大象传媒

MEMORIES OF OCCUPATION

From typescript by By Tom Jehan, 2005

The German Occupation of Guernsey began on 1st July, 1940 and ended on 9th May, 1945. Sixty years later many memories remain.
As a schoolboy during those years I am sure I did not fully appreciate the worries and hardships of the situation as did the adults. Nevertheless during those years I learnt what it meant to be deprived.
Shortage of food was probably the main problem, particularly the winter of 1944/45. Every available piece of ground at our house was used for growing vegetables, even the front lawn became a cabbage patch. Some of the "delicacies" were carrageen moss to make a jelly or blancmange; sweet corn ground into flour to make cakes; bramble- leaf tea; parsnip coffee; fried potato peelings. A very welcome visitor to the Island was the Red Cross ship "Vega" which arrived on December 27th 1944. There was great excitement receiving, opening and tasting the contents of the parcels.
In February 1945 we were three weeks without bread until the "Vega" arrived with a cargo of flour. Everybody commented on how white the bread was, it was such a change as the bread we had been accustomed to was made with oatmeal, husks and all.

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