heaume, tells me how he assembled this amazing haul, a labour of love which has endured for over 70 years.
Born in 1944, Richard grew up here. His family have farmed this land for centuries. As a boy he scoured these fields for spent ammo. His incredible collection grew from there. In 1966, he opened this intimate museum.
It's full of wartime artefacts, everything from military hardware to propaganda posters, all found here on Guernsey. It's not only incredibly informative – it also conjures up the eerie atmosphere of the war.
Richard and his friends have also spent countless hours restoring the many German fortifications around the island. After the war, for a lot of islanders, those fortifications were reminders of a time they'd far rather forget. Hence, a lot of them fell into disrepair. Richard recognised their historical importance, and thanks to local volunteers like him, many of them have been spruced up. A tour around them is a great way to see the island. It's also a great way to get inside the sinister story of the occupation.
Tour guide Amanda Johns shows me several of the most impressive structures (like Richard, she spends her spare time keeping these landmarks spick and span). We begin at Batterie Mirus, the largest artillery emplacement on the island. What you see above ground is just the tip of the iceberg.
Below lies a vast network of cellars, built to service this gigantic gun. You can still make out the German inscriptions on the walls.
Our next stop is Pleinmont Observation Tower, built by the Germans to look out for Allied warships. Perched on a craggy clifftop, high above the angry sea, it's the most imposing of these haunting monuments.
Over a lunch of local sea bream at a breezy seafront restaurant called Coast, Amanda tells me the story of Guernsey's occupation. After Dunkirk, the Channel Islands became impossible to defend, so the British troops departed, to spare the islanders any bloodshed.
Tragically, the Luftwaffe thought the lorries lined up on the quayside at St Peter Port were full of armaments, so they dive-bombed them, and dozens of civilians died. In fact, they were merely loaded with tomatoes.
The Wehrmacht arrived, unopposed, on June 30 1940, and Guernsey became an open prison. No-one was allowed off the island. Even the beaches were out of bounds. Newspapers were censored and radios were confiscated (islanders listened to the BBC on illicit crystal sets).
Out of a population of about 40,000, around 20,000 Guernsey islanders had already been evacuated (mostly children and men of combat age). They were replaced by around the same number of German soldiers. The Germans built no barracks. Instead soldiers were billeted with local families, turning them into hostages, making RAF raids impossible.
Initially, Hitler planned to use Guernsey as a springboard for Operation Sealion, his invasion of England ('Wir fahren gegen England' – we sail against England – reads a slogan on a bunker wall).
After he lost the Battle of Britain, Hitler had to abandon this plan, and as the Allies got the upper hand Guernsey became a defensive redoubt. Slave labourers were imported to build this section of Hitler's Atlantic Wall. Of all the concrete poured into his 1,670-mile 'wall', nearly 10 per cent was poured into Guernsey.
After D-Day, the islanders thought their salvation might be at hand, but the islands were so heavily fortified that the Allies decided to bypass them. Cut off from France, islanders were reduced to near starvation. Weakened by hunger and deprived of medicine, many died of curable ailments. Liberation didn't just mean freedom. It also meant a square meal.
I finish my day out with Amanda at Fort Hommet, overlooking Vazon Bay. Today this broad sandy beach is a prime site for paddling and sunbathing, but for centuries it was a target for invaders. The fort on this windswept headland was built by the British, several centuries ago, to guard against the French, and then modernised by the Germans.
Amanda shows me a pristine mortar launcher, still in its original position. It's thanks to volunteers like her that Guernsey's unique wartime heritage has survived.
The most spooky, spectacular site is the German Underground Hospital. Paul Bourgaize, from the wartime heritage organisation Festung Guernsey, shows me around. From the outside it looks like nothing, a small doorway dug into a wooded hillside. Inside it's colossal, an endless labyrinth of tunnels. If Paul wasn't here to guide me round, I'm sure I'd get completely lost.
