In at the deep end in occupied Guernsey

SeeIng the recent film The guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie society brought back memories of when my wife and I spent our honeymoon at the grange Lodge hotel in st Peter Port on the island in 1954. We were short of cash following the expense of the wedding and could not afford to rent a car. Instead, we rented an old motorcycle from a local dealership run by Bill green. he was on the island’s tourism committee and very personable with it — so much so that he invited us to dinner at his house. I felt we should return the kindness before we left the island, so we asked Bill and his wife to join us for dinner in the hotel’s dining room. Casually, over the meal, Bill said: ‘The last time I was in this room it was the german commandant’s office and I was under arrest.’ In the early days of the Occupation, life was relaxed and the germans were almost friendly to the islanders, giving their sweets ration to the children and allowing Bill and his solicitor friend to use the open-air pool for a morning dip. But the mood changed when the island resistance fighters killed a german soldier. all civilian privileges were withdrawn. The morning after this happened, Bill said to his friend: ‘What are we going to do?’ They decided to go ahead with their swim as usual. a little later a german staff car with four soldiers pulled up alongside and — achtung! — they were ordered out of the pool, driven to the german hQ and marched inside. Once in the commandant’s office, the leading soldier explained in german to the officer what these two miscreants had been doing. after hearing the full report, the commandant dismissed them. Bill was trembling. Were they to be shot? The officer stood looking out of the window until the soldiers drove off, then turned to the two shaking prisoners and said in perfect english: ‘Thank god they’ve gone. I’ve enough to do. get out of here.’ It turned out the commandant had been educated in england. Keith Stoneman, Southsea, Hants.