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Joyce Brache née Stacey interviewed for Radio Guernsey. Transcribed from CD by John David 28/11/05

I………. How long did you work for Le Riches, then?
About fourteen years, I was there all during the Occupation.
I………. And that was in Town, was it?
Yes, but we had to go different places, because as the food ran out in Town, I had to go down St Sampson’s, but I said to my boss ‘I don’t want to go down there’ and he said ‘only for the time being, and then you’ll come back again’, because the food was… We used to have chips made in linseed oil, it sounds horrible, I know, but we were quite pleased to have them, and when that ran out, we had nothing in Town to eat, you see, nothing, so I had to come down, because everywhere we went on bicycles, you know.
I………. So normally, then, you would cycle all the way from l'Ancresse into Town, and back, every day?
Every day. Four times.
I………. What, home for lunch?
Yes, because I had…And then I went down from Le Riche down St Sampson’s, so it wasn’t so bad.
And then if we were going for a dance in the evening at Sunnycroft, well we’d have to go two more times, and if we were going for a special dance, with long frocks, we’d put our dress in the case in the baskets, and then we ‘d have to change to come home. There was so much going on, but you were young. I was eighteen, it was my mother I felt sorry for, she was the one who had to worry about food, and one thing and the other, but us, as long as we had our bikes, losing my bike was quite a thing.
I lost my bicycle one night, we used to go dancing out at Mare de Carteret, we used to have dancing lessons with Mary Balfour, we used to take our bicycles, we used to leave our bicycles in like a porch, outside, never had any trouble, but on this occasion somebody thought they’d like my bicycle because it had a nice big basket on where I used to put everything in plus the dog, you know, so it got lost, and I had to walk home, With the curfew I couldn’t walk right home, because that was right down at l'Ancresse, I had to go to the Capellles where my cousin lived who I was with.
I………. Did you ever find another bike?
It came back. My father advertised — we did have a paper — and said he would give them twenty marks if they would let the bike go, and somebody rang us up and we went and fetch it. Oh yes, we got the bike back, sorry I didn’t finish the story.
I………. So you were free to go out in the evenings again?
Oh yes, oh yes.

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