Robert Winter Le Sueur, MBE is a Jersey resident who was awarded an MBE for his efforts in assisting escaped Russian prisoners, in Jersey, during the Nazi Occupation of the Channel Islands. During the Occupation, Le Sueur was able to move about due to his work as an insurance agent. He acted as relay in a network of people sheltering escapees: from 1942 he handled eight or nine escapees.
Bob Le Sueur visited our photography room and recounted stories from the Occupation which I have recorded and have posted below. He also allowed us to take photos of him in our photography studio.
I Was There. Bob Le Sueur – Jersey Heritage
‘Bob shares photos from his personal collection as well as personal recollections about living on a highly militarized island cut off from Britain.’ – Channel Islands Occupation Society (Jersey)
The Jersey War Tunnels are a reminder of the occupation of the island during World War 2. The War Tunnels are one of many fortifications that the Germans built on Jersey. The tunnels were blasted out with gunpowder and handtools, and then covered with concrete. The hospital was dug into a slope, so that it would drain naturally. Its location within the hill also ensured that the temperature remained constant throughout the year. The tunnels were originally constructed as an ammunition store and artillery barracks but the Germans converted them to a casualty clearing station as D-Day drew nearer. Today The Jersey War Tunnels are an exhibition dedicated to how the occupation affected the islanders and the island. Areas have been restored to show how the hospital looked during the occupation.
Final Outcomes
Food shortages on Jersey were 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 for instance seawater had to be replaced with salt.
Everyone in Britain was given a gas mask to protect them from gas bombs, which could have been dropped during air raids.
During World War 2, you had two choices when writing a letter: handwritten or typewriter.
In order to build the Jersey War Tunnels, a huge workforce was needed and this was supplied by the Organisation Toft. More than 5,000 slave labourers were brought over to Jersey. The men were treated harshly and known to have died from disease, malnutrition, accidents and exhaustion.
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 radio sets. A number of individuals risked imprisonment by making their own sets and spreading news.
At 3:00pm Winston Churchill gave the most famous speech of his career. The Prime Minister announced the end of the war in Europe and the “unconditional surrender of all German land, sea and air forces in Europe”. While the islanders cheered, he uttered the words, “our dear Channel Islands are also to be freed today”. Flags and decorations sprang up.
Evaluation
This series of images show a narrative of the typical objects that could have been found in a household during World War 2. Most of the images are still life because of the inanimate subject matter depicted. The sequence of the images tell a story of what it must have been like to be a citizen in Jersey from the beginning of World War 2 until Liberation Day.
The first five images are in the filter B&W punch to represent the German Occupation in Jersey. The images have high contrast between black and white making the photo very sharp. The B&W filter represents life in Jersey during the German Occupation where the people were oppressed and suffering without sufficient resources. I decided to edit the majority of my images in black and white to emphasise the historical yet cold atmosphere during the Occupation. The filter also helps to showcase the negative impact war had on the citizens of Jersey.
For my colour edits I produced two final outcomes. The last two images are in colour to represent Liberation Day in Jersey which took place on the 9th of May. The UK flag is depicted in both images to represent the freedom of the Jersey citizens.
Bob Le Sueur 19 when the Germans arrived and 24 when the Germans left
This is an Portrait of Bob Le Sueur when he was 24. This was drawn by the Russian slave worker who was looked after by Feodor Burriy
Incident German Arrived 1940:
Morning July 1st – air on the 28th June – lot of damage people killed, lived west of St helier, woken up by German planes- German bomber planes, Two parachutes with cylinders (contained messages for the commander of chief- saying that the island would be demilitarised as they are not of military value).
The messages were sent to the bailiff – they had a day to surrender or overwise they would carpet bomb the island- people in England said they cant defend the island however they said to stay by their post and try to defend as possible for the population.
Germans didn’t invade French borders, but Hitler did decide to invade without warning into Dutch borders and into Luxemburg, people were woken up at 6am.
100, 000 population totalled the 2 islands at the time of German occupation.
The atmosphere in jersey at the beginning of the German occupation was that it was very tense, but it was broken by captain bennay was in command, pigeon went over head and was sick over him and his pork pie hat – people started to laugh and giggle. The captain was angry and stormed off.