I spend the night at the Old Government House in St Peter Port. Built 300 years ago, it's been a hotel since 1857 (before then it was the home of Guernsey's Governor).
During the Second World War it was a 'Soldatenheim', a rest room where German soldiers went for R&R. From my bedroom, I look out across mottled rooftops, over the yachts and fishing boats in the harbour, to the other islands beyond: Herm and Sark in the foreground, Alderney and Jersey on the horizon.
A French ferry is chugging into port. A cruise ship is anchored in the bay. It's one of the most stunning vistas I've ever seen. I could sit and gaze at it all day.
Next morning, after a hearty breakfast of kippers and poached eggs, I walk through ornamental gardens to the Priaulx Library. This elegant Georgian townhouse holds a precious archive of wartime documents. Chief Librarian Sue Laker shows me the highlights, including the newsletters of the Guernsey Underground News Service (GUNS).
This clandestine, uncensored newspaper was produced and distributed at great risk by its heroic citizen journalists. Betrayed by an informer, five members of the editorial team were sent to German prison camps. Only three of them survived.
These illicit newsletters were preserved by Sue's wartime predecessor, Ralph Durand, an acclaimed novelist who risked his life to hide them here for locals to read in secret. After the war Durand wrote a book called Guernsey Under German Rule. Sadly, he didn't live to see it published. He died in December 1945, of cardiac failure brought on by malnutrition.
I finish up at Castle Cornet. Built on a rocky island, in the bay beyond St Peter Port, this antique fortress has guarded Guernsey since 1206, when the Channel Islands forsook Normandy and threw in their lot with England. During the Middle Ages the French retook it twice.
It rebuffed Napoleon and the Kaiser. During the Second World War the Germans reinforced it to repel the Royal Navy and the RAF.
There are three museums within the castle, devoted to the Royal Guernsey Militia (who defended the island in previous centuries), the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry (who fought so bravely and suffered so grievously in the First World War) and 201 Squadron (RAF) who guard the island today, but the best exhibit is the castle itself. Every era is reflected in its architecture. There are fantastic views from the battlements, inland and out to sea.
As I walk back along the causeway which links Castle Cornet to the mainland, I think of all the sacrifices these islanders have made to defend their freedom – from the French and then the Germans – and it makes me feel very small. I hear the noonday cannon from the castle, fired every day, a stirring symbol of independence, and I recall the last lines of Shakespeare's King Lear:
The oldest hath borne most: we that are young,Shall never see so much, nor live so long.
Aurigny flies direct to Guernsey from London City, London Gatwick, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Exeter, Leeds-Bradford, Manchester and Southampton. Guernsey's only five-star hotel, the Old Government House, has all the usual luxury mod cons, but its greatest assets are its rich history and friendly staff.
Doubles from £252, including breakfast. The best meal I ate, by far, was at Le Nautique, where amiable German chef-patron Gunter Botzenhardt, a resident for 25 years, serves fresh local fish in simple, classic style. Gunter's love of the island, and his superb contribution to its culinary scene, is the best example of Anglo-German reconciliation I know.
