Island Memories exhibition recalls WW2 occupation of Guernsey
"We are so grateful to the participants for taking part and hope this display does their memories justice," he said.Maisie Le Page, 88, from Sark was three when the war started.Mrs Le Page lent her childhood teddy to the exhibition - a second-hand panda which was stabbed with a bayonet by an SS soldier, while he was looking for her father's hidden radio.She said it was was "wonderful" that people's memories would be "kept forever"."I was quite touched when I saw [my panda] lying there today when I came in."The Island Memories Project was launched in November by Guernsey Museum in partnership with BBC Radio Guernsey. The project aims to record islanders' memories about life in the bailiwick and create a digital archive of oral histories for future generations.Guernsey and Alderney will celebrate the 80th anniversary of their liberation on 9 May, while Sark was liberated one day later.
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Rhyl Journal
9 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
D-Day veteran celebrates 100th birthday at regimental museum
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Wales Online
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Press and Journal
13 hours ago
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Happy 100th birthday to D-Day hero and Turriff legend Jim Glennie
Most of the old soldiers who took part in the D-Day landings in Normandy in 1944 are no longer with us. Yet, most Tuesdays at the Gordon Highlanders Museum in Aberdeen, the staff and volunteers relish the chance to say hello to their friend and colleague Jim Glennie. He has become a fixture at the venue where he has spent decades acting as a guide, a storyteller, somebody who even met and shook hands with a former enemy. The Turriff man has never regarded himself as anything special. But he was awarded the Legion d'Honneur in 2015 and a BEM in the most recent New Year Honours. And, today, he is celebrating his 100th birthday – the last of his generation from the north-east of Scotland who served the regiment with distinction. Jim was just 18 years old when he was involved in the D-Day campaign and witnessed scenes which were forever seared in his memory. By the end of the first day, more than 4,000 Allied soldiers had been killed, yet the advance continued unabated as they locked horns with their German opponents. As he once recalled: 'I could swim, but my pal Ronnie McIntosh and another boy Norrie couldn't, so I said I would help one of them to shore and then go back for the other. 'But when we landed, the water just came up to our knees. I put my foot on the sand and, as the water came flooding into the craft, there was a dead body next to me. 'But you weren't allowed to stop. The sergeant told us: 'Don't stop, go straight on!' 'We ran towards a field and someone shouted out: 'Hold it, there are mines!' The place was covered in them. 'You were scared within yourself, but you didn't show it. You just didn't know what you were getting yourself in for – it was very dodgy.' Jim and his colleagues made some progress, but he and his company were ambushed by Germans while they were making their way towards Caen. Several were killed or wounded, but Jim and others managed to take temporary cover in a roadside trench as German Panzer armoured vehicles approached. He said: 'The [Panzer] tanks came past and were just spraying us, but we managed to keep our heads down. 'I remember thinking: 'I don't like this' and I jumped out and ran up the road to try and get them when they came round a bend. 'So I was standing there, firing my gun and, all of a sudden, I felt shots hit me in my right arm and the gun just dropped out of my hand.' It was the end of his war. After recovering in hospital, Jim was transferred along with hundreds of other POWs to Stalag IV-B in Germany. His first day in the camp was his 19th birthday. In 2017 at the museum, Jim met Karl Hunnold, who was shot by Allied forces before being rescued by a Gordon Highlanders battalion. After shaking Karl's hand, he said: 'We have no grudges against each other.' The German nonagenarian had been invited to visit after his stepson Roland Goertz asked the museum to send his father a card ahead of his 91st birthday. As Jim once recalled: 'Although we can't speak to each other directly because of the language barrier, we can both understand each other because of what we've been through.' And responding through his stepson, Karl added: 'Being here and meeting Jim in the museum of the Highlanders who saved my life, brings very positive emotions.' Many of the troops who eventually returned home were reluctant to talk about their experiences. In multiple cases, they were suffering from undiagnosed PTSD. And they couldn't bring themselves to relive the slaughter and conflict which they had seen across Europe and further afield in front of their family and friends. However, the creation of the Gordon Highlanders Museum in 1997 offered the veterans an opportunity to tell youngsters about what they had gone through. And Jim is among those who has tried to spread the message about avoiding any repeat of the global hostilities which killed or injured myriad members of his generation. He's a much-loved figure at the museum and Grenville Irvine-Fortescue, the chairman of the Gordon Highlanders Association, explained the reasons behind his popularity. He said: 'Many are familiar with Jim Glennie's wartime exploits, but less so his extraordinary commitment and dedication in his support for the Royal British Legion here in Aberdeen. 'That is both as a member and its standard bearer for the Gordon Highlanders and his membership and support to the Aberdeen branch of the association. 'And, in particular, his special service as a museum volunteer for nearly 30 years. 'He is always cheerful with a great twinkle in his eye, and always has a very warm welcome to all whom he meets. 'His support to the museum has been magnificent and it is perfect that we are able to enjoy a very special day with him here in what has almost been his second home. 'I know all Gordon Highlanders will join me in wishing him a happy 100th birthday.' John McLeish, the chief executive of the museum, was equally effusive in his praise. He said: 'Jim is an important member of our team and his personality and generosity of spirit add something very special to the camaraderie exhibited by team members. 'Watching him engaging with museum visitors is a sight to behold. He makes a regular museum visit very special indeed and, ultimately, he makes people smile!' That is a fulsome testimony to a wonderful human being; somebody who lived through the worst of human behaviour, and was able to take something positive from it. Happy birthday Jim.
