Joan is an 85 yer old lady who was 6 when the German forces occupied the Channel Islands during the 2nd world war.
She lived on the North coast in a cottage with her family and had a great view of the North Eastern French coastline. She spoke of how, often, she was able to hear bombing coming from across the water. When describing which she exclaimed, ‘I used to wonder if it was waves crashing against the cliffs nearby. Until they would get closer.’
Some of the notable things Joan spoke about include:
- When the Germans arrived on the islands in June of 1940, the population was ordered to hang out white flags to show their compliance and surrender.
- The time she sat under bushes in the fields around her house watching the German planes train for things such as dogfights overhead. She told us how she was sitting under the hedges due to tragic stories of people being shot down by some of the planes flying above the avenue and along the waterfront.
- How everyone had a ration book and a nightly curfew, which included a blackout every night to disguise the islands (blackout meaning, all windows had to be covered in sheets so the island wasn’t illuminated in case the British were overhead.
- That substitutes for foods became the norm. During the occupation, due to food being so rational and scarce people started to come up with substitutes for certain types of food and drink.
- That the currency during the occupation were marks and fennings.
Above are three up-close images of Joan. I took them in this manner to highlight the complexities of her skin and features such as freckles and bumps. These are all special to focus in onto as it can give an idea almost of the all the years worth of memories, encounters and potentially injuries that Joan has maybe faced during her lifetime. It gives a person a sense of wisdom and knowledge from experience.
