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Mrs Irene Gosset interviewed by John Gaisford and Rosie Mere
Transcribed and edited by John David from audio and video recordings

Anyway, back to Galaad school, I was with Mrs Bisson, and I was there when the Liberation came, and on the eighth of May. Well, we heard of course VE day, the Germans surrendered, so Mrs Bisson and I decided to teach the children the national anthem, so we started to teach the children the national … and then somebody passing, because we were on a main road, came in and said the Germans hadn’t surrendered, they’re still sowing mines at Albecq, so we thought we’d better stop, you know, so we stopped for the time being. While the next day, which of course was the great day May the ninth, I cannot remember how I heard that they had surrendered unless it was something on my crystal set, but I know I came on my bike, and came down Town, and my father had to be to work early, because he worked in the Pollet, Heaumes, he was down and he saw the liberation forces coming off the White Rock, the harbour but I wasn’t, I didn’t go down till later, but I am in a photograph taken outside the Press office when Churchill’s speech — It was three o’clock in the afternoon, there is a photograph, it will be in the Press archives, and I am the girl in front with the bike outside the Press office, opposite the Post Office, in Smith Street. But then I am not sure if it was Liberation day or the next day I went up to the Elizabeth College, and listened to Colonel Snow give the address, and there’s photographs, I’ve got some, you know of all these happenings. It’s very difficult to, I find it very difficult, to describe, how I felt Liberation day, I think you have to experience it, you just have to experience, you know. I think one of the, or what did, I felt one of the wonderful things, not a drop of blood was shed, There can’t be many liberations where there was, you know. The Germans, I think they were just — relieved. It was only their— he was a horrible man, Hoffmeier — he didn’t, at first he wouldn’t surrender, but I think they probably rebelled and said they just wouldn’t fight. Because I mean it’s a funny situation, I think it’s in the Archives, that the Germans just handed in their equipment, but they were just wandering around because there was nowhere to put them. I didn’t see any around the Town, But I don’t know where they were, there wouldn’t have been anywhere to put thousands of troops until they could take them off. They kept some back, to clear the mines, you know, and I think some of them might have got killed.

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