William Cook travelled to Guernsey as a guest of Visit Guernsey.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
2 hours ago
- Washington Post
Sweat, tears, devotion: Pilgrims cross the wilderness to honor the Rocio Virgin in Spain
EL ROCIO, Spain — Their faces, hats and flamenco dresses caked in dust, hundreds of pilgrims gathered around an ox-driven carriage with their icon of the Virgin Mary after slogging on foot, horses and wagons through dirt roads for nearly 12 hours. The festive flamenco music stopped, the ubiquitous beer bottles and wine glasses were put down, and the Catholic faithful prayed an evening rosary by pine trees in the wilderness a few miles from the hamlet of El Rocío. 'One can drink and hang out. Our best friends are here. But it's essential to pray,' said Meme Morales, who's been doing this pilgrimage since the early 1990s, this year with her two grown daughters. 'The Virgin is something that forms part of our life.' Venerating the Rocío Virgin has been a tradition since the main icon was discovered near this village in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia around the end of the 13th century. It has grown into one of world's largest, most unique Catholic pilgrimages. For days before Pentecost weekend, about a million people do the 'romería del Rocío' in swirling clouds of dust that's as pervasive and natural as the faithful's devotion. It looks like a rolling, wild party, even among the religious brotherhoods, more than 130 of whom participate, taking different paths from around the region and as distant as Brussels. Morales' group is the Triana brotherhood. From when they break camp around dawn until well into the night, they sing flamenco songs, many specific to each brotherhood — accompanied by guitar and rhythmic clapping. Homemade food and copious amounts of water, beer and sherry are shared with friends and strangers alike. But there are prayers at every break along the country paths, priests to hear confession at day's end, conversations about the pope, mission trips and social outreach, even solemn Masses in the fields. 'Without that, this wouldn't make any sense. It would be a picnic,' said Patricia Rodríguez Galinier, who oversees liturgical celebrations for the Triana brotherhood. Based in a neighborhood by the same name in Seville, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) away, it's one of the largest and oldest, founded more than 200 years ago. Rodríguez had just helped set up Mass by the Triana 'simpecado' — meaning 'without sin.' It refers to their version of the icon of the Virgin, carried by an ox-driven cart covered in silver and fresh flowers. At each night's camp, wagons are set in a circle and people gather to worship through the night. With the oxen tied to small trees and some riders still on horses in the 90-degree weather (33 Celsius), more than 700 faithful listened to the homily by their spiritual director, the Rev. Manuel Sánchez. He quoted Pope Leo XIV 's first public words about God's love for everyone — adding, to laughter, that love included those at that moment receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation behind the wagon still grasping their beer bottles. 'There's a profound sense of spontaneity in El Rocío … just like in the Gospel when Jesus goes to have dinner with folks,' Sánchez said later. 'We have a lot of time to come to God crying in life, but that's not El Rocío.' One reason for the pilgrimage's down-to-earth nature is El Rocío's location, in the wetlands and sand dunes of the Guadalquivir River's estuary, said Juan Carlos González Faraco, a University of Huelva professor who has studied the pilgrimage. Until the last few decades, when large-scale greenhouse farming and natural protected areas have taken over, it was a malaria-prone wilderness frequented mostly by cattle and horse ranchers. That's allowed the centuries-old pilgrimage tradition to continue without the strictness of other places of devotion to Mary . It has stayed in the hands of the brotherhoods instead of the institutional church, said González. He's a member of the main brotherhood from Almonte, the closest town to the sanctuary that manages its white church filled with golden images and orange sand from the pilgrims' footsteps. Its president, Santiago Padilla, spent hours at the sanctuary's doors Saturday, solemnly welcoming each brotherhood as they arrived. 'They come laden with intentions, supplications, prayers. And it's the moment we shake their hands, we hug and we give thanks to the Virgin for this pilgrimage they made,' said Padilla, whose family has been pilgrims for generations. Padilla wore an impeccably white jacket and formal riding kit, like many members of the brotherhoods who do the pilgrimage on horseback. Women wear shawls and long, flaring dresses or skirts — to better ride sideways on horses and protect themselves from the brush and the sun. Such outfits might look like Spanish stereotypes, but they pay homage to the working traditions of many families from the area. 