Telling porkies to the Germans

Sunday 30 June 2019

From tucking a pig up in bed with a bonnet, to ‘recycling’ the same pig to be counted twice, islanders came up all sorts of "porkies" to hide pigs during the Nazi Occupation.

The German occupation of the Channel Islands started on 30 June 1940 and to mark this year’s anniversary, Jersey War Tunnels has shared the story of how locals tried to conceal livestock from the soldiers occupying Jersey...

Pigs were much in demand during the occupation, but also difficult to conceal from the authorities so islanders came up with all sorts of tricks to distract the German soldiers.

This included tucking a pig wearing a Granny’s bonnet up in bed, to ‘recycling’ the same live pig so it would be counted twice, thus concealing a "missing" pig.

The missing pigs were of course eaten but islanders first had to kill them, which proved difficult to do quietly as pigs are inclined to squeal. 

Skilled men who could dispatch an animal swiftly in silence would be sent for and went about the countryside visiting farms to perform the deed in return for a share of the pork. 

Pictured: Islanders had to be ingenuous to keep their pigs and eat them.

On one occasion a local district nurse and midwife, who was permitted a meagre amount of petrol for her car so she could travel to patients, was persuaded to take a man to and from a slaughter armed with a good cover story in case of questioning in return for a joint of pork. Even 50 years later, she was filled with guilt for having indulged in the black-market. 

It was equally difficult to secretly transport joints of pork, to store meat or to eat it, all in a short space of time.

A local undertaker therefore came up with the idea of putting a pig carcass in a coffin to transport it a few miles to another family by a horse-drawn hearse, driving it in his full formal funeral clothing complete with top-hat.

It is said he had difficulty keeping a straight face when saluted on his way by two solemn members of the much-feared German Field Police.