by Peter King
Lack of proper medical facilities led to unnecessary deaths. Jacqueline Carre broke her leg jumping over a high bank. Removed to hospital she had her lower leg amputed which greatly alarmed her parents considering it was only a fracture. However, gangrene then set in, and the rest of the leg to the hip joint was removed. She was a healthy 19 year old, but died soon afterwards. Molly Finigan referred to her Uncle Reginald who had a bullet removed from his leg, and then died of gangrene poisoning. Lack of disinfectant, surgical spirit, heating for wards and sterilizing units, and shortages of vital drugs as early as March 1942 contributed to bad hospital conditions, and the injured suffered as well as the dying.
Psychological illness was less well studied then, and its symptoms often dismissed as 'nerves', but there can be little doubt that five years oppression brought disaster in its wake. There were suicides at the time of occupation and when Islanders were deported. Others simply lost the will to go on under successive blows. A friend of the Finigans, Clifford Holloway, took his meals at their house as his wife and son had gone with the evacuees. Sadly he heard his son had died on active service, and then his wife died soon after she returned to the Island. Mr Holloway killed himself, and Molly's mother found the body. 'The mental torture from this German occupation is becoming indescribable', wrote Mrs Tremayne as early as September 1942.
There was a positive side to the medical miseries. Both individuals and doctors commented until the summer on 1944 on the good health of many people produced by more exercise, less bad food, and more sleep. Although Mrs Tremayne suffered from nervous depression and bad colds, she often referred to her good health putting it down to the sea air, and spartan living conditions. Her own weight fell from 13 to 10oz stone which was no bad thing for a middle-aged woman. One doctor said in June 1944 that, 'the health of the population has, on the whole, been remarkably good, and much above that which one would have anticipated on the past and present scale of rationing'.
In spite of this Doctor Symons said that, 'the people have only just kept above the danger line' so that further cuts in 1944 would lead to disaster. Moreover, culminative effects had to be taken into account, and by early 1944 people had suffered three years of a diet deficient in almost every aspect. In particular the young and old suffered. Molly Bihet referred to some benefits for children like extra milk and cod-liver oil, but these did not last, and she admitted many were underweight. Statistics show considerable reductions in height as well, and a report by Doctor Revell in 1941 said Guernsey schoolchildren exhibited 'a greater number of pinched, drawn anxious little faces and diminished inclination for hearty play and laughter'. On Sark, the schoolmistress said in the autumn of 1943 that "all the children turn up like frozen rabbits, full of colds and do nothing but cough and sneeze'.
There is evidence of a rise in death rates, due in part to the rise in the average age of the population following evacuation. Towards the end, however, general death rates were high in the winter months. The average was 13 or 14 per 1,000 before the occupation. During it, they rose to 35.6 per 1,000 in January 1944. It seems hard not to conclude that old people thrown out of their homes, unable to fend for themselves, without cash for black market products, or transport to get to soup kitchens, and too infirm to stand long hours in queues, must have suffered more than younger Islanders.
One of the most vexed questions is whether deaths were due to malnutrition. Widespread symptoms of malnutrition existed. Physically they consisted of loss of weight, tuberculosis, stomach upsets, lengthy septic conditions, neuritis, skin conditions, and a number of cases of enteritis and oedema. Mentally it led to dizziness, inability to concentrate, lassitude and depression. A complaint was made by a Guernsey resident in 1942 that people were dying of malnutrition. The Germans made a great fuss, and insisted on a full investigation. They would only admit malnutrition might have been a contributory cause of death. Mrs Tremayne dramatically referred to old people dropping dead in the streets by the autumn of 1944, and Maugham refers to an increase in sudden deaths from syncope, and fainting fits in public.
Epidemics were largely avoided in spite of the inadequacy of the sewage system, and the lavatorial habits of many of the occupiers. A camp at Rue Sauvage in Guernsey had a privy built over a stream at right angles to the main road in full view of passers by, which polluted water used by the German troops further down its course. From November 1944 the Germans were considering reducing the water supply to save fuel at the pumping stations. When Doctor Symons protested in Guernsey he was temporarily dismissed. Typhoid developed, and there were bad outbreaks in 1941 and 1943 with death among Todt workers, and the closing off as quarantine areas of parts of St Peter Port. Diphtheria increased because vaccine ended, and doctors were unwilling to use untried German products. Apart from some limited imports of medical supplies by the Red Cross: two in 1942, one in 1943 and three in 1944, the Islands were cut off from modern medicine.