When this was all over there was going to make an official announced by the bailiffs.
Story two:
Number 7 – two floors up apartments – family homes
2 young men shared a flat – they sheltered an escaped Russian prisoner, Hitler intended to not occupy the whole of British Isles if Germans did win as could do so.
Jersey was more fortified than anywhere else that the Nazis were occupied.
Spanish abled men were sent to jersey by the Nazis to build the fortifications, but they were many forced workers sent here, theses weren’t paid except the Spanish men.
2 15-year-old boys were sent to jersey after being stopped by the Germans when walking home (Ukrainian).
A Russian was housed by two people who shared their rations with the Russian got an illegal registration card.
September 1944 – gas supply was stopped meaning that people had to cook on an open fire, meaning that the young people put on party. Russian got hold of the calvados before the party and was bellowing out a song and dancing, German soldiers walking below singing, however they didn’t do anything.
Liberation Day:
April 20thBerlin fell
January 1945 – electricity supply cut off – at this point people were starving.
Jersey Evening post was still going only on sheet of paper one side was local news, and the other side was the German news
The armistice was being negotiated and was announced on May 9th
Pictures Taken:
Bob Le Sueur Bob Le Sueur Bob Le Sueur Bob Le SueurBob Le Sueur
Edited Versions of Photos:
First Step in Lightroom Selected Photos Second Step In lightroom, selected photos again for the ones im going to edit3rd step: Selected Photo- I have cropped to how I want it to look like.4th step: I have converted the image into black and white and changed the shadows and highlights in the image.
Final Image – Bob Le Sueur
Second Edit:
I have decided to compare the images in black and white/Colour to help me decide whether or not to convert the image.I decided to go with black and white I have edited the tone in the image and the effects in the image for examples I have changed the highlight amount to +19 whereas it was set at zero, changing this has created a slight oval shape to the image around the edges.Final Image 2 – Bob Le Sueur
Third Edit:
1st Step: I have decided to crop the image so you can only see his head and shoulders. 2nd Step: I have put a gradual light effect on which spreads the highlights across his face. 3rd Step: Converted the image to black and white.
I have Put an overlay on the image.
I have dissolved the frame more, I like this on the image as it has created the image to be darker and the edges of the image are much lighter than before.I have decided to go with this frame colour as it goes with image without changing the actual image.Final Image – Bob Le Sueur
Fourth Edit:
1st step: I have cropped the image, creating less space around the person.2nd step: I have edited the highlights and shadows by increasing or decreasing what I needed.Final Image – Bob Le Sueur. I have decided not to edit this image any further as I dont want to over edit therefore making the image look not real.
The Jersey Archive was made to store documents on the island has records dating back to 1378. It stores records from the government, personal and business records, letters and police records, as well as family trees and private documents, and much more. The archive holds over 300,000 documents and images. The Archive also stores occupation cards that all islanders were required to have. It also stores letters between the island and the UK, of which the sender was only allowed to write a total of 25 words.
One of the records that stood out to me personally was the occupation card of Maurice Green; The only diabetic in the channel islands to survive the occupation. His story was particularly interesting to me being a diabetic as well, and hearing about the way so many people died from something that most people don’t think about. The shipment of insulin that was supposed to arrive in Jersey was stolen in France, as their supplies were also critically low. This meant that all of the Type 1 diabetics on the island could not control their blood sugar and soon died after slipping into a coma. Maurice was the only diabetic to survive, and after the war, traveled to America to help scientists study type 1 diabetes.
This is a series of edited images I have produced as part of the war tunnels visit. They are all images of soldier mannequins with their heads out of frame in order to create mysterious feel.
I have applied a variety of black and white filters (Red, Green, and Yellow) in order to achieve a noisy and slightly distorted effect. This helps make the images more eerie and adds to the mystery of not being able to see their faces. The filters also help make the images look more worn out and give an effect of the camera equipment which was used at the time.
