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Picture courtesy of Jersey Heritage.Much has been written about what life was like for people in Jersey living under German rule during the Occupation, but little of it explores the challenges faced by the States Assembly during this period, or the work States Members did to deal with the day-to-day problems that arose.
Life before Occupation
The States Assembly of 1939 looked a little different to the one we know today. Alongside the 12 Parish Constables sat 12 Jurats, 12 Rectors and 17 Deputies. The Assembly, as it is today, was responsible for the overall control of the Island but instead of Ministers, 12 Committees managed the day-to-day running of Government. Each Committee consisted of 12 Members.
It was a system that had been in operation for nearly 200 years, but as war loomed a decision was made to change that.
It all started on 3 September 1939 when Britain and France declared war on Germany. Despite a feeling at that time that Jersey would escape any significant impact of the conflict, the Assembly took steps to prepare just in case. One of the first was to pass a set of Defence Regulations which outlined the actions that should be taken in a wide variety of emergencies, although they did not include the occupation of the Island.
By May 1940 it was looking more and more likely that war would arrive in Jersey, and that an evacuation was possible. Within a month, the UK had declared that the Channel Islands could no longer be defended and confirmed they would be demilitarised. That eventually lead to the evacuation of around 10,000 people, including members of the Milita and all remaining British troops, on 20 June.
A few days after the evacuation, the States Assembly met and agreed that a new approach to governance was needed, which resulted in the establishment of a ‘Superior Council’. The Superior Council replaced the twelve Committees which had carried out the day to day running of the Island with eight Departments, each headed up by a single States Member, and overseen by the Bailiff. The system, in some respect, was an early version of the Ministerial system of Government we have now.
Occupation and Orders
The Second World War arrived in Jersey on 28 June 1940 when German aircraft flew over the Island, dropping bombs and firing machine guns. The attacks on St. Helier Harbour, La Rocque Harbour, Havre des Pas and Mount Bingham claimed the lives of nine people and wounded many more.
Excerpt from the diary of Ralph Mollett, the Bailiff’s Secretary:
“About 6.55 p.m, three German planes flew over La Rocque, machine-gunning the district and dropping two 50lb bombs on the road near the Harbour…over Havre des Pas the bullets were seen ploughing the sand on the beach…The furze on Fort Regent caught fire and burnt for several days.”
Days after the attack, on 1 July, Germany delivered an ultimatum calling for the authorities to surrender the Island or face further attacks. The States Assembly agreed to the terms and later that day the German forces arrived at the airport. It marked the start of five long years of Occupation.
The arrival of the Germans also marked a new way of working for the States Assembly. The establishment of the Superior Council was accepted by the occupiers. As each Department had a specific job to do, and the Council’s members met regularly, the Germans concluded it was a suitable option.
It's important to say that the Superior Council did not replace the States Assembly which very much continued to exist. During the Occupation, the Assembly met 23 times in the Chamber, mainly to approve budgets and pass any required legislation. The Superior Council was there to push through any urgent work that was required to deal with the ever-evolving situation the Island was in. There were no elections to the Assembly during the Occupation.
Addressing the challenges
Less than thirty years earlier, Europe had been in the grip of the First World War – or Great War – which had run from 1914 to 1918. Its impact would have been fresh in the memories of the States Members, many of whom had witnessed it first-hand. Around half of them – 29 out of 57 Members – had served during the conflict. Several of them had been wounded in action, others had been awarded medals for bravery. There were even two active members of the Royal Jersey Militia amongst their ranks when the Island fell in 1940.
The impact of the First World War, and the realities of what they were facing, pushed many of the States Members to come up with creative solutions to the problems they were facing. Food supplies to the Island had been cut off following the Occupation, and fuel for cooking and heating had also become scarce. Islanders were struggling to find clothes and shoes, and many had lost their jobs with the closure of hotels and guesthouses, and the repurposing of buildings and land by the Germans.
By December 1940, around 2,300 men and a growing number of women were seeking work. There were fears that those who failed to find any risked being deported to a camp or put to work helping the Germans with projects that would benefit them.
The Labour Department, which was tasked with dealing with the rising levels of unemployment, decided that a number of roads across the different parishes needed to be widened or resurfaced in preparation for enemy tanks. It also decided a number of new roads needed to be built too and that footpaths were required on either side of Five Mile Road. These projects kept hundreds of men employed for months at a time as there was no rush to complete the work.
To help the women who needed work, the Department approached the owners of the Summerland Factory and persuaded them to reopen their doors so clothes and footwear could be made for the local population.
It also joined forces with the Agriculture Department to repurpose land, which had largely been used for potatoes and tomatoes, so cereal could be grown instead. Doing this provided wheat which could be milled and turned into flour, and that required people to run the watermills, some of which needed to be restored. Retired millers were eventually recruited to train people, keeping many of them in important work which would stop them from being deported.