'Everything that has a good presence takes us a bit closer to God,' said Ignacio Sabater Wasaldúa, the Triana brotherhood leader. He rode horses this year alongside his son, helping lead the dozens of wagons and thousands of pilgrims on foot. The brotherhoods stress that their commitment to Christian life transcends one yearly pilgrimage — though it draws inspiration from it and they wouldn't consider missing it . 'El Rocío should be a model for society, with affection and solidarity,' Sabater said. Triana, for instance, maintains a chapel with daily Masses and brings nearly 200 youth from marginalized backgrounds to the brotherhood's house in El Rocío for a summer camp. 'I'm a rociera the whole year,' said Macarena Ruíz, who started participating in the late 1980s and whose three children are camp counselors. Despite Spain's growing secularization, youth remain involved in the pilgrimage, whether to maintain a family tradition, make new friends or live out their faith. This year, Triana's youth group organized Eucharistic adoration late into the second night at camp. 'That's the assurance that this will not be lost,' said Esperanza García Rivero, whose grandfather took his wagon on the pilgrimage in the 1940s. Hidden beneath the traditions and the festivities, many pilgrims are motivated by promises they made to the Virgin. After a double mastectomy for breast cancer, Paloma Maria had a large Mary tattoo designed between her shoulders. 'It's her who takes care of me. My Rocío Virgin is everything for me,' said the young woman from Cordoba. Maria Mendoza also came to give thanks when, together with García and her close Triana friends, she walked into the sanctuary Saturday after the brotherhood was formally received in front of it. More pilgrimage events awaited, culminating in Sunday night's final procession of the Rocío icon to visit every brotherhood in town. It's a massive scrum that lasts hours, after which the faithful make their long return journeys, on foot, horses and carts. But this was the first moment when the women were finally face to face with their Virgin. Tears quickly mixed with sweat and dust on their faces. 'So many thoughts swirling, for you, for your friends … it's just an explosion,' Sara de la Haza whispered. Then someone in the crowd intoned the Triana's salute to the Virgin. The friends wiped their eyes and started joyfully singing — 'You are the white dove, you are what I've loved the most since the day I was born.' ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
Sweat, tears, devotion: Pilgrims cross the wilderness to honor the Rocío Virgin in Spain
EL ROCIO, Spain (AP) — Their faces, hats and flamenco dresses caked in dust, hundreds of pilgrims gathered around an ox-driven carriage with their icon of the Virgin Mary after slogging on foot, horses and wagons through dirt roads for nearly 12 hours. The festive flamenco music stopped, the ubiquitous beer bottles and wine glasses were put down, and the Catholic faithful prayed an evening rosary by pine trees in the wilderness a few miles from the hamlet of El Rocío. 'One can drink and hang out. Our best friends are here. But it's essential to pray,' said Meme Morales, who's been doing this pilgrimage since the early 1990s, this year with her two grown daughters. 'The Virgin is something that forms part of our life.' Venerating the Rocío Virgin has been a tradition since the main icon was discovered near this village in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia around the end of the 13th century. It has grown into one of world's largest, most unique Catholic pilgrimages. For days before Pentecost weekend, about a million people do the 'romería del Rocío' in swirling clouds of dust that's as pervasive and natural as the faithful's devotion. Feast and faith as pilgrims make their way It looks like a rolling, wild party, even among the religious brotherhoods, more than 130 of whom participate, taking different paths from around the region and as distant as Brussels. Morales' group is the Triana brotherhood. From when they break camp around dawn until well into the night, they sing flamenco songs, many specific to each brotherhood — accompanied by guitar and rhythmic clapping. Homemade food and copious amounts of water, beer and sherry are shared with friends and strangers alike. But there are prayers at every break along the country paths, priests to hear confession at day's end, conversations about the pope, mission trips and social outreach, even solemn Masses in the fields. 'Without that, this wouldn't make any sense. It would be a picnic,' said Patricia Rodríguez Galinier, who oversees liturgical celebrations for the Triana brotherhood. Based in a neighborhood by the same name in Seville, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) away, it's one of the largest and oldest, founded more than 200 years ago. Rodríguez had just helped set up Mass by the Triana 'simpecado' — meaning 'without sin.' It refers to their version of the icon of the Virgin, carried by an ox-driven cart covered in silver and fresh flowers. At each night's camp, wagons are set in a circle and people gather to worship through the night. With the oxen tied to small trees and some riders still on horses in the 90-degree weather (33 Celsius), more than 700 faithful listened to the homily by their spiritual director, the Rev. Manuel Sánchez. He quoted Pope Leo XIV 's first public words about God's love for everyone — adding, to laughter, that love included those at that moment receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation behind the wagon still grasping their beer bottles. 