Repair L'Ancresse wall – don't destroy our beach
WHO do you think you are kidding Mr Brehaut (sing this to the tune from Dad's Army).* Firstly, let's get away from the political rhetoric. I quote from your response to Liz Heaume's excellent letter in the Guernsey Press, 'I must stress, we have no desire to replace or repair a German anti-tank wall'. The wall ceased to be an anti-tank wall when the Occupation ended. Since then it has been a sea defence. Over the years it has become part of the landscape. I enjoyed playing on the beach in the 1930s and again after the war and for the last 53 years I have lived on the common and on the beach. If you don't think the wall is a sea defence then you should walk along behind it in gale force winds on a high spring tide. That will soon change your mind.
After 70 years the sea has managed to cause some minor damage to the wall. The slaves who built it did a very good job and the ones who died and were buried in it deserve to be left in peace.
The wall should be repaired as necessary. To knock it down and destroy the beautiful beach by dumping the rubble on it would be sacrilege. 'Groynes' have never been necessary and are just a ploy to save money on cartage.
Talking of money, the costs you have been quoting are just figures plucked from the air. The only option where a reasonably accurate cost could be estimated is the repairing of the wall. After all, how many experienced demolishers of anti-tank walls do we have on the island? And once you start knocking it down and run out of money, there's no going back.
So, repair the wall, don't destroy our beautiful beach, and the kiosk is no longer a problem.
*Oh, by the way, my father was in the Home Guard. He loved the TV programme as he said it was absolutely true to life.
RON HARNDEN,
Mare Dobree,
L'Ancresse.
Editor's footnote: Deputy Barry Brehaut responds: Thank you for taking the time to contact us all on this matter. Guernsey's wartime experience was very different to that of the residents of the fictional Walmington-on-Sea, so I will avoid any comic references. Can I please refer you to a link you may find useful, at www.gov.gg/lancresse you will see a frequently asked question briefing note and some very interesting photographs of the beach before the Occupation. If you do not have online access then please contact me directly and I will post them on to you. The FAQ sheet makes it clear no rubble is being dumped on the beach, for example.
Your letter touches on a very serious and sensitive matter, and that's the potential for there to be human remains behind the anti-tank wall. That aspect was raised by a parishioner at the second public presentation. The States have established processes for any such event, the engineers and all staff on site have strict protocols that will be adhered to. If, and I stress, if, any remains were found, would it not be more fitting, more compassionate for any such remains to be re-interred sensitively in an appropriate peaceful and tranquil setting? We have already approached the War Graves Commission and would work with them closely, as you would expect, if the need arose.
Like you I have a sentimental attachment to L'Ancresse and the wall. We have all become accustomed to it being there, probably without giving the true origin very much thought. However my committee have chosen to reaffirm the decision made by the previous Environment Department. All things considered, we believe the removal of the wall and the gradual reinstatement of the beach by natural processes is preferable to retaining (at some expense in the long term) a fortification that is a hindrance to the natural evolution of the bay.
