Occupation history found under bathroom floor

Friday 08 January 2021

A hidden piece of Occupation history has been discovered beneath the floor of an islander’s bathroom.

Sam Watts had been renovating her home when she discovered a wooden beam with a message in German.

Talking about the “bizarre” find, Sam told Express: “We uncovered the floor in the bathroom… and that beam was in upside down with this gorgeous inscription on it painted, and all the others were grey.”

Pictured: The beam was found upside down, which made Sam question who had put it in there.

The inscription, ‘Es geht auch ohne,’ roughly translates into English: ‘It works without it.’ However, the translation loses the meaning of the idiom, which a German-speaking friend of Sam’s explained essentially meant, ‘make do with what you’ve got.’

Sam posted the find to Facebook group Unseen Jersey to see if any members had any suggestions about its origins, with many suggesting that it could have been recycled German material.  

Former Channel Islands’ Occupation Society President, and Express’ Occupation expert, Colin Isherwood, echoed these suggestions, saying there was a chance it could be have been reused from German accommodation during the Occupation. 

“There was a shortage of materials in the island after the Occupation, so many repairs would have been carried out using whatever could have been found, in many cases German materials would have been used,” Colin explained.

Pictured: Small German hut with the inscription ‘Forth house’ above the doorway. Channel Islands Occupation Society)

He added: “I suspect this beam is likely to have come from one of the many wooden German huts constructed around the island.

“These huts were of a ‘flat-pack’ construction, which meant they could be easily erected and dismantled on site, if necessary addition panels could be added to make them larger."

“Shortly after the Liberation, many of these huts were auctioned off, as they provided a cheaper and efficient way of increasing storage space on a farm or for a club house... Over the years most of these huts have been demolished and those just post-war repairs have been replaced by newer materials, so to find an original German inscription in this way is quite remarkable!"

Pictured: A similar inscription was found at Sous Les Bois. It featured the Goethe quote, 'Face up defiantly to all the powers, never give way.' (Colin Isherwood)

However, as Sam had bought the house from her parents, who have now both passed away, she is not sure what parts of the home are from the original 1930s build, and which parts are from the extension they had done years later, thus making it harder to ascertain the exact origin of the beam.

She has said she is looking to speak with Planning about getting exact dates, and working out precisely where it comes from.

In the meantime, however, she is hoping to honour the beam’s ‘make do with what you’ve got’ message, and put it on display in the house once the renovation is done.