'There's a profound sense of spontaneity in El Rocío … just like in the Gospel when Jesus goes to have dinner with folks,' Sánchez said later. 'We have a lot of time to come to God crying in life, but that's not El Rocío.' Popular devotion rooted in a place at the margins One reason for the pilgrimage's down-to-earth nature is El Rocío's location, in the wetlands and sand dunes of the Guadalquivir River's estuary, said Juan Carlos González Faraco, a University of Huelva professor who has studied the pilgrimage. Until the last few decades, when large-scale greenhouse farming and natural protected areas have taken over, it was a malaria-prone wilderness frequented mostly by cattle and horse ranchers. That's allowed the centuries-old pilgrimage tradition to continue without the strictness of other places of devotion to Mary. It has stayed in the hands of the brotherhoods instead of the institutional church, said González. He's a member of the main brotherhood from Almonte, the closest town to the sanctuary that manages its white church filled with golden images and orange sand from the pilgrims' footsteps. Its president, Santiago Padilla, spent hours at the sanctuary's doors Saturday, solemnly welcoming each brotherhood as they arrived. 'They come laden with intentions, supplications, prayers. And it's the moment we shake their hands, we hug and we give thanks to the Virgin for this pilgrimage they made,' said Padilla, whose family has been pilgrims for generations. A return to countryside roots Padilla wore an impeccably white jacket and formal riding kit, like many members of the brotherhoods who do the pilgrimage on horseback. Women wear shawls and long, flaring dresses or skirts — to better ride sideways on horses and protect themselves from the brush and the sun. Such outfits might look like Spanish stereotypes, but they pay homage to the working traditions of many families from the area. 'Everything that has a good presence takes us a bit closer to God,' said Ignacio Sabater Wasaldúa, the Triana brotherhood leader. He rode horses this year alongside his son, helping lead the dozens of wagons and thousands of pilgrims on foot. The brotherhoods stress that their commitment to Christian life transcends one yearly pilgrimage — though it draws inspiration from it and they wouldn't consider missing it. 'El Rocío should be a model for society, with affection and solidarity,' Sabater said. Triana, for instance, maintains a chapel with daily Masses and brings nearly 200 youth from marginalized backgrounds to the brotherhood's house in El Rocío for a summer camp. 'I'm a rociera the whole year,' said Macarena Ruíz, who started participating in the late 1980s and whose three children are camp counselors. Despite Spain's growing secularization, youth remain involved in the pilgrimage, whether to maintain a family tradition, make new friends or live out their faith. This year, Triana's youth group organized Eucharistic adoration late into the second night at camp. 'That's the assurance that this will not be lost,' said Esperanza García Rivero, whose grandfather took his wagon on the pilgrimage in the 1940s. Sweat and tears before Mary, mother of God Hidden beneath the traditions and the festivities, many pilgrims are motivated by promises they made to the Virgin. After a double mastectomy for breast cancer, Paloma Maria had a large Mary tattoo designed between her shoulders. 'It's her who takes care of me. My Rocío Virgin is everything for me,' said the young woman from Cordoba. Maria Mendoza also came to give thanks when, together with García and her close Triana friends, she walked into the sanctuary Saturday after the brotherhood was formally received in front of it. More pilgrimage events awaited, culminating in Sunday night's final procession of the Rocío icon to visit every brotherhood in town. It's a massive scrum that lasts hours, after which the faithful make their long return journeys, on foot, horses and carts. But this was the first moment when the women were finally face to face with their Virgin. Tears quickly mixed with sweat and dust on their faces. 'So many thoughts swirling, for you, for your friends … it's just an explosion,' Sara de la Haza whispered. Then someone in the crowd intoned the Triana's salute to the Virgin. The friends wiped their eyes and started joyfully singing — 'You are the white dove, you are what I've loved the most since the day I was born.' ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘My £19,000 family holiday is in jeopardy because of the Home Office's ETA shambles'
