Jersey
under the Swastika!

Page 19 - Philip Frederick Le Sauteur

CHAPTER SIX (SECTION 3)

Radio

The reference to this matter of leaflets in the following extract from a notice dated July 20th, it will be noted, claims justification under the Hague Convention for the seizure of apparatus for the transmission of news:

An inhabitant of the Island produced and distributed leaflets in which he denied the German Authorities the right under the Hague Convention to hold wireless sets in custody, and in which he even indirectly invited the population to disobey the order .

In article 53 of the Hague Convention of Warfare on Land, the following is stated:

"All appliances adapted for the transmission of news, or for the transport of people or goods, may be seized, even if they belong to private individuals".'

After taking into account the extenuating circumstances , in this case, the perpetrator was only sentenced to five years imprisonment.

There were many people who, no longer awed by officialdom, preferred to take the chance of hiding their sets, sometimes sending in an obsolete one as a blind; and there were certainly quite a number, probably some hundreds, of sets kept back for the especial purpose of hearing the news. Life had been dull enough before, but with no radio entertainment, and with only the inspired news in the local press, it became even worse. Of course, those who heard the B.B.C. news passed it on to their friends, but, as can be imagined, by the time it had passed a few lips, the news items were more than a little exaggerated and distorted. Reports of up to 17,000 bombers over Berlin were commonplace, and other examples of the distortions were, the news that a son had been born to Queen Mary, and in the imprisonment in the Tower of various well-known politicians for betraying military secrets. Several of the Quislings with which the Island, like most other occupied territories, was "blessed", were reputed to be acting as spies for the German Authorities in their efforts to trace the sources of the news which was being circulated — after two years, the Germans were so closely intermingled with the population that very little went on without their knowledge, and they were well aware that there were some radio sets operating.

Some of the blame for the leakage of news was attached to the Italians, who had been allowed to retain their sets — some of them having lived in the Island for many years, and even having married local girls, they were well able to hear and pass on the British news, and after some weeks, they, too, had to surrender their sets. In these rather delicate surroundings, it became very necessary for those who were listening to exercise great care in passing on information lest it reach the wrong ears.

During the middle of the year (1942) there were several cases of homes being searched by the Gendarmerie for radio sets. These searches had been prompted by the receipt of anonymous letters. The first unfortunate to be apprehended was sentenced to a term of imprisonment. For this he had to wait a vacancy in the gaol, as the gaols were already fully occupied by offenders of different kinds. Whilst awaiting a gaol vacancy, however, this person's sentence was commuted to a fine of one hundred Marks.

Towards the end of 1942, immunity from punishment was offered to anyone who, not having surrendered his radio set at the specified time, did so now — thereafter the penalty would be strictly enforced; fine, imprisonment, or in certain instances death itself.

During the six months since the bulk of the sets were confiscated, many had been sold to the German soldiers, who selected a suitable instrument at the different storage places and approached the owner, more or less threatening that a refusal to accept the offer of purchase would result in confiscation without payment.

A new arrangement was made, however, whereby any person who voluntarily wished to sell the set he had handed in could do so to a local dealer, who in turn would sell to the Germans. Many Islanders took the opportunity to sell, being convinced that their radio sets would be taken anyway, and consequently they might as well have the cash for them while the going was good.

In the latter half of 1943, another radio case was up for consideration. This was tried by court-martial, and several people were sentenced to from 21 months to 14 days in prison, but the culprits (perhaps we should say victims) were allowed at large pending accommodation in the goal becoming available.

 Sentenced at the same time was a man who preached a lecture to a girl whom he had known all her life, and who was parading around with the Germans although her husband was in the British Army.

At this time it was rumoured that five men had been arrested for having possession of rifles, ammunition, gelignite, etc., in a store at Pier Road. If this had been true, the sequel never became public knowledge.

Despite the oft-repeated statement in the press that they would be returned to their owners as soon as the military necessity for the retention of their confiscation no longer existed, most of the civilian radio sets which had been in the supposed "safe" custody for the past year, were already being taken away, a few only being left for the local German needs.

There continued a steady stream of arrests for radio and other offences. One person was said to have been found with three sets, cameras, revolver, ammunition and photographs of gun emplacements, etc. As usual, the search was the sequence of an anonymous letter from some "Britisher"!

Arrests for radio offences were also made amongst employees of West's Cinema whilst a number of dock workers were apprehended for damaging wireless sets that were being shipped to France.

During the middle of July, 1944, following a series of arrests for radio offences in the Queen's Road district, for which sentences of up to 18 months were allotted, there were more arrests at St. Brelade's. The English-born culprits in the former case were just unlucky, being the last to be taken away to serve their sentences on the continent.