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The Occupation tapestry took over 4 years to make and marked the 50th Anniversary of the liberation of Jersey. Each of the twelve panels depicts a different aspect of life during the Occupation and today they are both an island treasure and a monument to that time of crisis. The tapestry is displayed in its own gallery at the Maritime Museum site. The section of the tapestry shown here depicts a woman trading her jewelry for some tea on the black market, revealing how some values are reversed in times of hardship.
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Occupation Tapestry Gallery Panel |
Crystal radio set |
The harmless activity of listening to the radio became a significant act of resistance when German occupying forces confiscated all civilian wireless sets in June 1942.
The BBC gave guidance on how to make crystal sets, which ingeniously required no electricity and could be housed in a variety of domestic containers. The illegal possession of radios was treated as a serious offence by the German authorities. Those caught were arrested and sent to prisons or concentration camps where many died from starvation and forced labour. Despite the risks, many islanders used their radios to hear all-important news of the progress of the war.
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Red Cross messages were brief, slow and infrequent but were a treasured link between islanders and relatives or loved ones who had left the island. Over 327,000 Red Cross messages were sent from Jersey between 1940 and 1944. Although the messages could not exceed 25 words it was enough to convey essential news. Here, Margaret Cregeen conveys important news to her son, Henry who moved to Jersey from Liverpool in 1940; "Hope you are well Grandma died last week. Father and I went to funeral. Had good crossings. All well. Mother."
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Red Cross message |
Red Cross parcel |
The Swedish Red Cross Ship SS Vega made six voyages to the Channel Islands delivering Red Cross parcels at a time when both British and German supply lines were closed. The parcels typically contained essential food items in tinned form with some luxuries such as chocolate, jam and biscuits. They were literally lifesavers, arriving at a time when the island faced mass starvation, and the Vega is held dear in the hearts of the islanders of the day.
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