JoNova
A science presenter, writer, speaker & former TV host; author of The Skeptic's Handbook (over 200,000 copies distributed & available in 15 languages).
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Last full day in jersey and went to the war tunnels. This was excavated by slave Labour and locals and served as a giant hospital complex for the Germans who had 15000 troops here in a population of only 60000 locals.
Jersey was invaded in July 1940 when Churchill decided it could not be defended. Things must have looked ultra bleak what with the airborne battle of Britain the collapse of the Belgian and French armies which culminated in the evacuation at dunkirk of 338000 British soldiers.
Jersey is very much like devon, my county, and cornwall and is very english. It was very chilling therefore to see German troops in the context of English buildings, phone boxes, pedestrian crossings etc.
All this was of course whilst europe was collapsing, German tanks were driving through Paris and fully 18 months before The Americans joined. Our Aussie and kiwi friends had joined the allies at the start of the war of course.
The allies landed in Normandy in 1944 but it was not until ve day a year later that Jersey was liberated. As I mentioned yesterday liberation day is still a very big thing here
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