Elizabeth Castle was built on a tidal island off the coast of Saint Helier in the 16th and 17th centuries when the power of cannons meant that the existing stronghold at Mont Orgueil was insufficient to defend the Island and the port of St Helier was vulnerable to attack by ships.
The castle was first used in a military context during the English Civil War in the 17th century. The Prince of Wales visited the castle in 1646 and again, but now as Charles II in September 1649, staying in the Governor’s House, having been proclaimed King by governor Sir George Carteret, despite the abolition of the monarchy in England, in February 1649. In 1651, a windmill was constructed half-way between Fort Charles and the Lower Ward. In the same year, the Parliamentarian forces landed in Jersey and bombarded the castle with mortars.
Today, the castle is administered by the Jersey Heritage Trust as a museum site: among the historical displays are the Jersey Royal Militia Museum holding several centuries of military memorabilia. Every Sunday through the season when the castle is open, a team of historical interpreters recreate the garrison of 1781, at the time of the battle of Jersey. Displays are given of musket firing, cannon firing and civilian life.
The occupation : Elizabeth Castle remained in use up to and including the Second World War, when it was occupied by the Nazis. The occupation by the German forces commenced on 1st July 1940 and eventually ended on 9th May 1945 – Liberation Day.
One of the key shots we want for our short film is of Elizabeth’s castles cannons and artillery, showcasing the powerful defenses the fortress had in place against an attack. If possible, I’d like to try to get a slow-motion shot of the cannon or other weapons firing.
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I think that a drone shot looking down on Elizabeth Castle would be perfect as an establishing shot for our short film, if we can get our hands on one.
Jersey Travel
A shot from the peak of the castle would also be fantastic, as we can get high-up establishing shots if we don’t have access to a drone, as we can look down onto the courtyards and other features of the fortress.
Jersey Travel
We could also attempt to shoot some footage on the amphibious bus that takes us to the castle if the ride is smooth enough, or even just take a shot of it driving up to the castle.
Liberation Group
On a clear night, we could go down to the St Aubin’s bay and take some more footage of the castle at night, which might be good for the final sequence of the short film (maybe even during sunset?).
Jersey War TunnelsJersey War TunnelsJersey War ToursJersey War ToursJersey War Tours
We could also shoot at other sites and fortifications from WWII around the island, such as Noirmont or the Jersey War Tunnels, and link it to the German Occupation of the island, which would help the informative side of our short film. Some of the coastal sites may be difficult to film from the exterior without access to a boat, which we don’t have.
This is one of my best images from the shoot because of the composition and structure. I used the rule of thirds to centre the image and create strong leading lines up the image. I find the image in itself presents a story of movement and busyness in the underground. The focal point is the person getting into the escalator at the bottom, creating the idea that the image is telling their story. It also presents a sense of loneliness or self reflection amidst the crowd.
This image is similar using the rule of thirds and having a main focal point. Again the subject is stood still amongst the busy life of Camden Market.
A sentence – photographs taken from around Dunster Castle.
A paragraph – I have taken multiple photographs from around Dunster Castle. It is a former motte and bailey castle, now a country house, in the village of Dunster, Somerset, England. The castle lies on the top of a steep hill called the Tor, and has been fortified since the late Anglo-Saxon period.
NARRATIVE:How will you tell your story?
I will try to tell my story by ordering the images based on the chronological order they were taken while watching them on colour and dimension. I want to show off the beauty and history of the castle
Our plan for the film we are making is telling the history of the castle through the architecture, mainly the old era and the WW2 era.
When we start the film, we will be exploring the old castle, the castle from when it was built in 1588 until the Battle of Jersey in 1781. We are hoping to be able to explore the entire area, especially the chapel of St Helier, where he lived until his death in 555 AD. We also are interested in filming the green areas and the main tower of the castle, as it has a view of most of the castle from it. The Parade Ground was rebuilt during the Georgian era to how it is seen today with an Officer’s Barracks that housed 12 officers; an Infantry Barracks that housed 300 men with 6 wives of the Garrison staying the attic; a canteen at the North end; the Ordinance Store at the South; and the Gym, Library and Fire Station next to the Ordinance Store, we may use these in our film. Using the sounds from around the castle we’re hoping to create a soundscape to play throughout this portion of the film along with some music. At the end of this part there will be a cannon sound and that’s where there will be a shift in atmosphere.