I live in California and have dual UK-US nationality, as do my three teenagers. Me and my husband (who has dual Canadian-US citizenship) have been planning a month-long trip to see family in England for the first time since 2019. Our UK passports expired in 2017, so we booked the flights – and planned to travel – using our US passports (as required under US law). After doing so a few weeks ago, United Airlines informed us that we would need to apply for the new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to visit the UK. No problem, we thought. One of the questions on the online ETA form asks applicants whether they hold dual nationality, however, and nowhere in the drop-down menu can you select 'British', nor is there anywhere to type it in. Therefore, unless I falsely claim to have only US citizenship, I cannot obtain one. Having booked the flights within a month of travel – we were awaiting confirmation of work commitments – we have no time to apply for new UK passports (it takes at least four weeks, we have been advised) or a Certificate of Entitlement (which takes up to eight weeks and costs £589 per person). I have spent around 30 hours calling the British Consulate and Embassy in the US, I've called the UK Visas and Immigration agency and used its ETA web chat multiple times, and I've spoken to United Airlines on several occasions. Yet all I'm getting is conflicting advice. While the Home Office website advises dual nationals that we should be allowed to board a plane to the UK without an ETA, I don't want to risk being turned away at Heathrow for either travelling without an ETA, withholding information on my ETA form, or possessing an expired passport. We feel devastated and defeated, with no choice but to cancel our travel to the UK. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip and we are faced with losing $26,000 (£19,200) in flights, car rental and accommodation and are left wondering why entry for British dual citizens is so much harder than for tourists. I also worry for myself – and others – what would happen if I needed to travel if a family member was sick or dying. - Mary, California I can well understand your frustration. The ETA scheme has been phased in since early January and it appears you are not the only ones to be baffled by the rules – many other dual British nationals are experiencing the same problem. Currently, the UK Home Office seems unable to provide a solution beyond the advice on its ETA Factsheet which states: 'We recommend that all British citizens travel on a valid British passport to avoid unnecessary delays at the border… As an alternative, British dual citizens can evidence their citizenship in another passport by obtaining a certificate of entitlement on However, with just 10 days to go before you travel, obtaining either a valid UK passport or a certificate of entitlement is, as you say, not an option. I spoke to the Home Office on your behalf and was advised verbally that you should be allowed to board a plane with an expired passport but there was no confirmation that your family would be allowed to enter the UK when you arrived at Heathrow. Of course, without an ETA, you are unable to simply use your US passport upon arriving in Britain as you did the last time you came here in 2019. The ETA factsheet goes on to state: 'We recognise that the introduction of the ETA is a substantial change for British dual citizens of ETA eligible nationalities. In the current transition period, we do not expect carriers to deny boarding to passengers who cannot produce a valid British passport or certificate of entitlement.' This would suggest you can enter the UK with your US passport and an expired UK passport, but the Home Office is unwilling to say so on record. Your airline, United, would not confirm to me that you will be allowed to board, and simply referred me back to when I contacted them on your behalf. Scouring blogs, social media forums and media coverage for expatriates in ETA-eligible countries, the situation is being described as 'a shambles' but it appears people facing this quandary are coming to the UK on expired passports or using an ETA and the valid passport they hold for the country where they now live, falsely claiming on the ETA form that they do not have dual citizenship. The latter option – lying on an immigration form – is risky and understandably not one we would condone nor that you wish to pursue, especially with teenagers in tow. There is one last option, and that is to apply for an Emergency Travel Document (ETD) for yourself and your three children. While ETDs are not designed for leisure travel, the Home Office told me verbally that if you have held valid UK passports since 2006 (and yours only expired in 2017), then there is no requirement to prove the reason for emergency travel. Applying for an ETD takes 48 hours and may involve an interview with the nearest embassy, but could provide the peace of mind you need to proceed with your desperately longed-for holiday. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
