SPLIT by WAR: A Guernsey Family Copes, 1940-45 - Paperback

by Lynette Enevoldsen (Author), Janice Parkington , Bert Enevoldsen (Various Artists (VMI))

In June 1940, Hitler's armies seize Cherbourg on the north coast of France. The island of Guernsey is only thirty miles away. Frances and her two children are evacuated by mailboat from Guernsey to England. Her husband, Arthur, remains on the island. Whole schools, women and children, and men of fighting age, are evacuated as boats became available.

Frances and two of her sisters arrive at an old hospital on the Lancashire Moors, near Burnley. For a short time they share a house in Burnley. Other family members who have arrived in Bolton, make contact.

Frances' sisters find accommodation and she finds a billet where she will work as a housekeeper. At Cotton Row, stress, cold, and sickness take their toll on her and the children. Her landlady, Annie, is very supportive.

On Guernsey, Hitler's troops land and the German Occupation begins. Houses are requisitioned and Arthur and his sister move in with their elderly parents. Cars are seized and items of value shipped to Germany. Jobs are lost. Raids by Churchill's new Commando units have severe consequences. Rationing, permits, identity cards and a German newspaper appears.

In England the London Blitz starts in September, but RAF pilots win The Battle of Britain against Hitler's Luftwaffe. In spring 1941, Hitler decides not to invade England. In May 1941 Hitler turns against Russia and reduces bombing over England. Frances and her family use this time to visit each other; relatives who have joined the armed forces visit Frances and are heartily welcomed by her landlady, Annie, for several reasons. Everyone must do warwork.

Guernsey becomes an island fortress as Hitler creates his Atlantic Wall, using prisoner workers from Russia and Europe. The Japanese raid Pearl Harbour in December 1941 and the USA joins the war. Churchill and Roosevelt meet from time to time. Churchill's speeches encourage people to keep fighting. In Guernsey, men like Arthur must work for the Germans on non-military jobs. Slave labour is used to build fortifications.

The raid on Dieppe in 1942 goes badly, perhaps a diversion to help Stalin on the Russian front. In Guernsey radios are confiscated and islanders have to pass BBC news in secret, a dangerous game, or make their own crystal radio sets. Malnutrition is affecting Guernsey's population, and it's a sad time in Arthur's family. They must move because a German tunnel is undermining their house. Hitler orders the deportation of English-born islanders to Germany. In 1943 things improve a little: the Russians beat back the Germans at Kursk, and Monty beats Rommel at El Alamein in North Africa.

In 1944, preparations for D-Day include the bombing of German installations in Guernsey. Arthur's father watches for the full moon, which he predicts will mark the invasion date. The house is damaged and they must move again.

After D-Day, incoming supplies to the Channel Islands come to a halt. Lack of food is obvious. The Bailiff of each island appeals to the Germans and the Red Cross. It is left to Churchill to supply them with food. Will Churchill send food parcels to an island where there are over 10,000 hungry German soldiers? Desperate islanders escape with the facts. Coping with the lack of food, fuel and electricity, salt and soap, brings out ingenuity and discipline. Family loyalty and trust is absolutely vital.

Finally the Allies are victorious in Europe, and the Nazi Kommandant in Guernsey surrenders one day later. The evacuees prepare to return. Frances realizing that her husband has been greatly changed by the war.