JOHN NETTLES
THE CHANNEL ISLANDS AT WAR
'YESTERDAY' CHANNEL
U.K. Premiere from Monday,
28th June 2010
The Channel Islands At War *UK Premiere*
Weekdays, 5pm (from Monday 28th June 2010) - on the 'Yesterday' channel, available on UK Freeview.
Marking the 70th anniversary of the German invasion and occupation of the Channel Islands, 'Yesterday' travels across the Channel to revisit a World War II story often forgotten.
This brand-new and exclusive series, written and presented by John Nettles, is an emotional examination of both the invasion and occupation, as well as the legacy it left behind.
From June 1940, when the Nazis arrived, until May 1945, the inhabitants of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark lived through five years of oppression, terror, collaboration and near starvation that left an indelible scar that’s still evident 70 years later.
John’s journey takes him to places that still bear witness to the war and to hear stories of courage, outrage and deprivation from those who lived through the horrifying experience.
The occupation of the first and only British territories was seized upon by Hitler as a major coup and, convinced that the British would attempt to recapture them, he ordered an “impregnable fortress” to be built across the Channel Islands. Within this fortress, horrors were routinely witnessed.
Visiting the site of the notorious Lager Sylt concentration camp in Alderney where slave workers – mainly Russians and Spanish Republicans – were housed, John discovers that over 6,000 POWs toiled mercilessly. British Intelligence estimates that four out of 10 died during their time in the camp.
Another contentious topic John explores is to what extent Channel Islanders actively helped the Germans. The British Government had already decided that the islands were of no strategic importance and had abandoned the islands to fend for themselves with an instruction to “passively collaborate”. After the liberation the Government commissioned an inquiry, the Morrison Report, but it has never been published. After the 50-year ban on publication ended, a further prohibition was imposed. This continuing secrecy has prompted inevitable speculation, which John tries to get to the bottom of and find some answers.
In this deeply personal project, John also looks at how islanders survived as food and fuel supplies dried up, uncovering first-hand stories featuring bravery and courage in the face of extreme conditions.
Above all, John pays tribute to the people of that time – ordinary people who trod a perilous path through an epic conflict – and assesses how their lives paved the way for ‘the Jersey Way’ of today.