Shortage of drugs, fuel and light meant that by autumn 1944 the hospital system was in danger of collapse. Perhaps the most remarkable achievement was that of the maternity services which coped with births without any increase in child or maternal mortality even if anaesthetics were not available by the winter of 1944. Although the managers of Boots in both St Helier and St Peter Port did their best to import drugs from France, or improvise native remedies, by the summer of 1944 there were severe shortages and diabetics died in Jersey General Hospital through lack of insulin. Antisepsis in hospitals suffered from lack of surgical spirit, disinfectant, and even hot water. People were asked to wash their own dressings. It was inevitable that wounds took longer to heal, and septicaemia and gangrene were possibilities virtually unknown in peacetime. Operations were hampered by small but crucial shortages like worn-out rubber gloves, and lack of catgut for sutures. Tomato paper was used to cover wounds, and bandages were made from paper and old bits of cloth. By November 1944, said Doctor Symons, as fuel was reduced to operating theatres, laundries, and cooking facilities in hospitals, 'these institutions can no longer be claimed to be functioning as modern hospitals but rather as medical sick houses'. Hospital staff suffered as well. Nurses' diet was cut at one time to acorn coffee for breakfast, turnip stew for lunch, and no supper at all.
But in the final months for healthy, sick and starving alike there was worse to come.
14
The Last Year and the Red Cross Ship
News of the invasion of Normandy in June 1944 filled many Islanders with conviction that liberation for them could not be long delayed although some thought it would not come until the whole French coastline had been freed. The sounds of the Battle of Normandy were clearly audible in the Islands, particularly when St Malo and Cherbourg fell, and all round them in intensified air and sea warfare in the Channel was evidence enough of a decisive battle. 'I pray and trust there will be no fighting, for the Island folks have suffered quite enough', said one observer. On Sark rumour followed rumour, and in August they heard that British troops had landed in Jersey, 'so we feel the day of rejoicing has nearly arrived". But it was not to be.
When Julia Tremayne heard a rumour they would be relieved by Christmas she put it from her mind, 'because so many times our hearts are lifted, then flop, nothing happens.' Like so many in Europe who had believed liberation would come by Christmas, she was to be disappointed. By February 1945 she was writing, 'Never have 1 felt such hunger as I have this last fortnight. Saturday when we got up, there wasn't a bit of bread or anything in the cupboard, these are grim, lean and hungry times for us all.’
It was hardly surprising that neglect of the Islands caused discontent coming as it did after years in which there had been little enough contact or support from England. Bitterly Maugham wrote later, 'we often wondered if any thought of our sufferings, both mental and physical ever occurred to those statesmen in London*. He heard about measures of international relief for various parts of Europe, and no mention of the Islands.
For this neglect there were sound military reas
ons. Invasion did not take place because of the likely civilian casualties, according to Morrison, but this was not the prime factor. In the past Churchill had shown willingness to discuss and even urge operations involving substantial loss of life.
In the planning stages for D-Day it was made clear the Islands would not be included in any attack because heavy German fortifications would necessitate the use of the equivalent of four divisions and this was wasteful use of manpower crucial to success in Normandy. The Islands were a potential flanking threat as the help given to St Malo, and the raid on Granville showed, but no more than that. It was confirmed in October 1944 that no direct attack would take place. From then it was clear that intensive naval activity in the Western Channel would cut the Channel Islands off from supplies and thus damage the German garrison. On 27 September the cabinet discussed the possible supply of food to the Channel Islands. The chiefs of staff, the ministry of economic warfare, and the home office were not opposed to this. However, Churchill was clear that he opposed aid, and General Brooke recorded that evening that it was decided not to send in any food. When he approved the plan for eventual liberation Churchill scribbled in the margin, 'Let 'em starve. No fighting. They can rot at their leisure'. Referring though he was to the Germans, it was the civilian population who would rot as well.
So the last year was to prove a terrible one. Famine, fuel and medical shortages grew steadily worse helped only a little by five Red Cross visits. The troops grew more violent in their search for food. Restriction followed restriction. Gas, electricity, and telephone services ceased. Even the water supply was affected. German repression increased. By February 1945, firm Nazi supporters were in charge of the troops, and the Platzkommandantur. They discussed seizing all food, and letting the Islanders starve.
The Germans, too, were under siege that last year. The officers shielded themselves from the consequences for a time, but the German forces were steadily disintegrating during the last six months or so of occupation as the proud conquerors became beggars at cottage doors. Mrs Tremayne noticed troops going to house after house asking for food particularly after dark, it's pathetic to see them in threadbare coats, and no overcoats, their boots the best thing about them'. Molly Finigan noticed how roles had become reversed. An officer gave her father his binoculars in exchange for some Red Cross chocolate. Among those she saw ferreting in the dustbins was the soldier who had once kicked her for scrounging potatoes.
Desperate for food the Germans tried every expedient. Too late they appointed battalion agriculture officers. Instructions on growing wheat and vegetables were issued. They tried cultivation in the greenhouses, and fished in co-operation with local fishermen to maximize the catch. All available animals svere eaten: 'You may find it hard to believe but the troops are actually picking up cats and dogs they find in farmhouses and yards and eating them', wrote Mrs Tremayne. Crops and livestock were taken from gardens and fields, and cows were even milked before their owners could reach them. Eleven soldiers died after eating hemlock in January 1945. Others died trying to scale down cliffs for birds' eggs and plants. Von Aufsess mentioned the first deaths from malnutrition early in 1945, and some figures quoted by Cruickshank showed that of 99 soldiers inspected on Guernsey, 24 were suffering from it. German expedients failed, and even Mrs Tremayne was moved to say, it is distressing to see the poor fellows walking about. They only have nettle soup now, they go about in groups with sacks gathering nettles ... it is slow starvation.'
