On the 30th of June 1940, German forces invaded the island of Jersey, Channel Islands. They continued to occupy the island until its Liberation in May 1945. The Channel Islands were the only parts of the British Isles that were occupied by the German armed forces during the Second World War, and during the 5 years of occupation, both islanders and occupiers dealt with increasingly poor living and working conditions. Many of these poor conditions were reported on by inhabitants of the islands, and can be read and seen through photography, diary entries and letters, encapsulating the theme of hardship and distress that plagued the island at the time.

The British Government declared that the Channel Islands were of little to no strategic importance during the summer of 1940, and made the decision to demilitarize the islands in order to spread resources and arms more effectively over areas that they thought were of more importance. This left the islands of Jersey and Guernsey with no military defense, and so during the invasion, Jersey was very much at the mercy of the German forces.

The German forces began to construct fortifications, bunkers and artillery outposts across Jersey as part of the Atlantic Wall (a system of coastal defenses across Nazi occupied areas of Europe, built to defend against an impending Allied invasion). Numerous concrete bunkers and walls were constructed along the coastlines of Jersey in order to defend against a possible attack, although this attack never came, and the island was eventually liberated in 1945.

The Germans occupation of Jersey changed a lot about the daily life of inhabitants of the island for the 5 years that the occupation lasted. Radios, cameras and boats were confiscated, there were strict restrictions placed on exporting goods, freedom of speech and access to healthcare and medicine, and the people of Jersey were forced to change to German time, driving on the right side of the road, and accepting forced rations. A curfew was established to limit the populations movement in the evening and night hours, and censorship of the media was strict.

The drastic changes made to the lives of the people of Jersey, the defensive structures built by the Germans, and the effects that the occupation had on the landscape of the island, have all been documented in a variety of detailed ways, from photographs to diary entries. The occupation of Jersey had a huge impact on civilian and military personnel alike, and various archives and museum exhibits around the Island document the struggles of the inhabitants of Jersey, through this time. The occupation of Jersey shaped how the island is seen to this day, from the memories of the older generations still living on the island, to the marks left in the physical landscape; the occupation of Jersey changed the island indefinitely.

An archive is an institution designed to hold a wide range of historical documents, texts, photographs and records. Archives are important in keeping these records safe when they are no longer in active use. Archives typically group records together that follow a particular theme, or originate from a specific point in history (such as images from World War 1 being stored together, or documentation recording certain government policies from the past). In this way, an archive is often able to build a narrative of the time that the records display, with the multiple records (often hundreds of thousands) showing different perspectives and aspects of the time.

An archives main purpose is to house historical documentation, and in this way, they are very useful when it comes to reflecting on events that occurred in the past, and to allow for the education of future generations on important historical affairs. The original documentation that is kept inside of archives often encapsulate the events of the time period that they originate from; a unique perspective that would be lost if the records content was simply copied or re-created. An archive serves the purpose of both safely storing important historical documentation for future reference and research, while also providing a less formal role, in which generations to come can explore and learn about the events of the past, that shaped the present in which they live.

During our class visit to the Jersey archives (Societe Jersiaise), we were able to get a glimpse into the inner workings of the archives, and discovered how they operated and the kinds of documents that they held. Photographers from the late 19th century, such as Thomas Sutton, had a huge amount of influence over the art produced in Jersey during their time, and have helped to preserve the history of Jersey through the medium of photography. Sutton opened a photographic studio in Jersey during the 1840’s, and is well known in the world of photography for having invented the first panoramic camera with a wide angled lens, thus revolutionizing photography in his century, and for century’s to come. The original work of such an influential photographer can be found in the Jersey archives, thus stressing the importance of archives as a place where some of the the most meaningful and life-changing documents can be safely stored for future reference and education.

Another relevant example of the importance of holding historical documentation and photographs inside of archives, is the sheer number of accounts and records found in the Jersey archives, telling the story of Jerseys Occupation during WW2, from initial invasion, to liberation. Emille Guiton (born 1979) was one of the few photographers permitted to take images during the occupation of Jersey. His dedication to his craft allowed him to encapsulate the atmosphere of this uncertain time, through hundreds of images. His images depict the life of every day inhabitants of the island, as well as the influence that the Germans had over life during this time. Photographers such as Guiton have allowed current generations to understand historical events such as the occupation, from the perspective of individuals who actually lived during the period itself; a perspective that cannot be gained from simply reading a textbook. In this sense, archives allow current generations to gain an understanding of the hardships and joys felt by the people living during the time in which the photographs were taken, and allows them to experience the rich history of their nation/country/island from a new and different perspective.

During my research into archives, I have discovered that they are in fact of monumental importance when it comes to storing the works of the past, in order to better understand how out present (and future) has developed. Archives enable us to create a timeline of the past, merging different perspectives together to create a detailed, in depth story of the events that occurred hundreds of years ago, with the influence that certain individuals and groups had on the shaping of our present forever secured in the documents and photographs saved in the hundreds archives around the world. Archives act as fountains of knowledge for the current generation, allowing us to learn from the mistakes and successes of the generations before us through first hand accounts, images and factual evidence, allowing us to shape out future accordingly.

As my project is called Bunker Archaeology, I decided to do more research into photographers who have also focused their work around documenting bunkers and war relics, in order to take inspiration from them that I can use in my own work.

The first photographer that I researched was Jonathan Andrew, a UK born photographer who’s Abandoned WWII Bunker series has showcased a range of war relics, left over from the second world war:

Andrews project has inspired me in my own work, as his approach towards taking images with high levels of contrast, using mainly dark colours and textures to emphasise the harsh shapes of the bunkers. As well as displaying these structures as harsh and menacing, the use of texture and dark colour palette also helps to reflect the dark atmosphere and hopeless attitudes that WWII brought about, and thus I believe the use of shadows and harsh texture is fitting. Furthermore, I feel like Andrew’s use of a small amount of light highlighting certain areas of the bunkers is effective, as it allows for contrast between shadows and lighter areas, which in turn makes the images seem even more menacing, and highlights that each structure stands alone, representing the left overs from one of the most deadly wars in human history.

I took inspiration from Andrew, as I feel that during y own project, I will be editing images in order to emphasise the texture of the images. which I feel will give the images a harsher appearance, thus reflecting the harsh atmosphere of the occupation (during which the structures were built). Furthermore, I will be taking inspiration from Andrew’s work in terms of his use of shade and light, and will be using the same concept during my editing process, in which I will make some images black and white in order to show the contrast between light and dark areas, allowing shadows to appear darker and more menacing, while also allowing the images to remain timeless due to the lack of colour, and thus they can easily be associated with the time period in which the original bunkers/war structures were built.

After finalizing and editing my final images, I re-visited the work of Jonathan Andrews to compare it to my own, and found that I had taken inspiration from a range of his images, especially with aspects such as the texture and contrasting colours:

For the above images, mine are seen on the left, and Andrew’s on the right. There are similarities between the images in terms of texture, colour themes and overall atmospheres (harsh, cold and menacing).

Link to Jonathan Andrew’s Bunker Project: www.jonathanandrewphotography.com/Projects/WWII-Relics/9