Jersey
under the Swastika!

Page 36 - Philip Frederick Le Sauteur

CHAPTER TEN (SECTION 5)

1942

There was the usual amount of bombing in the vicinity during this hectic period, both by day and by night.

On October 11th the curfew hours were altered, this time to 9.0 p.m. to 6.30 a.m. It was notable, however, that whereas in the early days curfew infractions were always passed on to the local courts for treatment, and usually resulted in 48 hours in goal, they were now being handled by the Germans themselves, a very minor infraction being dealth with by a fine on the spot.

On the night of October 13th, a naval action against a convoy between Jersey and Guernsey, caused a little panic amongst the garrison troops, besides bringing a sleepless night to many. In this particular action, a German torpedo boat was sunk, with considerable loss of life, whilst another was towed into St. Malo harbour, a burnt-out wreck.

November 1st brought, for the first time, a reversion to ordinary British Summer Time (or should one say, Central European Time, being now a German occupied territory?). Previously, the Island had been two hours ahead of G.M.T. Summer and winter, with sunrise in December at about 10.0 a.m.

After a period of steadily increasing restriction of its activities, the A.R;P. service was completely closed down. The Controller had been deported with the last batch of deportees, and the Germans made quite sure that he wasnot amongst those who were sent back because of the lack of of space on the ship taking them to Germany.

ln an endeavour to trace the source of the continued leakage of news, the Gendarmerie tried a new ruse, accosting people in the streets and asking each one of them separately the subject of their conversation. If their accounts failed to agree, they were made to prove that they were not discussing the news. This subterfuge was easily out-manoeuvred, once it became known what was happening, by people agreeing on a suitable topic to specify before they started their real conversation. The results of this new campaign were so unsatisfactory that it was not long before the whole thing fizzled out.

The R.A.F. shot up some ships not far off Noirmont at about 8.0 am. on November 9th, as a result of which quite a number of scuttlers were admitted to hospital.

The German occupation of hitherto unoccupied southern France caused another minor panic everywhere, with the posting of double guards all round, many patrols (complete with grenades slung around their necks), and barbed wired barriers across the roads every night.

As usual when an alarm was on, the Forum — reserved for the Germans — was closed, and the town deserted by the usual meandering girl-chasing German soldiers. It was believed that some 2,000 troops, together with a great deal of equipment, were withdrawn from Jersey by night to assist in that operation.

One official notice forbad the civil population to give food or clothing to foreign workers — especially the Russians — it being maintained that they were sufficiently well fed.

Actually their rations were absolutely inadequate, consisting of ½ lb. of bread and one pint of soup a day, with the result that they begged and stole wherever possible. They were housed in camps at St. Brelade's, and were apparently not at all well guarded, for every night there were Russian workers going around the country seeking whatever they could find. Those who, on compassionate grounds or for fear of the consequences of refusal, responded to their begging appeals, were frequently rewarded by being robbed.

It would not be an exaggeration to describe the situation near the camps as a reign of terror. Civilians found it imperative to watch clothes drying, all the time, to prevent their being stolen, and farm outhouses were raided night after night for anything in the way of eatables. even mangolds and seed potatoes being pilfered and eaten in their raw state. Their clothing in rags, with insufficient food, and suffering extremely harsh treatment from the O.T. guards in charge of them, as well as being many hundreds of miles away from their homes and families, in a country where nobody understood their language, it was scarcely surprising tbat these poor fellows prowled about to steal the things they so sorely needed. Unfortunately, however, after more than two years of privation under occupation conditions, the local civilians were themselves too short of all essentials to be able to withstand the depredations of many hundreds of these wretched people. Other foreign workers were reasonably well paid, but the Russians workers only received two Marks (about 4/3) per month, and so were quite unable to purchase what unrationed goods (which were only vegetables) were available.

During mid-November several U.S. or R.A.F. planes passed low over the Island singly, and were greeted by heavy flak, and there was much evidence of heavy bombing on the adjacent coasts.

On the 18th a Spitfire piloted by a young Frenchman ran short of petrol, and had to make a forced landing. He came down in a field at Maufant. The machine was very little damaged in the landing, and although the pilot had to wait for over half an hour before some Germans appeared to whom he could surrender, he unfortunately did not destroy the machine, so that it fell into their hands practically intact. The plane was probably a "Spitfire Fund" machine. It was named CHlSLEHURST AND SIDCUP.

During November the exodus of German troops continued, until the number left in the Island was probably less than at any time since they first came in July, 1940. Also, what more concerned everybody, the state of tension had not in anywise lessened. The soldiers were still subjected to a 6.0 p.m. curfew, to the considerable discomfiture of the many women, married and single, who had become Germanite, and who were thus left without company.

A local man was killed, and his sister badly injured, whilst trying to prevent a burglary at his house by a group of Russians, causing greater terror and dismay than ever amongst those who lived in the districts particularly infested, and it was a great relief when they were taken from the Island — a year or so later — leaving only a few that had gone into hiding. During the whole time they were in the Island there appeared to have been many at large, and the entire Island, particularly the outlying areas suffered many robberies. Indeed, so widespread and continuous were the thefts, that it was popularly believed that they were carried out at the instigation — or at least with the permission of — the O.T. guard. With really conscientious guards in charge, there would hardly have been the opportunity for such wholesale depredations. Surely the safe internment of about 2,000 civilians could not have been beyond the capabilities of the Germans with the means at their disposal!

Following a night of considerable air activity, which gave ample exercise to the local A.A. sections a convoy was attacked in St. Aubin's Bay at about 1.30 p.m. on December 7th, a grandstand view of the proceedings being enjoyed by hundreds of excited Islanders.

Flak from the ships and shore was very intense, but the planes put in some really effective low-level bombing, followed by a generous dose of "straffing". Two of the ships were sunk within ten minutes, and another was severely damaged and just managed to reach harbour, sending up distress signals all the while. Small patrol boats were active for some hours, picking up survivors, but there seemed to have been many casualties.

On the morning of the 9th, the R.A.F. again caught some ships this time at Corbiere. One of these was sunk, whilst a patrol boat came in later bearing all the signs of the conflict.

There was an extended curfew until midnight on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and until 1.0 a.m. on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, with a corresponding extension in gas and electricity hours.

Possibly in order that this concession should not come to the knowledge of the censor in Paris, the announcement was not published in the local press, but, instead, was posted up in the Parish Halls and Churches. There was a clause, however, that, should the alarm be sounded, all people must be in their homes within thirthy minutes. The unfortunate folks living within the Military Zone, however, were still subject to a 9.0 p.m. curfew throughout the holidays.

There followed a period of air inactivity over Jersey until the night of December 30th, when a short renewal took place, this against a few Allied machines passing on their way to some target in France. As usual, the searchlights wandered aimlessly across the sky, and failed to find their would-be targets, whilst the guns blazed away distributing their ammunition all over the heavens. The whole of the "show" only lasted a few minutes.

Thus closed 1942 — on a rather ineffective note so far  as the Germans were concerned — a species of wasted effort on their part.