Our trip was to Noirmont Point in which we explored and photographed the network of bunkers, Tony Pike also gave us a guided tour. There is an underground command bunker at this specific site, which was used by the Germans and is the only naval coastal artillery battery in the island and part of Hitler’s infamous Atlantic Wall. 170 men set camp on the headlands manning the bunkers, there were living quarters where they inhabited, but when not on duty they stayed at the Portlet Bay Hotel just around the corner. Before the occupation Noirmont was just nature, everything was made by the Germans up there. The states bought the land as an Island War Memorial in 1950 to remember those who fought and lost their lives in World War II.

We were given several opportunities to go around all bunkers as there were 4 main fortifications on the site, I edited some of my best photos on photoshop and lightroom. I made all my images black and white as I wanted them to seem as if they were taken during the occupation. The overcast weather on the day I feel worked very well with the concept of the occupation being such a depressing time for the people of Jersey and how the dull clouds mirror the atmosphere at the time as being gloomy. I wanted to get as much of the bunkers and the landscape together as they contrast well against each other with the man made structures and the delicate nature of the headland, it’s two extremes.

What is a photo montage?

Photo montage is when you make a different photograph but cutting, sticking, rearranging and overlapping different photos to create a different feel to the image. I developed my own photo montage which is below.

For this photo montage experiment i first chose a couple of images which i took from my bunker shoot as well as a few famous images which were found on the ‘archive folder’ in the media drive as well as the internet. I printed these images out as i decided to produce my photo montage by hand. These images were printed in both black and white as well as colour.

I experimented with combining my images by eye and by write notes on the type of edits i could do to particular images. This allowed me to plan my ideas before doing them on paper and deciding i don’t like it. When i found the images i wanted to use and the ways i wanted to combine them, i then did so.

First attempt at photo montage

Images i decided to use in photo montage

From the images above i made the photo montage below. This was made from the image on the top right hand corner which i got from the media drive, a well as the second image on the bottom left hand side which i took myself at the bunker. These images i found went well and i chose them because of the writing interesting me and i though it would be a cool concept to layer the image i had taken on top of the other one. The two seperate images share the topic of attacks which we can tell from the JEP’s title ‘The German Counter Attacks Against Invasion Troops’ and the edited image from the quote ‘ keep calm and obey orders’.

The image below isn’t one of my best pieces however i used an image i took which is shown on the bottom right hand side, second in, as well as the image next to it which i did not take. I wanted to in corporate the writing as the writing was speaking about a dead person who was killed. Therefore i found that this had a small link to the main image which is a doll in a plastic bag. I implicitly thought that this doll could have been in the war because of the clothing he was dressed in, which helped a decision to use the evacuation images behind the writing to add the concept of Germany. Because of this i found that these two elements made a weird photo montage.

I again used one image of my own, as well as an image which was found on the archive drive. The image below was adjusted my cutting out the circle in the main image with a cutting knife as it was a black circle. The black circle used to suggest that there were electronics inside this object, and you would have to look into the machine to see them. Because of this i also cut out the man using binoculars to see. These were both used because they are both to the same topic of ‘looking’.

Second attempt at photo montage

“Battery Moltke” or “Batterie Moltke” is an uncompleted World War II former coastal artillery battery in St Ouen in the north west of Jersey. It was constructed by Organisation Todt for the Wehrmacht during the Occupation of the Channel Islands.

The battery structures include bunkers, gun emplacements and the Marine Peilstand 3 tower, which are located on Les Landes, a coastal heathland area at the north end of St Ouen’s Bay. The bunker was left unfinished at the end of the war, when completed there would have been an M132 Command Bunker like at Battery Lothringen and the main armament would have consisted of 4x 15 cm SK C/28.

The primary purpose of this battery would have been the defense of St Ouen’s Bay in the event of an amphibious assault by the Allies, although Jersey’s entire coastline would have been within range of the guns, as would the stretch of water between Jersey and Sark.

My Experience:

Even though it was raining I still managed to get a good amount of photos. I really like going in the bunkers because it was amazing seeing the past and all the artifacts. I am very happy with the outcome of my photos as it captures the feel of the bunkers.

Final Edits (Edit 1):

Edit 2:

Contact Sheets:

“The German Occupation of Jersey began one week after the British government had demilitarized the island fearing for the safety of civilians should there be any conflict. The code name for this was “Operation Green Arrow” and the initial German Air Force reconnaissance flights mistake civilian farming lorries for troop carriers. On the 28th of June , the German Air Force, not knowing of the demilitarization, bomb and machine gun multiple sites on the island. The attacks killed ten people and wound many more. A few days later on the 1 of July 1940 General Richthofen, The Commander of the German Air Forces in Normandy, dropped an ultimatum from the air demanding the immediate surrender of the island. White flags and crosses were placed in prominent positions, as stipulated by the Germans, and later that day Jersey was occupied by air-borne troops under the command of Hauptmann Gussek.

Under the occupying forces, one of the greatest hardships was the lack of news from the mainland after the Germans had outlawed the use of crystal radio sets. A number of individuals risked imprisonment by making their own sets and spreading front line news. Horse drawn traffic became an increasingly regular sight as petrol shortages became severe, and many vehicles were converted to use gas. The price of bicycles rose, and their use was restricted to those connected to essential services. The German’s ordered all traffic to drive on the wrong side of the road. The island was also moved to Central European time. In the months following D-Day, as the Allies regained control of France, the source of supplies fueling the islands was now no longer available.

Shopping hours were reduced as goods became scarce. Food shortages on Jersey were finally relieved by the arrival of the Red Cross ship SS Vega, bringing food parcels to Jersey. Before then, substitutes had been used to replace everyday foods, with seawater replacing salt, for instance, and a mixture of parsnip and sugar beet replacing tea. During the autumn of 1944, fuel supplies were almost gone, leaving no gas, occasional electricity, and very little road fuel. Medical supplies were almost non-existent; and most people were without fuel. A Red Cross relief ship, the S S Vega, arrived in Jersey on 30 December with food parcels, and cases of salt, soap and medical supplies. The visits of the Red Cross ship S S Vega proved a lifeline to the starving islanders.

On 6 May 1945 a delegation of German officials met with Jersey’s Bailiff, Alexander Coutanche, and the Attorney-General to discuss the developments in Europe and their impact on the islands. The German Command were defiant and no reference to surrender was entertained. Instead, the Germans portrayed their defeat as a shift in focus towards a union between the powers in a new fight against Russia. As if to illustrate this sentiment, the German Commander of the Channel Islands, Vice-Admiral Huffmeier, responded to the British Army’s request for capitulation by stating that he only received orders from his ‘own Government’. Despite the nonchalance of the German occupying forces, which were still officially recognised, Jersey’s preparations for liberation began to take noticeable shape. In June 1944, the Normandy landings marked the initiation of ‘Operation Overlord’, the invasion of northwest Europe by the Allied forces.” Source –
https://www.jersey.com/discover-jerseys-occupation-story