The Jersey War Tunnels was built during the Second World War to withstand air-raids, but soon turned into an Emergency underground hospital. Created through forced labour and over 5,000 slaves, the tunnels is over 1,000 meters long and 50 meters deep, creating a large area to protect the German Soldiers and those injured during the war time. The War Tunnels is now a tourist attraction, allowing guests to explore the underground network, as well as personal stories and different events which occurred during the war. The theming of the attraction is cleverly done in order to transport guests back to the war time, and give them a first hand experience as to what life was like down there. Another mentionable aspect of the War Tunnels, is that they were never completed, leaving whats called ‘the unfinished tunnels’ these tunnels are still on display and creates an atmospheric and immersive experience to guests.
Mood Board Showcasing Stock Images of The War Tunnels, outlining expectation and inspiration for what to capture.
On my trip to the War Tunnels, I explored the different rooms, showcasing the different stories and events, allowing me to gain a more personal understanding of the war. Using my camera I tried to capture these stories and environment in order to present a visual and creative representation of the tunnels.
Planning:
The War Tunnels are a set of tunnels, which informed me that the lighting was going to be dark, this lead to me raising my ISO to high setting, and have my shutter speed adjusted to let enough light in dependent of the room and the lighting in that room. I used a manual focus which allowed me to explore with my depth of fields and aperture. In some photographs I experimented with flash photography, however these outcomes where less successful. I intend to capture photographs at all different angles allowing a different perspective on the objects to be showcased within my image, creating an ascetic towards my images.
Editing:
First Edit – Flagged
Second Edit – Star Rating
Third Edit – Coloured
Black and White Edits:
For my black and white final outcomes I decided to use a wide variety of photographs, which I believed clearly showcased the true nature of what life was like living in the tunnels, and during the second world war. For these images I started off by turning them into black and white, which then followed on to me adjusting the shadows, lights darks, structure etc, in order to create a historical and cold atmosphere within the imagery. I believe that my four black and white outcomes work well together, complimenting one another, using the formal elements and composition of each frame to create a negative viewpoint, reflecting the negative impact the war had on people’s lives, as well as the negative impact of the war tunnels. In addition, all four images showcasing different camera techniques which showcase my competence to experiment with a camera and create successful outcomes.
Colour Edits:
With regards to my colour edits I produced two outcomes, one which is more successful then the other, needless to say the show further exploration with my material I produced. The top image uses a technique called ‘colour splash’ which allows the whole photograph to be in black and white except one are you chose. In this case I kept the flag in colour as I believed it showcased the theme of freedom and liberation, emphasising the impact the liberation of Jersey had. The photograph uses rule of thirds, and clearly showcases different formal elements as well as clear camera techniques, such as wide depth of field. On the other hand, the image below, type righter, is not as successful, due to lack of focal point it has, as well as I feel that the lighting has a sense of warmth, which ruins the cold and negative ascetic previously created in my work.
Evaluation:
To evaluate, I believe I have produced successful outcomes which showcase my competence with using a camera and the different settings, as well as being able to creatively edit my photographs in order to produce successful outcomes, with an ascetic with is on going within my outcomes. I have been able to further explore Jersey’s history, and produce imagery which clearly showcases the environment of the war tunnels as well as personal stories, creating clear contextual and conceptual references within my work.
I decided on my final images, and the below images are the final images after editing in Photoshop:
In Photo-shop, I was able to use the following techniques to produce the final images:
In the above 2 images, I was experimenting with the width of the boarder around the gas mask, and to do so, I used the brush tool to draw outlines of different widths. I also experimented with the softness of the outline, originally working with a hard line, and then moving towards a softer outline version. In this image, I was attempting to make a distinction between the background and the gas mask. The concept of this image was to show how, during the war, conflict and violence became a common part of life, and to do this, I made a distinction between the gas mask, and the teacups and kitchenware placed directly next to it. By arranging the gas mask and familiar kitchen ware together, it can be established that fear of an enemy gas attack lay around every corner, and nowhere (not even the safety of home) was safe from the threat of violence. This image merges the two opposites together (fear and safety), and in editing an outline around the gas mask, it draws more attention directly to the mask itself, and also disconnects the mask from the rest of the image. In doing so I am able to make some distinction between the kitchen ware and gas mask, hopefully drawing more attention to the fact that these 2 things should not be seen as normal together, and yet also presenting the fact that in reality, they were.
