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I was only 12 years of age when suddenly German planes flew over where I was then standing. The noise of machine guns shook the air all around me, and I and several of the people around the area dropped to the ground, one woman screaming. We had been told in our local newspaper to put white flags on all buildings. My dear mother put several white towels tied to bamboo sticks out of several windows. When my dad came home from work he went mad and took them all down and hung his, my mum’s and my young sisters’ panties up in their place, saying ‘blow Hitler, who does he think he is’? This is my first real knowledge of the war, which became very grave before to long in time. I was a diabetic on insulin from early at birth. Everyone here thought the war would soon be over in six to twelve months. I had just over one year’s supply of insulin so no worries. Up until D day we survived on insulin imported by the Jersey States Department of Health. Soon after that day insulin was a golden life saver. Diabetics were put into hospital. Not liking laying in bed night and day I walked out, again and again and finally again. The final time Centenier Garden took me back and after a few days I walked out again. Everyone told me I was mad. Well, mad or not I was the only diabetic to survive in the Channel Islands, eating birds’ eggs, found in the local hedgerows, stinging nettle soup, baynard, dandelions, groundsel, and one or two other weeds and herbs. Life was hard, there was no insulin at all. Later we were informed the Red Cross ship ‘Vega’ would be arriving with Canadian Red Cross food parcels and medicines. The ‘Vega’ arrived and my doctor, who had a pony and trap, took me to the docks. I was not allowed to go past the German guard. My doc came back to tell me that there was no insulin amongst the medical supplies on board. He was very angry they had not been informed that it was essential, so I disappointedly went home to more grass and dandelions. The second visit of the ‘Vega’ things were quite different. My doctor took me down to the ship again and he went off to speak with the Captain to see what the cargo medical supplies were. He came back to inform me that there was insulin on board. He even asked if, because I was the only diabetic alive in the Channel Islands, I could go on board. He got permission but the German guard refused me. I told him my friend was on board whom I had not seen for years and he patted me on the shoulder and told me all right. However, I was only allowed to stay on the rear deck of the ship. I was glad I’d learnt some German before the war as a young child.

There are hundreds of incidents that could be told following five years of Nazi occupation and the above is just a short indication of life as it was then.

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