The Islanders began to notice restlessness among the troops, then fighting amongst themselves, and finally open dissent. By February 1945, the soldiers 'speak freely of being taken prisoner and I am sure the majority of them would welcome that'. When troops arrived to cut down Doctor Symon's fruit trees, the officer in charge turned to him at the end and said, 'when the war is over, for God's sake kill every Nazi'.
Sadly the breakdown of discipline and the suffering of the enemy did not help the Islanders. The occupation army ceased to be well-disciplined. After a murderous attack on Mr Jehan and his son in August 1944, the Germans announced severe penalties for looting, and such orders continued to be issued with ever increasing frequency; but to little effect. Death sentences were passed on troops like two soldiers who stole six sacks of flour, and in the end orders were given to shoot on sight at night. In May von Aufsess admitted all attempts to stop soldiers looting had failed.
The Cortvriends found their unripe fruit seized, and root crops dug out from their garden, and M. Lambert, worried one night that two soldiers had overheard his wireless, was relieved when they turned out to be stealing his pears. There were robberies with violence and murder. An elderly man and his wife were murdered for the sake of their Red Cross parcel. Mr Le Gresly was murdered and his sister badly beaten by marauding soldiers.
The Germans also tried to help their troops by requisitioning food. Von Schmettow made it plain that he blamed the British government for shortages because of its air attacks, and the Island governments for not taking precautions 'to make provision for the poorer sort of the population'. Now the Islands were cut off, i can no longer provide for the population'. He argued that in a war zone, particularly a fortress, 'all consideration for the besieged' disappeared, and even if the population were destroyed in action or by famine, 'this would not in any way alter the case'.
In the first place the officers had to be provided for. In August 1944, soldiers were sent to Sark to buy up eggs, butter and chickens to take back for the officers. At Christmas over 3,000 chickens were demanded for the forces. Von Schmettow rejected complaints about confiscations.
As soon as the decision was made to send the Vega with food the Germans used this as an excuse to increase their confiscations. As the first parcels were delivered an order went out to hand in any stocks of food by 15 January 1945. The same day an order restricted households to one dog with ominous implications for pets. Soldiers and Feldpolizei began house-to-house searches, and according to Mrs Cortvriend these were far more thorough than in the past. The Royal Hotel in St Peter Port lost its liquor supplies, 360 tins of vegetables, and some of the last soap remaining in the Island. Milkless days were introduced, and the ration was virtually ended on 23 April when the Germans demanded, 'that all farmers and cow keepers must deliver, without reserve, the whole of the milk produced by their cows.' The potato ration was cut to 1 lb and then stopped. The meat ration ended in April. Most alarming of all, bread rations were reduced on 3 February and stopped on 14 February. The
The Underground Hospital at St Lawrence in Jersey. This was used for casualties from St Malo in July 1944. Doctor John Lewis has described operations without anaesthetics which took place at that time when the wounded were held down by four soldiers
The Dead 2. German military graves on Alderney removed in 1961. Only 113 German graves at Fort George on Guernsey were left out of a total of 568 on the Islands
Islanders were without bread until 12 March. The first orders to surrender cattle went out the day before liberation. By the time the Red Cross ship arrived, things were so bad that its five visits could do little more than provide temporary relief, and parcels designed to last three weeks were usually exhausted within a week.
Vital public utilities ceased to function. Gas ended in Jersey in September, and in Guernsey in December. Electricity ended in January 1945 together with the telephones. In March, water supply was cut to two hours in the morning and two in the early evening. To make sure this order was kept, 'the Germans sent out pairs of soldiers to cut off bath water supplies and lavatory flushes. They were equipped with heavy hammers and wrenches and their primitive methods of cutting off lead pipes caused floods in several houses.' The aim was to restrict water use to a basic supply for drinking and kitchen washing up, and the Germans told people to use their gardens as toilets. It froze almost continuously through December 1944 and January 1945. Yet it was at this very moment that the order banning the collection of fuel was issued. On Sunday 12 January 1945 von Aufsess witn
essed the following scene in St Helier: 'The townspeople's assault on any trees within reach in their frenzied search for fuel today escalated into what almost amounts to a popular uprising. Following yesterday's felling of some of the wonderful old evergreen oaks along Victoria Avenue ... this morning the people turned out in strength and armed with saws and axes descended on the avenue in hordes.' A nine year old boy searching for wood in the Parade Gardens in St Helier knocked over the side of a shelter and was buried alive in February 1945.
The bringing of relief to the Islands was bedevilled by administrative wrangling. By the end of August both Carey and Coutanche had drafted appeals to the Red Cross at Geneva and the Swiss minister in Berlin. At the beginning of September, Coutanche sent a document to the Commandant which von Aufsess said contained, 'a barely veiled threat to bring the guilty persons to justice after the war, if the civilian population should suffer.' Von Schmettow did not reply until late in the month when he said the responsibility for feeding the population was Britain's. Churchill then delayed matters for a month on military grounds.