The 2 images above are examples of the colour editing I worked on in the below image. I used two different layers when it came to editing this image, the first image including the background, and the second layer including the soldier in the foreground. I reduced the saturation of the background in order to give it a more somber tone, reflective of the reality of conflict and war, and in order to contrast this, used the layer on which the soldier sat to heighten the saturation, showing contrast between the background and the individual soldier in the foreground. As a concept, I did this because I was attempting to reflect the reality that all soldiers during the occupation were individual people too, with hopes and fears, many of which did not want to leave their families in Europe to come and occupy Jersey. I chose a single soldier and made him easily distinguishable from the rest, regardless of his own insignificance in terms of the whole image, because I wanted to convey the idea that all individuals, German and Jersey, were people that were individually affected by the impact of the war/occupation, and should not all be grouped together as “enemy” or “friend”.
The Jersey archive-located on Clarence road- is where all of Jersey’s history is stored and preserved, which contains collections recognised by UNESCO.
“The Archive is the Island’s national repository holding archival material from public institutions as well as private businesses and individuals. “ -Jersey archive website
Materials from private individuals as well as public institutions are stored in this location. The archive can be used to do things such as tracing family history, and learning further about Jersey during the occupation.
The archive contains many things such as occupation registration cards, Images from the Jersey Evening Post, hospital records, will and testaments and even textiles. The archive’s highest priority is the preservation of documents. Documents are carefully placed in acid free materials and kept in the correct conditions. Although collecting and preserving history is very important to the archive, they also want to make the archives accessible to the local and worldwide community which is why their collections are also online.
The role and purpose of the archive
The role of the archive is to help protect and preserve Jersey’s history so that residents and other people interested are able to learn more about the island’s history. This is important since remembering history is how societies learn from their past mistakes, learn and grow. The archive’s purpose is to give people a clearer understanding of why things are the way they are today, through teaching and providing knowledge of what happened in the past.
“Researchers can use archive resources to trace their family history, the story of their house or street and to find out more about the German Occupation of Jersey during the Second World War.” -Jersey archive website
Occupation registration cards
In December 1940, it was announced to the Jersey people that anyone over the age of 14 had to be officially registered under the Registration and Identification of Persons (Jersey) Order, 1940. This was put in place to control and restrict the movement of Jersey people during the occupation.
“The Archive holds over 31,000 registration cards of those individuals who lived in Jersey during the German Occupation. Each registration card contains personal details, such as name, address, date and place of birth, maiden name and occupation. The cards also include a passport sized photograph.” -Jersey archive website
These cards showed details of islanders living under the occupation, such as their picture, address and family details. Every islander was given a card and the Nazi authorities kept an official set which is now stored at the Jersey archive, after being kept in the bailiff’s chambers for many years after the occupation had ended.
“At first things weren’t too horrendous on the surface of it…it wasn’t until the Germans demanded that everybody be registered under the ‘Registration & Identification of Persons Order, 1940’ that things took a turn for the worse”– source
Each card was accompanied with a blue form that contained extra information that was not on the card, such as any physical peculiarities and any military service experience. Children who were under 14 had their names written on the back of their father’s cards.
The German soldiers required everyone to carry these registration cards as it meant they were easily identifiable if stopped by troops and also since the place of origin was readily available, it became easy to deport those of English origin back to England at the end of the occupation.
The cards were updated regularly and details were added if people had more children or if they moved address. As soon as children reached the age of 14, they were promptly issued with their own card.
Many of the Jersey occupation registration cards have been listed by UNESCO, which means they are registered as they have important cultural or historical significance.
Research: Harold Le Druillenec
Above you can see the registration card of Jersey Resident, Harold Le Druillenec. The card tells us that he was born in St. Ouen, which is in the North West of Jersey. Mary Isabelle Le Druillenec, who was born on 15/05/1938, is registered as his child on the back of the card. Below you can see his blue registration form showing that he was British, a school head master, married, had black hair and green eyes.
