Putting together the Freedom 80 series, which we began 80 days ahead of Liberation Day on 18 February, has been a rather more time-consuming task than we had anticipated. However, it has also been quite astonishingly rewarding.
Right from the outset, I was inundated with stories, numbers to call, photos, enquiries and suggestions from people in supermarkets, at the football or even at the canteen here at the Press.
I have to extend the most humble of apologies to all those who proffered stories that we were not able to turn around during the countdown. I am very aware of the strong desire to have these stories told and although the Liberation Day celebrations will come and go in a flash over the next few days, we regard the whole year as a significant one in marking our Occupation history, and we will not simply drop the subject altogether.
Being a Visit Guernsey accredited tour guide in my spare time, I have often spoken to visiting cruise ship tourists about our experience of the Second World War. But the information that has come my way in the last 80 days has enhanced both my knowledge and my understanding immeasurably, so I’m grateful to all those who contributed by sharing their personal memories.
I must also thank, in particular, Richard Heaume and Mark Lamerton for their frequent and enthusiastic help throughout.
This Freedom 80 souvenir supplement is a collection of pieces which I have chosen to represent the series, in the hope that it will serve as a record of the events of the Liberation as perceived through our 80-years-hence perspective.
As a snapshot of the wartime experiences of one little archipelago on the fringe of Europe, I see it as a record that speaks to the deep ocean of hurt caused by the biggest global conflict the world has ever seen. But within these pages, also, is all the evidence we need that no amount of power, threat or aggression is ever sufficient to eradicate hope.
The Freedom 80 supplement can be found inside Thursday’s Guernsey Press.
You need to be logged in to comment. If you had an account on our previous site, you can migrate your old account and comment profile to this site by visiting this page and entering the email address for your old account. We'll then send you an email with a link to follow to complete the process.