大象传媒

Mr Donald Board interviewed by Margaret le Cras.
Edited transcript of tape recording of the interview

One day, my work-mate and myself, we were great friends, we said, look, the other people, they were having food in the German kitchens. So we decided to go to Grange Lodge - I think it was just the Commandants office was in there, - and there was a chap there who was their interpreter, he was a Swiss, he was married to a Guernsey girl, very nice chap, and he signed us up.
I鈥︹�︹��. So you could have some rations there?
Mr Board. No, we鈥檇 have work, in the kitchens. Of course, we had to think twice about working for the Germans, but people were doing it, and so, strangely enough, he sent us out to the Mont Saint House, which was at the top of my young lady鈥檚 garden. So we started work there, but we were only there one day, there were two or three other people 鈥� locals 鈥� from around there, peeling potatoes, we were all day, they never gave us a cup of coffee, they never gave us a meal, they never gave us anything to eat. Oh, I said, this isn鈥檛 good enough, so the next day we were back at Grange Lodge to the gentleman, and we told him, Ah, he said, right, report to the Hubits Hotel. So we went out to the Hubits Hotel. Now this was, the kitchen there, anti-aircraft gun battery, The gun batteries were part of the air force, blue uniforms they had, and we started working there, but we were only there I don鈥檛 think a fortnight, and it was arranged 鈥� we didn鈥檛 know anything about it, of course 鈥� that they were going to move, and they moved down, lock stock and barrel, to the Longstore. Now this is where we were for four years up to the liberation. Now when you come down the Bou毛t, the Co-op on your right, and turn left, there are two shops joined together - When we got down there one of the first things they did 鈥� all this was evacuated, by the way 鈥� they knocked the two, which are now two shops, one was a shop before the war, and the other was rented out, it was living quarters, they knocked the two into one, that was the kitchen, and then the four cottages, which are known as Moullin鈥檚 Cottages, they took that over, they were empty, and Prospect house, the big house before what was the Fruit Export, so next to the cook-house was the quartermaster鈥檚 store, and then the other cottages, there was the air-force tailor, the air-force cobbler, the air-force RAMC, we would call a medical, and Prospect house, going up the steps into Prospect House, on the left was their office, and on the right was the officer鈥檚 canteen. They took all that over. Now, starting the work in the cookhouse, this was quite different. We had our meals, lunch and evening meals, besides what we could take from them as well, whatever we could. But they prepared 鈥� all this lot was part of a whole battery. Now I don鈥檛 know how many gun batteries there were,
I鈥︹�︹��. But there would have been all the guns like where Beau Sejour is now?
Mr Board. No, that would have been another lot altogether. The lot belonging to our lot, as one might say, was the East Coast. That was Clarence Battery, the Cow鈥檚 Horn as they know it, and then Castle Cornet, and then the Salerie Battery, they had one gun,
I鈥︹�︹��. And what about the Red Lion?
Mr Board. No, they went from the Salerie to St Sampson鈥檚, and I don鈥檛 know if there were any at the Harbour, and the Vale Castle. That was the lot that we supplied, there may have been some somewhere else, but I don鈥檛 think so.
I鈥︹�︹��. But there would have been bunkers at the Red Lion, eh, opposite the Red Lion? Just where the Tram Sheds are?
Mr Board. I know where you mean, I don鈥檛 know if they had any guns up there, opposite the Tram Sheds, they may have had guns up there, but the other one, Brehon Tower, there were twenty 鈥攐ne at Brehon Tower, but they used to take the food out by boat, but in the winter, with the gales, it was so rough, they weren鈥檛 able to land the food, and so it was brought back to the kitchen cold, but in the end they found a fresh-water spring in there, I told Mr Bert Winterflood all about this, of course he wrote the history of Brehon Tower, and I told him quite a bit.
I鈥︹�︹��. What sort of food would they have eaten? What would have been, sort of their daily food?
