Residents in local homes received commemorative hampers ahead of the 81st Liberation anniversary, sparking stories of wartime experiences.
Yesterday the hampers, which have been sponsored by Rok, were handed over to residential homes and Age Concern Groups ahead of the 81st anniversary of the island’s Liberation.. At Blanchelande Park residents shared their stories of the war, including 102-year-old Tom Morris, who served during the conflict.. ‘I was 15 when I went off and fought in the British Army for five years,’ he said.. ‘I went to Manchester and when I was 18 I
was called up to the Army.. We fought in so many different places.. It was quite busy.’ Mr Morris was stationed in Germany when the Germans surrendered in 1945 and was not able to return to the island for a while after the war.. When he did come back to the island he had many different jobs, but spent a long time working for the States.. Rok project assistant Phillipa Hardwick delivered parcels to Blanchelande
Park where she has a special tie, as Mr Morris is her Great Uncle Tom.. ‘It’s really nice to be able to do this, when we got the email asking if we would like to deliver or had any family members that we would like to deliver to I had to jump at the chance, it’s so special,’ she said.. ‘Last year Rok sponsored the cavalcade but this is so personal, and it’s really lovely
to be a part of it.’ Blanchelande Park resident Margaret Le Conte also shared her experiences of the Second World War and the evacuation.. ‘I was at a birthday party and someone came down and said that we had to be evacuated,’ she said.. ‘I was at Capelles School and we had to bring with us a change of clothes, food for the day and no toys.. I was 10, and most of us had
never seen a train before.. I was terrified, we didn’t know what was happening.’ Mrs Le Conte was evacuated to Wigan, before being reunited with her mother and brother before moving to Bolton and various other places in the UK, before settling in Harpenden in Hertfordshire where her mother got a job as a nurse in a private nursing home.. ‘They took us in, me and my brother.. They were very good to us and
friendly,’ she said.. Her father remained in Guernsey throughout the five years of occupation.. Mrs Le Conte said that seeing him was her highlight when returning to the island after the war, as they were very close.