Historian hopes to commemorate WWII evacuees’ Father Christmas

Sunday 31 December 2017

A historian is calling for a man who became ‘Father Christmas’ to WWII evacuees from Jersey to be honoured with a plaque on his former home.

Thousands of children and their mothers fled the Channel Islands as the Nazi Occupation loomed – about 500 of those ended up in Bury, Manchester.

They would reside there for five years until the islands were finally liberated from the German forces.

While they had to struggle with being cut off from their families, they were soon to find comfort and kindness of Bury’s population, who donated slippers, sandals and even free mattresses to help the incoming children.

But one resident in particular shone above the rest.

According to the Bury Times, 72-year-old John Fletcher became the kids’ very own Father Christmas during Christmas 1940, presenting 200 children with gifts in a special party he had arranged with the help of friends.

Pictured: Bury, where around 500 Jersey and Guernsey evacuee children stayed during the Second World War. (Google Maps)

"I wondered, what could I do for the coming Christmas to help to brighten and cheer these children's lives on their first Christmas in a strange land?

"I sat down at my desk and got busy,” he wrote in a letter.

Soon, a tradition was formed, and by 1943 the retired commercial traveller had gained enough donations from friends and colleagues to expand his present-giving efforts to the town of Tottington too. The following year, he gave out 300 savings certificates.

His festive fundraising didn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated either – young Guernsey evacuee Irene Guille wrote him a poem, and he was also presented a book signed by some of the children. He soon became a much-loved figure in the Channel Islands, later visiting Guernsey on Liberation Day each year until he passed away in 1953.

Mr Fletcher’s story has now resurfaced thanks to research work by Gillian Mawson. Ms Mawson wrote a book on the subject released earlier this year entitled ‘Britain’s Wartime Evacuees’. 

Pictured: Mr Fletcher's story was unearthed by research from Gillian Mawson, who wrote a book about wartime evacuees.

She now says she would love to see Mr Fletcher appropriately commemorated in the town of Bury.

She commented: "The story of John Fletcher really gladdened my heart and I was lucky enough to meet John's grandson, Ron, a number of times before he passed away.

"I would love to have a blue plaque placed outside John's house, which still exists in Bury today."