In the end segment of the film we will switch to showing the fortifications from the Second World War, with a much darker tone, we will explore the different artillery bunkers on both the East and West sides of the castle both have the original guns from when the bunkers were built, none of the castle has been changed until recently, these current changes are just refurbishment and won’t actually change any of the historical significance of these buildings. We will also be filming the different fortifications including the anti-tank gun, the guns on the bunkers and the anti-aircraft weaponry. This entire segment of the film will have quite a dark, gloomy atmosphere to it, we will have some melancholic music playing in the background and some crackling music playing throughout this part. A searchlight on rail-tracks could be wheeled out of its protective bunker under the Georgian Hospital to a position that could patrol the harbour. 100 Nazi Soldiers lived out at the castle and nothing has been changed at the castle until today. The majority of the bunkers are open to the public, with the guns being the originals and were never removed from their positions.
In both segments we will have some sort of voiceover describing what is happening in the film, or even some history of the area, some parts of the voiceover possibly being in French if there is French information posters around the place but our plan is to mainly use music and our soundscape instead of spoken facts.
Elizabeth castle is located in St Helier, Jersey. The castle was built in 1601, making it 422 years old and for 400 years this contained a priory, and for the last 350 years a castle. It is accessible only on low tide by foot, if the tide is high, you have to get a boat over. Construction of the castle began in 1594, and continued in the first years of the 17th century under the then governor of Jersey, Sir Walter Raleigh, who named it “Fort Isabella Bellissima” (the most beautiful Elizabeth) after Elizabeth 1st.
Today, the castle is administered by the Jersey Heritage Trust as a museum site: among the historical displays are the Jersey Royal Militia Museum holding several centuries of military memorabilia. Every Sunday through the season when the castle is open, a team of historical interpreters recreate the garrison of 1781, at the time of the battle of Jersey. Displays are given of musket firing, cannon firing and civilian life.
Photo Archive:
Nazi Occupation:
The Occupation of Jersey by German Forces during the Second World War commenced on the 1 July 1940. The Occupation was to last for nearly five years and eventually ended on the 9 May 1945 – Liberation Day.
Following the defeat of France, Winston Churchill reluctantly made the decision that British troops be withdrawn from the Channel Islands and redeployed. This left the five islands completely demilitarised. Around 25,000 occupants were evacuated to Britain. Almost all of Alderney’s residents were evacuated, along with around half the population of Guernsey and a fifth of the people from Jersey. The United Kingdom government provided ships to evacuate women, children and men who wished to join the forces when it seemed that Occupation was inevitable.
Britain suppressed the news that the islands had been demilitarised, so when Germany attacked it did so with bombings, killing 44 islanders on Jersey and Guernsey. The Nazis occupied four islands – Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark. It was the only British territory to be occupied. They would remain there until the end of the War in Europe in May 1945.
Hitler believed the Channel Islands might be a ‘stepping stone’ from which to invade Britain. They were also a useful propaganda tool – to show that the Nazis occupied British land.
German Military
The military consisted of varying numbers of troops, around 25,000 in October 1944, with an additional 15,000 Organisation Todt (OT) workers once fortification of the islands began in October 1941.
Gun Emplacements
To counter any attempted Allied assault, beaches were mined in vulnerable landing spots, anti-tank walls of steel and concrete were built, large clifftop guns put in place, camouflaged gun emplacements installed, the walls of Elizabeth and Gorey castles reinforced, steel spikes planted in fields where aircraft might land and a radar station established at Les Landes. In order to ferry the vast amounts of concrete needed, a railway network was created to link with the Ronez quarries on the north coast.
Synopsis:
This short film will consist of images produced at various artillery sites around the island. throughout the video a voiceover of an elderly man explaining his experience during the Nazi occupation will accompany the still images, starting at Elizabeth Castle and expanding to multiple heritage sites and bunkers. Images sourced from the Jersey Archive will be compared to newer images photographed by us. The new images will consist of differing angles of the heritage sites/artillery emplacements (aerial views). The aerial views will be filmed by a drone.
