The plaque was unveiled by Lt-Governor Sir Richard Cripwell and the event was also marked with a custom-made cake depicting the museum as it was at its founding, courtesy of local baker Rosalyne Le Huray.
‘We’re telling a bitter history, but I feel I was the right person to do it – I was the right age at the right time,’ said Mr Heaume.
Born in 1944, he began collecting Occupation memorabilia as a child, starting with spent wartime bullets and shells from the islands’ fields. He displayed this collection publicly for the first time in 1966, using the small cottage opposite his family’s home to host it – the same cottage that still stands as the Occupation Museum today.
In the following years, Mr Heaume continued to expand his collection, and, along with it, the cottage. The first small extension came in 1976, with the building of a transport corridor and tea room, followed by two more extensions in 1987 and 2001.
Sixty years on from its founding, the museum is now an extensive collection of original Occupation items and documents, including many rare pieces.
‘To me, this is just another day, another year. I hope that the museum will carry on indefinitely. This isn’t a finale,’ Mr Heaume said.
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