The Occupation Tapestry was the biggest community art project ever undertaken in Jersey, and made by Islanders for Islanders. It was conceived in order to tell the story of what life was like during the five years of German occupation

The original idea about creating a tapestry came about when, in the lead-up to the 50th anniversary of the Liberation, suitable projects were sought which would have a enduring life after the anniversary.

In a collaboration between Doug Ford, who worked for the Jersey Museum, and Wayne Audrain, a local artist, the tapestry evolved from a single panel to the twelve panels, each of which depicted a scene of local life during the German Occupation. Each of these panels was designed by Wayne who gave guidelines on colours to be used on the key elements of the panels to ensure consistency.

Each panel was then woven by one of the twelve parishes which make up the Island, following those guidelines set by Wayne. They did, however, have a degree of flexibility, and could use their own artistic talent in the colours used in the skies and sea .

What is amazing about the project is that although there were a core of “stitchers” in each parish, over the few years that it took for all the panels to be completed, thousands of Islanders, as well as visitors to Jersey, put a few stitches in the Occupation Tapestry panels.

here’s a link for more info about the making of it; https://www.historyalive.je/2017/05/13/occupation-tapestry-jersey-channel-islands-commemorating-liberation-5-years-nazi-rule/#:~:text=The%20Occupation%20Tapestry%20was%20the,five%20years%20of%20German%20occupation.

As each panel measures 72 inches by 34 inches, there are 626,688 stitches per panel. In all, the twelve panels contain 7,520,256 stitches!!

some images of the tapestry;