Mr Board. They used to have a lot of spinach, cartloads of spinach, which we had to wash. Potatoes in their jackets every day except Sundays, and Sundays it was roast potatoes or, they called them pelkartoffel, peeled potatoes, and those had to be peeled. I鈥檒l get on to the food a little bit later on. Anyhow, we had to peel carrots, and there were two or three others, there were two other chaps, and an elderly lady, and a couple of girls, and we had our own little room, for peeling potatoes and all that, and carrots. And in this cookhouse, for preparing it, they put two big boilers, one side, the right hand side, St Sampson鈥檚 side, two very big boilers, and a long cooker, at least twice as long as two AGAs together, and then on the other side there were another two boilers, smaller ones, and they all had to be stoked. That was one of our jobs when we arrived at work, was to clean the ash out of the boilers, put it into a bath, go across the road, and you can imagine if there was an easterly gale, and we had to empty the ash over the wall. Anyhow we had to get these boilers going in the morning, that was our first job. Then when the food was cooked, we would have to load the potatoes into canisters, and whatever else, coffee, into canisters, and a horse and cart would come down to collect it, one of Mr Camp鈥檚, the farmer, and he, this driver, an elderly man, would go off with the cart, and start at Clarence Battery and make his way back to St Sampson鈥檚, he鈥檇 come back with all the canisters, and our job then was to wash them all out and stack them ready for the evening meal, and in between that we鈥檇 prepare or whatever, and in the evening they鈥檇 normally have soup, and that would go out early and they鈥檇 bring the canisters back and we鈥檇 wash and stack them ready for the next day. Oh yes, these batteries. The Battery was the cookhouse and all the guns, you see. That was the battery. Well the whole lot would stay a twelvemonth, and then go back to France, leave everything, the kitchen, all the equipment, leave it, there鈥檇 be a fresh lot would come, a fresh battery. They鈥檇 stay about a year, go back, but the last battery were here the longest because when our troops got down to St Malo they were cut off. So that last battery we became a lot friendlier with.
Anyhow, to get back to the kitchen, and that, things got worse and worse with the food, they started bringing stinging nettles, and they brought two loads of stinging nettles, and I tried it twice, and that was all.
I鈥︹�︹��. But did they make it into soup, like?
Mr Board. Soup. And another thing with the food, occasionally an infantry regiment would march down and halt in the middle of the road 鈥� they couldn鈥檛 do that now, of course, - the only traffic was horse drawn, the German trucks, and horse-drawn ambulance, and the train passed, loaded with bags of cement and foreign workers on the top, but apart from that there was no traffic. And the regiment would come down and halt, and they鈥檇 be divided into three, and the middle lot would be sent down the beach on the South, and the other sections to the North, and they鈥檇 come back with their dixie cans with limpets, and they鈥檇 empty them into big canisters and take them off. I鈥檓 talking now about when things got really worse. Now I鈥檝e eaten horse meat, and to be honest you wouldn鈥檛 know the difference between horse meat and beef. There was no fat with horse meat.
I鈥︹�︹��. But if you go to Holland now you can eat horsemeat.
Mr Board. Is it?
I鈥︹�︹��. I鈥檝e eaten it.
Mr Board. We had a mincer by the door on the end of the bench, and I鈥檝e been mincing horsemeat, and I鈥檝e known
I鈥︹�︹��. Yes, to struggle.
Mr Board. I鈥檝e been mincing horsemeat, under my shirt, going to my little room, and I鈥檝e known as well one of their, I say soldiers, but they were air force, one of their battery outside, just by the door, and I鈥檓 mincing carrots, and a piece of carrot would drop on the floor, and he鈥檇 eat it. The foreign workers would come in a little alleyway alongside, where the potato peels had been boiled up for a couple of pigs that they kept at Prospect House, and there鈥檇 be a foreign worker there, with sacking around his feet, and eating the peels.
