Alderney commemorates 80 years since being liberated from German Occupation
It's the first time Alderney has marked their Liberation Day, preferring instead to honour Homecoming in December.
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BBC News
28-05-2025
- BBC News
Three people from Guernsey recognised for services to St John
Two ambulance staff and one volunteer from Guernsey have been invested as Members of the Order of St John. Aimee Lihou, head of quality and patient safety, former ambulance officer Dave Welbourne and St John charity volunteer Rachel Norman, were all recognised for their services. Mrs Lihou helped with establishing the new ambulance service for Alderney, while Mr Welbourne served on the Flying Christine II and Flying Christine III, and Mrs Norman was recognised for her safeguarding work, charity leaders three received their awards were at a ceremony at the international headquarters of St John in Clerkenwell. 'Real honour' Such appointments were sanctioned by HM King Charles to individuals recognised for an achievement, selflessness or inspiration and encouragement to others, the charity Lihou said: "It was a very special day, set within the St John Priory Church and a reception at St John's Gate. "I was delighted to share the occasion with other recipients from Guernsey and members of my family." She said she had been involved with the service since she was eight as a youth member and volunteer before training to be a paramedic. Mr Welbourne said: "It was a surprise when I first heard about the nomination and a real honour to receive this award in recognition of my 40-plus years of service to the Flying Christine - a position that I have always enjoyed and felt passionate about."
Telegraph
24-05-2025
- Telegraph
Nazi diary reveals love affairs on occupied Channel Islands
A Nazi diary has revealed details of soldiers' love affairs on the occupied Channel Islands. Guernsey, Jersey and Alderney were held by Nazi Germany from 1940 until after Victory in Europe Day on May 8 1945. Baron Hans Max von Aufsess, Jersey's then civil administrator, kept a diary where he noted down his day's activities, including trysts with the locals. The officer became known as Jerrybags for sleeping with the enemy. Outlining his relationships with Jersey woman, he claimed there was a 'good understanding between the German soldiers and English girls'. 'As long as it occurs in sufficient secrecy, the girls give in to temptation. The Englishwoman is astoundingly simple, effortless and swift in her lovemaking.' Comparing English and French women, he claimed: 'While the Frenchwoman involves herself totally in the game, which she likes to be conducted along intellectual lines, for the Englishwoman it is a surprisingly straightforward physical matter. 'This direct and uncomplicated fashion of making love is not to be underrated.' His memoir, The Von Aufsess Occupation Diary, was published in 1985. The islands, cut-off from mainland Britain, experienced chronic shortages of gas which shrouded the islands in darkness during the occupation. Curfews were set, radios banned, and ovens were only allowed to be used for an hour a day. But the occupiers enjoyed a lifestyle far removed from the 69,000 islanders – sunbathing on beaches, visiting black market restaurants and riding stallions. 'What a peaceful place this is,' he wrote. 'Everything runs pleasantly. The whole island is charming and romantic. Sunday morning begins riding Satan into the golden dawn. I spend the entire afternoon hunting which is wonderfully relaxing. 'I stand under the giant beech and oak trees at Rozel Manor, fully focused on the invading pigeons. I don't miss a single bird in the sky.' He also describes visiting a black market restaurant in a 'splendid location' above St Aubin's Bay. 'They still have the most wonderful things,' he wrote. 'I feel quite embarrassed to have dined there so well.' Baron von Aufsess spent two years in a British prison before returning to Germany. Now historians have found a rare photograph album of SS officers during the occupation in the Fränkische Schweiz-Museum, in Pottenstein, Bavaria. Von Aufsess's album, unveiled in the Channel 4 documentary Britain Under the Nazis: The Forgotten Occupation, shows holiday snaps rather than wartime photos. In one of the images a man, who appears to be von Aufsess, is pictured sunbathing on a beach with his arm around a brunette woman. Louise Willmot, a historian, told the programme: 'I've never seen this before. This is the Von Aufsess album. It is like a tourist guide to the island, which is the last thing you would expect. 'A copy was presented to Hitler, because Hitler had this great interest in this Channel Island prize that Germany had captured.' On June 15, 1940, Sir Winston Churchill ordered the withdrawal of military personnel from the Channel Islands, abandoning its 94,000 islanders to their fate. Some 25,000 chose to evacuate, but the remainder stayed on the islands undefended. On the evening of June 30, one month after the British evacuation at Dunkirk, German forces seized control.
BBC News
24-05-2025
- BBC News
Alderney marks 80th anniversary of Liberation Day
A day of remembrance and celebrations has been held in Alderney to mark the 80th anniversary of when the island was liberated from Nazi German occupation at the end of Word War at the harbour and conducted by the Reverend David Knight, a morning service saw the police, RNLI and other emergency services come together with islanders. It was followed by a parade, performed by the Force 135 living history group, through the town to Royal Connaught Square before an address was delivered by President of the States William his speech, he paid tribute to the islanders who had returned to Alderney several months after liberation. He praised them for rebuilding their homes and re-establishing their constitution. The raising of the Union flag then followed along with the singing of the national anthem.
