Glen’s WWII Newsletter
PO Box 56, Dyer, IN 46311

WWIInewsletter@hotmail.com

Apr/May 2011 #12

Happy V-E and Liberation Day!

Welcome
Spring is finally here!
After a very snowy and cold
winter in the Midwest, spring
has finally arrived. The tulips
on the side of our garage
have already bloomed and
Glen Morris
the bugs are out! The yard
has been cleared of winter’s tree branches and
twigs, and the grass has been cut for the first
time. All the signs of spring are evident.
Because of the long, cold winter we had in the
Chicago area, I have a new awareness and
appreciation for those men and women who have
to make their living working outdoors in extreme
weather.
It was in January 11, 2010 that I began working
for a worldwide security firm. My first assignment
was working outdoors and on my feet for almost
eight hours a day at the gates of the BP refinery

Everybody knows what V-E Day is (Victory in
Europe), but few, except for Channel Islanders,
know what
Liberation Day is.
The Islanders
celebrate Liberation
Day much like we
Americans celebrate
The stubborn Guernsey donkey the Fourth of July,
finally kicks the German out!
our Independence
Day on July 4. Here are some links which
describe how the two of the occupied islands
celebrate their liberation:




www.guernseyliberationday.com
jersey.com/English/aboutjersey/history/
liberationday/Pages/default.aspx

Because the circumstances were different on the
island of Alderney, which most of her inhabitants
evacuated, their holiday is called Homecoming

in Whiting, Indiana. All the previous security
positions I have had over the years at least I had
the “luxury” of walking around, sitting some, and
most important, being indoors! How easy it is to
take working inside for granted. At least, now, I

Day, which is celebrated on
December 15.

How I Got Interested in
The Channel Islands
In 2005, I came across a set of
videos at a Salvation Army
resale store which reenacted
the German occupation of
Guernsey. Because Channel
Islanders speak English, I
thought it would be fun to try
to contact some of them and
learn what I could about their
war experiences and general
way of life. After a little work
(Continued on page 2)

Thank You!
I am grateful to you who
help support this newsletter.
Sorry, I can’t send you a tax
receipt because this in not a
non-profit organization.
Funds go toward the
purchase of paper, envelopes,
ink cartridges, printing, and
postage.

have a very comfortable job working at a local
community college (indoors) just nine miles from
our house.

The following have donated
since the last issue:
Occupying Germans parade through St. Peterport,
Guernsey, July 1940.

Christine Kennedy

What you may submit to be in this newsletter
Some examples and ideas as to what
may appear in this newsletter are:
1. Your World War II trivia, stories,
and pictures (Unless you state that
you want me to keep them, do not
mail original pictures). E-mailing
them is best.
2. Highlighting interesting things I get
from you

3.

Anecdotes and quotes

7.

4.
5.

Favorite Scriptures
Funny and cute things that
happened in our lives
Introducing my pen pals to
others, especially as your
biography relates to World
War II. This will be my most
enjoyable feature.

The list could be endless. It all
depends on your participation. You
may also help by letting other know
about this newsletter.

6.

Current and past family and
home pictures

 The Island of Alderney

A Guernsey German fortification picture
provided by pen pal Mr. Alf Ingrouille.

contacting some Channel Island newspapers
(Guernsey Press, Jersey Evening Post, and
Alderney Journal) sending them my request
finally paid off. I also sent in a request to The
Baptist Times, a major Baptist magazine in
England, which also reaped a few pen pals.
This issue is dedicated to the special affection
I have for the Islanders as well as their unique
experiences each of them during World
War II.

Introducing
the Channel Islands
Twice since 2005, the kind people at The
Guernsey Press have placed my press release
for pen pals in their newspaper. As a result,
my first contact with the Channel Islands was
with the island of Guernsey. Also, a special
thanks goes to John O'Neill of The Guernsey
Press Co Ltd., who so kindly provided the
Liberation Day pictures you see in this issue.
Pay them a visit at: www.thisisguernsey.com
and send Mr. O’Neill an e-mail of thanks for
the pictures: joneill@guernsey-press.com.
Thanks also goes to my only pen pal from
Alderney, Pamela R, for sending me the very
fascinating book: The Alderney Story 1939/49,
which not only recorded the events prior to
and during the German occupation, but also
the difficult events after the war in getting
reestablished.

The number of
Of the five inhabited Channel Islands, it seems German troops
on the Channel
that the saddest story of the Occupation
Islands totaled
would be from Alderney. Granted, none of
the islands had a picnic during the nearly five around 35,000,
of which about
years of
2,200 of these
occupation,
Now, islanders may enjoy the
were on
bordering on
food they didn’t have during the
Alderney. This
starvation, but
war.
was a major
it seemed that
frustration for Erwin Rommel, who thought
it took longer
occupying the islands was a waste of
after the war
manpower and resources which could have
for the
been better used in the defense of the
residents of
Normandy coast; but of course, Hitler had to
Alderney to be reestablished and get their
have his piece of England! What a difference
lives back to some normalcy than the other
this may have had on D-Day had these 35,000
four islands. It would take a book, as many
Island troops been stationed on the
have been written, to tell of all the unique
Normandy coast.
stories of each of the islands during the war.
There is no way I could possibly exhaust so
Unlike the liberation of Guernsey and Jersey,
much information in this small article.
Alderney was liberated over a week after on
In this issue, I will share a few interesting facts May 16, 1945; the Post Office reopened on
that I came across while reading The Alderney September 21; and resettlement began on
December 2.
Story 1939/49, which I hope you will also
enjoy. I welcome any other facts that any of
There were over 30,000 mines around the
my Islander friends may have about what they
coast of Alderney, which, after the war, were
know about their particular island. Following
dug up by the now German prisoner’s of war.
are some notes I took from the book.
Due to Allied bombing, which destroyed the
Because the Germans had occupied France in
C.I. Granite Company, and had employed so
June 1940, of the 1,432 occupants in
many before the war, decided not to return.
Alderney, most left the island for England and
If there was a silver lining around Alderney’s
only 15 stayed behind. By the time Alderney
dark cloud it would be that the Germans had
was liberated in 1945, due to not enough
people being able to care for the island, it was built a bakery, a Lyceum (public theater), new
roads, and improved electrical and sewer
a mess, with weeds everywhere. For some
reason, the island was infested with fleas and services, which were much needed in
rats, and most of the birds had fled. Since the rebuilding the island.
island was the closest to France, it also
received the most bombardment from Allied
planes.

As I studied each island, much like individual
people, I discovered how different each island
is from the
others, both
now and in
their histories.

Showing off vintage vehicles

It seemed like everyone from Guernsey

and honoring veterans.

showed up for the celebration.

The Channel Islanders, just like her British
cousins across the English Channel, rebuilt
and went on with their lives as best as they
could. The scars
and bitter
memories of war
will always be
there, but we
saw how the
Allied powers
fought together
side-by-side to
defeat a common After the crowd has gone home,
the unsung heroes of the
enemy.
cleanup crew begins.