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Trying to be normal — sporting events during the German Occupation of Guernsey

Jack Ross

Video recording of Jack Ross interviewed by John Gaisford made on 12/3/2005
Edited transcript by J David 23/9/05

When the Occupation actually took place on the Sunday, I think it was the 30th, there was a sort of eerie feeling around, totally foreign, I’ve never sort of experienced it before, and a lot of optimistic people, stupid I thought, said it would all be over by Christmas anyway, and there was no hope of that, anybody with half an eye could see that. Any rate, we settled down, and the sort of kid-glove treatment from the occupying power — I think they must have sent their best troops in, because they were scrupulously polite to us, at least that was my own experience. I also remember thinking that we must try to get back in to normal again, and having always been passionately fond of cricket, I met the late Frankie Mourant, he was proprietor of a gents outfitters in the High Street, you may have heard of him, and I said “What about starting cricket, Mr Mourant?” He said, “What a good idea” and of course he got in touch with Bill Allen on the College field, and the Education Authorities, and we started the cricket. Originally it was just for the one day, on the Thursday, and it attracted enormous crowds, for cricket, there were perhaps five hundred people there, a hell of a crowd for Guernsey anyway, even when the MCC had come here there was no such thing as 500 people, at least I played against them and I don’t remember. I also remember with that cricket thing Douglas McCloud, his brother brought in Kingsley Wood, who was I think the Air Minister, I am not sure, before the war. He flew him over in either a Whitley bomber or a Wellington bomber. Anyway, his brother was interned in Castle Cornet, with a number of other people, like Captain O’Connor, who was the manager of Luff’s shop on the Bridge, Anyway, they let him out, and I remember I opened up with him, quite a thing, I remember I was always an opening bat, then they extended it to Saturdays as well, quite wonderful, really, had a good crowd on a Saturday as well. Then Football, I became interested in Football, and Rugby, I was interested in Rugby, and started that, but I think the cricket was the main thing, you got the people together, we weren’t sure what would happen, whether we could have those crowds, because you were not supposed to band together, more than about three or four people, we wondered what might happen, whether the Germans would stop us. Any rate, we started the cricket, ready to start up, and the Germans decided they would do a bit of parading, on the cricket pitch, so we got — I think it was at my suggestion, I am not quite sure, but I acquiesced to it — get hold of some lusty hitters and hit a few balls amongst them. Which we didIt terrified them! So that was that. The old tea-room — we had tea for a time, rationing hadn’t made its mark yet — we were lucky, because we used to play in the evenings sometimes as well, because we had double summer time, we had an extra hour at night, The cricket went down very well, it was the same thing, crowds at night as well.

Jack Ross

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