大象传媒

Martha Martel (n茅e Hubert) interviewed by Lynne Ashton of the Guernsey Museum.
Tape recording transcribed and edited by J David

I worked 鈥� I had no idea what I wanted to do, and my mother said that 鈥淲hy didn鈥檛 I learn dressmaking,鈥� so I went to a woman just below Delancey, and I was supposed to learn my trade. She had two young children, and they were very short of food, and I can remember a German coming one day 鈥� he lived in a house just at the bottom of Mount Morin 鈥� and he came up with the most beautiful sheets and he asked her to make him shorts and a shirt. And she didn鈥檛 want to because she just hated the Germans Anyway, she did decide to do this for him, on condition that he brought her food. It was one day, after 鈥� she didn鈥檛 want to do work on the shirt, she cut it out, - and I鈥檇 been there about two years, I think, 鈥� and she just threw it at me and said 鈥淣ow you can machine it鈥�. But I said 鈥淵ou haven鈥檛 taught me how to machine yet鈥�. 鈥淥h鈥�, she said, 鈥淚鈥檓 not touching it, you鈥檒l do the machining鈥�. But she only gave it to me a few hours each day, because the longer she was making it the more food she got. Anyway this went on for a few weeks, and he came up every week, to have a look if it was finished, and then one day he was waiting outside, and he said 鈥淢arte, I noticed that I am taking the food to her, but you seem to be working on my clothes,鈥� so he had a loaf for me. I couldn鈥檛 believe it.
I鈥�.鈥�.鈥�.. So really, you didn鈥檛 have any really unpleasant experiences with the Germans at the beginning of the War?
Mrs Martel. No, I think it was propaganda, a lot of it, would have been for propaganda, and we didn鈥檛 have, well, sort of, the SS, really, they were ordinary people. This one that she did the shirts for, he was [ inaudible ] in singing, he wanted to become an opera singer, actually. He had a beautiful voice, because in summer they鈥檇 have all the windows open, you鈥檇 hear him practising.
I鈥�.鈥�.鈥�.. Does anyone know what happened to him
Mrs Martel. No, not that I know of.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.