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An islander has shared memories of his time as part of a group of "mischievous" children who attempted to derail a train during the Occupation.
Rodney De Gruchy's story is just one of many that has been shared in a new book of 74 childhood memories from those who grew up during the Occupation.
Therese Tabb recently published 'Occupation Memories' as a tribute to “every islander who endured the German Occupation” after compiling the stories from islanders and their families. Over the next few weeks, Express will be sharing a selection of stories from the book.
Today, we start with one of Therese’s favourites...
“We lived at Homelands, St. Peter, near The Windmill and my father worked for Le Marquand Bros, Seed Merchants, owned by Cyril and John Le Marquand, who would become two prominent States Members and who helped to shape the island as we know it today.
Pictured: Rodney grew up near The Windmill in St. Peter.
During the time of the Occupation, my father had to drive a lorry powered by gas from charcoal.
My main memory whenever the Occupation came up in conversation was being part of a group of mischievous children living in the area around The Windmill, and putting stones on the railway line! The line ran from Les Augerez to St. Mary’s Arsenal towards St. John.
Having done the deed, we would then hide behind a hedge to wait for something dramatic to happen. Nothing ever did – just stones flying everywhere! We tried it twice. Same result!
One very worrying time for the family was when my father was sent to prison for two months for some misdemeanour – helping friends pinch firewood from the German camp at Mont Mado.
Pictured: Rodney also remembers hiding pigs behind bales of hay.
Other memories come to mind – we hid two pigs behind bales of hay and straw with the Leonard family at Brampton Farm, which was close to Homelands. I also recall spotting a Russian pinching dog food, so desperate was he for scraps.
The enemy were not all bad. One German even lent my father his rifle for target practice in our back garden, shooting at a tin can.
My brother Brian was three years younger than me and had to wear my cast-off shoes. Very uncomfortable. One of his jobs was to guard the chickens for any eggs that might appear. Often, he was lucky if he found one egg. Very disappointing for him.
I began primary school at St. Mary, then St. Ouen and finally I went to De La Salle College. Once we were liberated life returned to normal."
The book is being sold from the Red Cross charity shop in King Street, as well as Broad Street Post Office, Jersey War Tunnels and Jersey Museum.
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