After researching Harold further I learnt that him and his family had a very interesting backstory. Harold had a sister named Louisa Gould, who hid a Russian slave worker in her house during the occupation named Feodor Burriy (nicknamed Bill) in 1942. Since Harold was an educated man, and a teacher, he taught Feodor how to speak English along with his siblings. An informer later reported them to German officials and Harold, Louisa and their sister Ivy Foster were taken to German court where they were accused of assisting an escaped prisoner.
This is the image that Louisa Gould had on her registration card.
Harold was found not guilty, however was imprisoned for 5 months since the Germans discovered a radio while searching for Feodor in his home. Ivy Foster who had taken Feodor in for a short time, and also sheltered a different prisoner was also sentenced to 5 months. Louisa was sentenced to 2 years in prison. Ivy avoided being sent to France with her brother and sister after a doctor at the Jersey General Hospital forged papers stating she was too ill to leave the island. Harold was sent to Belfort while his sister Louisa was sent to Ravensbruck, which was a concentration camp for women close to Berlin. This is where they saw each other for the last time.
Here we see an image of Louisa playing with her 2 sons; Edward Richard and Ralph Harry.
Before he was sent to Belsen, Harold spent time at Neuengamme. In 1945 while being transferred to Belsen, he had to spend 5 days on a cattle truck. He was at Belsen for another 5 days, then finally the camp was liberated by British soldiers. Harold was 1 of 2 British men who survived Belsen concentration camp. Harold later testified in the Belsen trial where he gave evidence on how he was treated during his time there:
“I do not know if I shall succeed in giving you an idea of what life in Belsen was like on those last five days. I would like to point out that we suffered from, firstly, starvation, absolute starvation; secondly, complete lack of water for some six days; thirdly, lack of sleep, a few minutes sleep near the burial pits was occasionally possible; fourthly, to be covered with lice and delousing onself three or four times a day proving absolutely useless. If one sat inside the hut or outside in the yard one was covered within five or ten minutes. Then the fatalistic attitude among the prisoners towards what the end would certainly be – the crematorium or the pits.” –Harold Le Druillenec, Belsen Trial.
The belsen trial was held in Luneberg in 1945 where 45 camp guards were accused of war crimes. Harold had to relive his terrible experience again after not being fully restored to health after his time spent there. Harold needed very serious hospital treatment after his experience at the camp.
“In the two previous camps there was an attempt made at cleanliness, although the atrocities or sadism in the other camps were worse than Belsen. I think I can fairly describe Belsen as probably the foulest and vilest spot that ever soiled the surface of this earth.”
Harold’s sister Louisa fell ill soon after leaving Jersey, and was taken to the gas chamber in Ravensbruck in 1945 where she died.
Memorial dedicated to Louisa Gould opposite St Ouen parish hall
The POW Feodor Burriy was never found by the Germans and continued to be sheltered by another islander Bob Le Sueur who in his 20s spent the last year of the war moving Feodor from hiding place to hiding place, along with 7 other POWs. The first time Bob went to Louisa’s house, she told him “Bill” was French, as she had taught him to speak English with a French accent, however it was clear to Bob that he was not actually French.
“One night Bill got so drunk he crouched down and started a Russian song and dance routine.”
Feodor was a talented artist, and sketched many pencil portraits during the 2 years he stayed with Louisa. Strict control in the soviet union meant that Feodor wasn’t able to contact Bob again until the 60s. They finally met each other again in 1992 when Bob travelled to Russia, after the USSR had collapsed meaning travel restrictions were not as strict. Feodor then returned to Jersey in 1995 for the 50th anniversary of Jersey’s liberation. 3 years later, he died at the age of 80.
“…he agreed to come and as the plane landed the pilot announced he was returning for the first time since 1945. All the passengers burst into applause.”
There was also a film made which is based on Harold, Louisa and Ivy’s story that was released in 2017. The script was written by Louisa Gould’s great niece, Jenny Lecoat. Bob Le Sueur also helped with the script. George Lawrie, who’s an extra in the film, is the great great grandson of Louisa Gould.
“It took a year to research it and two years before it was picked up”