We used to have to take the meals to the officers over at Prospect House. You can imagine going with a bowl of soup with an easterly gale to the other end, and one day 鈥� this was with one of the earlier batteries 鈥� the chef, he was a bit of a nasty piece of work, he鈥檇 shout at us, anyhow, in those days, you couldn鈥檛 buy shoes, of course, and we used to wear sabots in the kitchen when we were washing out the canisters, but my workmate had a shoe that the sole was like that. We were going across with the soup and the plates, and as we went up the steps into Prospect House, his shoe caught in the step and everything went down, plates were smashed, I had some plates, but he had some with the bowl of soup, all smashed. He was really scared to go back, tell the chef, the others were all right, but he was the one, we were pleased to see the back of him. Anyhow, when we went back to the kitchen and told the chef, he just laughed, clapped him on the back,
Now and again there鈥檇 be an inspection by high-ranking officers, they鈥檇 come around. They had a couple of cars, and they鈥檇 come around and inspect, you see. The company (I call it) would get warning of this, so Theo used to get out a lot of clean tea-towels, and hang them over the rail of the cooker, and we knew there was going to be an inspection. So one day, they must have come unawares, and Theo, he was smoking a cigar 鈥� I don鈥檛 know where he got it from 鈥� he was smoking a cigar, and the cars pulled up outside, with the officers, peaked caps. He stubbed his cigar out. Anyhow, after they had gone, my workmate went over and picked it up.

I must tell you, things were so bad, with the food, at the end, that one night, there was a knock on the door, I went, and it was Theo, the chef, and he had another one there with him
I鈥︹�︹��. And this was to your house?
Mr Board. Yes, and he had another chap with him, from the Battery, he had a sack under his arm. Before that, my neighbour had come across 鈥� this is how it started 鈥� he said 鈥淟ook鈥� he said 鈥淪her,鈥� that鈥檚 the name of the dog 鈥渉as just come back鈥� 鈥� there was a quarry down the bottom of Guelles lane, or Head鈥檚 lane as they called it, where the, eventually, the Blanchisserie de Normandie was there, I don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 there now, there was an old quarry there. He said 鈥淪her鈥檚 just come back from the quarry, and she鈥檚 been shot, she鈥檚 in a bad way, would you go down and get one of your chaps to come home and shoot her鈥�. I said 鈥淵es,鈥� and I got one of the chaps called Fritz, who was the clerk in the office, and asked him if he would come up, he said yes, I spoke to Theo. He came up, I took him across to my neighbour. The dog was in the kennel, he shot the dog. So a little while later, Theo was[indistinct] Theo said 鈥淚 understand from Fritz that your neighbour has just had his dog shot.鈥� I said 鈥淭hat鈥檚 right鈥�. He said 鈥淭his chap has got to hear of it and he鈥檚 from out on the [ ] where they eat cats and dogs. He wants your neighbour鈥檚 dog鈥�. Anyway after a bit I said 鈥淲e鈥檒l go across鈥� We went across, and I said to him, 鈥淢r [?Evans,] this chap, he鈥檚 heard about your dog and he want鈥檚 to take it home to eat鈥� 鈥淥h, he said, he鈥檚 buried鈥�
I explained to him that the dog was buried, This chap wanted to know where the dog was buried, to dig it up. [Indistinct passage, Dog owner refuses permission. German has to go away with empty sack]
There were several things come to mind. Typhus broke out at one stage amongst the slave workers, especially one lot in Cornet Street. They鈥檇 occupied Bucktrout鈥檚 place, there were some in there. And because of that 鈥� there was some local mineral drinks made - I never tasted them, but there were some made, the Germans used to buy them, but when this started, they were forbidden to drink any of the local minerals, but Theo used to get hold of one now and again, somehow, and he鈥檇 keep one behind the kitchen door, the outer door of the kitchen, and now and again he鈥檇 go and have a drink. And one of us said to him 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not allowed to drink that鈥�

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