大象传媒

Death of a Guernsey Lifeboatman off Jersey

Tony Hobbs interviewed at the Guille-Alles Library by Becky Kendall of Radio Guernsey 5/2/2005. Transcribed by John David 9/11/2005

When the war started in 1940 my father was a member of the lifeboat crew and my grandfather was coxswain of the lifeboat.
I鈥︹�︹��. How old were you?
I was four years old when the war started,
I鈥︹�︹��. you were born here in Guernsey?
I was born here in Guernsey, in 1936, and we lived at the Salerie Corner, just a couple of doors away from the Salerie Inn. I can remember saying good-bye to my father, he went on board the lifeboat, we found out later that he went on board the lifeboat to go and pick up the Jersey lifeboat.
I鈥︹�︹��. Why did he need to pick up the Jersey lifeboat?
It鈥檚 a funny thing that, we鈥檝e always wanted to know that, and its only the last year that we鈥檝e found out. They went down to pick up the Jersey lifeboat, when they got outside St Aubin鈥檚 bay, they started machine-gunning the lifeboat, so my grandfather ran the lifeboat into amongst the rocks, everyone over the side, then they took a head count, my father had taken a ricochet off the [ ] gone straight through his head.
He was killed in St Aubin鈥檚 bay, machine-gun bullet right through the head. The planes came over鈥�
I鈥︹�︹��. From a plane?
What happened was France had just fallen, and when France had fallen the next place to come to was the islands. Now the Islands, according to the government over here, were open. In other words, there was no resistance, all they had to do was land. They didn鈥檛 want them to bomb, because the British Government couldn鈥檛 defend their own country, after Dunkirk, you know the whole Army was in disarray, sp everybody knew that the Germans were going to occupy this island in a short time. All the cargo boats, all the boats were full up with people and they were evacuating the island because they had heard what the Germans were going to do. My father was going to leave, they had a boat, they were going to leave and go off to the mainland, they had a big yacht, a Mr Tate a big millionaire, my father used to take the boat out, he was going to go with his family. Anyway, they machine-gunned the boat in St Aubin鈥檚 Bay, my father was killed. My mother was a lifeboat widow until she died about eight years ago. But about a year or so ago, the lifeboat people over here, because I sell flags, and do all I can for them, they phoned me up and said they didn鈥檛 like what happened, I said I鈥檓 sorry, but I saw the news, I saw one day the lifeboat went out from Jersey and they threw a wreath on the water, that鈥檚 where my father had been killed, and they鈥檇 invited a member of the lifeboat crew from Guernsey to go there, they said it should have been you, the son of the man that had been killed. I said 鈥淲hy,鈥� because the harbourmaster from Jersey phoned me up and said there鈥檚 been a bit of trouble in Guernsey and we realise that you鈥檙e alive and kicking, we didn鈥檛 know that you were there. I said 鈥渋f you鈥檇 read Mayday, Mayday, you鈥檇 have realised that the man who got killed had a little boy,鈥� I鈥檇 have loved to have been a celebrity for the first time in my life, just for one day, to go out and throw the wreath on the water where my father was killed. Anyway, I wanted to know what was a Guernsey crew doing up in Jersey waters. They found out that at the time the Bailiff of Jersey had said to Jersey it鈥檚 too dangerous to go out, I don鈥檛 want you to leave the island with the Lifeboat. Well it had nothing to do with the Bailiff of Jersey because the lifeboat belonged to the Lifeboat Association. My grandfather knew this, and they wouldn鈥檛 move out. If they鈥檇 given them another day before they landed, they would have gone across there, picked up the lifeboat, and come back to Guernsey, and then everyone would probably have gone back to England, you see.
But starting off form the beginning of the war, my Mother and my Grandfather and myself who were stranded, the rest of the family had all managed to get away, we were left stranded because we couldn鈥檛 leave because the Germans had landed.
I鈥︹�︹��. You were here鈥�
They landed a couple of days later, or a day later, and my mother wanted to know about my father being in Jersey, So my mother told me that she went to the Royal Hotel where the German admiral was, and he sat me on his knee, I was a little blue-eyed fair-headed boy, and he apologised at great length to my mother for shooting at the lifeboat, he said they were all gun-crazy, what have you, and he said 鈥渃an I do anything for you鈥� She said, well you鈥檙e the only people that can do things, can you bring the body from Jersey to Guernsey, so that I can bury my husband. Can you supply a Union jack, because he was an officer in the naval reserve?鈥� He said we can do that as well, he even said we鈥檒l fire a salute over the grave because he was an officer in the Royal Navy Reserve鈥�. She said no to that bit...

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