Occupation through the eyes of a child

Thursday 25 February 2021

From chasing chickens to tricks on the railway tracks...an islander who lived through the Occupation has collated 74 childhood memories from those who grew up in that time, into a new book.

Therese Tabb (pictured above as a young girl) compiled 'Occupation Memories' as a tribute to “every islander who endured the German Occupation”, including her grandparents and parents, Alfred Bannier and Joyce Buesnel, who were married just three months before the start of the war.

Five years ago, when Therese was a steward at the Opera House, tea parties were organised at the studio to celebrate the 70^th anniversary of Liberation, with people invited to have a cup of tea and share their stories. 

“It was really interesting, but nothing was ever recorded,” Therese said.  

Pictured: The stories were first heard during an event at the Opera House.

With the 75th anniversary of the Liberation coming up, Therese decided to organise a similar event with islanders coming to the Opera House to share their stories with the new generation, which she then collected in her book.  

While she initially planned to have 10 people speak for five minutes each, she ended up with 74 stories and even has a few others still lying around. “Maybe there’s enough for another book!” she teased. 

Having met a number of islanders who had lived through the Occupation in the island, Therese already knew a few stories. The Occupation is also a subject that came up frequently when her family got together.

“It’s amazing how that stayed with people,” she said. “My aunt, who is 94, my father’s youngest sister, still talks about it. It’s a very Jersey thing I think, it has such a tremendous impact.”

Pictured: “I love meeting people, I love writing and I like doing research so the three mixed together," Therese said.

Half of the stories came from people who approached Therese directly. “I met some lovely people, who grew up to be the backbone of Jersey - farmers, guest house owners. Finance didn’t come into it until midway in the 70s, it was all agriculture and tourism,” she said.

“I love meeting people, I love writing and I like doing research so the three mixed together. It was a real labour of love.”

When it came to getting the stories written down, Therese says some islanders initially said they didn’t remember any.

“Then I would ask, ‘how old were you?’ and, ‘where were you living?’ and they would start talking about, ‘and then this happened.' Those two questions helped them remember things they were doing when they were little or something they did as a family.”

For Therese, who keeps a diary documenting her daily life as well as current events such as Brexit and the pandemic, it felt important to document the “fascinating stories” of islanders who lived through the Occupation. They speak about having to learn German, making sure you do not drive your bike on the wrong side of the road and that you “behave yourself”, as well as of children “just being children and finding their own rhythm."

Pictured: Therese, with her sister Patricia, at Christmas 1944.

While she says they are “all lovely in their own right”, Therese does have two favourites. The first one is Rodney de Gruchy’s, who says he was part of “a group of mischievous children” who one day decided to put stones on the railway line near St. Peter’s Windwill to derail the train. 

“They put stones on the tracks and waited to see what would happen. The train just sent all the stones flying so what did they do? They did it again and got the same result,” Therese said. 

The second one is that of Carl Hinault, whose family farmed at Greenfields in St. John. When we was four, Carl says his “job” was to chase the chickens whenever the Germans would come to the farm to do their regular livestock count.

The book was originally planned to be released on 28 June 2020, which would have marked 80 years since the island was bombed. 

“Quite a few of the stories started with the bombing - it never resonated with my family, a few of our stories started with the day of the invasion but for the people that were 14 or 15 at the time, it resonated with them,” Therese said.

Pictured: The Red Cross vessel, SS Vega.

In recognition of the impact the arrival of the Red Cross vessel, SS Vega, had on islanders, Therese decided to donate a percentage of the sales of the book, which was sponsored by Benest and Syvret, to the British Red Cross.

The reaction to the book, which Therese’s husband, Peter, helped put together, has been “amazing”, Therese says.

“I have had an amazing amount of letters,” she said. “I didn’t do it for the praise, I just did it because I think it needed to be done.”

The book is being sold from the Red Cross charity shop in King Street, as well as Broad Street Post Office and Jersey Museum.