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BBC News
28-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Model of Red Cross ship SS Vega made for Guernsey Liberation Day
A large model replica of the SS Vega, a Red Cross Ship, will be used in Guernsey's Liberation Day celebrations. The Channel Islands Occupation Society worked with the States Prison and the Prisoner charity CLIP to build it. SS Vega brought Red Cross food parcels for the civilians in the islands after the occupying German forces were cut off from the continent following new model ship will be towed in the Liberation 80 cavalcade on 9 May. 'A lifeline' The Red Cross SS Vega first visited the island in December supplied more than 119,000 standard food parcels during the first visit and continued to visit the islands throughout the German Occupation and after liberation in May De Carteret, prison governor, said he thought it was really exciting. He said: "For me personally what the Vega signifies... it basically was a lifeline."My family were directly affected by that because they were here during the occupation and I think it's a great thing for us to get involved in."Prisoner Anthony Hamon said he painted the signage and red crosses. "It's reliving our history so that's the main thing about it really, reliving it and celebrating the past." Adrian Dilcock, committee member of th Channel Islands Occupation Society, said: "This is really a massive part of our heritage."This symbolises really, the keeping people alive and also the suffering by people that were evacuated and by people that stayed here."He added he hoped there would be somewhere for the model to be stored or displayed after Liberation Ozanne, founder of CLIP, said the scheme aimed to help prisoners build up skills that could help them find employment once they have served their sentence."The workshop is sophisticated, it's got a lot of equipment, and people here in Guernsey are learning to become carpenters or learning skills," he said.
BBC News
22-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
UK-first tunnel marathon in Portsmouth D-Day bunker returns
Athletes are checking the batteries in their head torches and dusting off their cycle helmets for the second edition of the UK's only fully underground in Portsmouth, the race sees runners head deep below Portsdown Hill into former Royal Navy bunkers, where the progress of Allied troops was tracked on race was the brainchild of Sussex Trail Events, whose members were inspired by Germany's Kristallmarathon, held in a disused salt will aim to complete 90 laps of the tunnel network, including some 65ft (20m) long sections that taller entrants are warned may require them to stoop - often. With one of the tunnels completely unlit, head torches and cycle helmets are mandatory for safety last year's maiden race, Sussex Trail Events organiser Jay McCardle said it had been a success but added: "One person kept hitting their head and a few people showed me scratches on their helmets."Last year's winner of the women's trophy, ultra marathon runner Laura Watts, described the race as "brilliantly bonkers".Laura, from Bognor Regis, said it was the first marathon she had ever won."In 1944 there were 700 staff working underground here," she said. "I bet they never dreamed that, 80 years later, 100 people would be running a marathon in there."Michael Burke from Haywards Heath took the men's trophy, completing the 91 laps in 3 hours and 42 minutes. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
