Legacy project passes on Occupation stories in Jersey

BBC News

09-05-2025

A project which aims to keep the memory of Occupation survivors alive has launched in Jersey.Called Legacy it has combined the words of islanders who lived through that period of history, with photos depicting different generations.Plinths are now on display in Jersey's Royal Square, where crowds celebrated Liberation Day 80 years ago.Project leader Rod Bryans said his aim was to capture memories, while eye-witnesses were still alive.
"I'd taken a photograph of my grand-daughter holding a picture of my grandfather, her great-great grandfather and explaining that if he hadn't existed, I wouldn't be here. That's where the idea came from," he said.
One of Mr Bryans' subjects is Eileen Lerche-Thomsen, who was a child in St Ouen, at the time.She remembered German troops training in her family's garden, and the impact their presence had on daily life."There were soldiers everywhere," she said."All the cars had been requisitioned, and they'd also ordered us to give up cameras and radios. All those things had disappeared."However, as a child, she had found new toys by picking up the tiny parachutes used to drop British propaganda leaflets.
Maurice Dubras, whose family owned a shop and barbers in St Helier, told Mr Bryans they had toasted to peace on Liberation day."I remember hearing Winston Churchill saying the Dear Channel Islands were to be freed, and I still feel emotional. "I want my own children and grandchildren to understand what we went through."Mr Bryans described memories as "a golden thread" which ran through the generations."There's a saying that your ancestors live through you and I think that's really important," he said.