Sark during the German occupation of the Channel Islands
Britain had declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939 and since then a number of islanders had left to volunteer for the armed services in England.
[1]: 294 Sark was prepared; 70 year-old John Perrio, armed with a rifle and dressed in a kilt, tunic and gumboots would ride his donkey "Clarabelle" around Brecqhou every day, according to a Fleet Street journalist,[2]: 5 and somewhere on the island was a small supply of gunpowder for the old cannon on the cliff top[clarification needed].
German troops landed in Guernsey and Jersey a few days later with no fighting as the islands had been demilitarised and declared open towns.
They were told by the Seneschal that no carriage was available and they had to walk up the 300 feet (91 m) hill and across the Island to La Seigneurie, the home of Sibyl Hathaway,[2]: 11 where she did them the honour of receiving them.
[2]: 39 Also arriving on the lifeboat was a squad of 10 German troops under an NCO[7]: 15 who established themselves, with a flag, in the Hotel Bel Air at the top of Harbour Hill.
[4]: 33 On 8 July 1940, a British Commando raid, Operation Ambassador, was supposed to land troops in Guernsey.
As in the other islands, the German rules and regulations applied to Sark, including blackouts, curfews, opening hours of public houses, fishing, etc.
The SS Staffa sailed from Guernsey to Sark three times weekly, carrying essentials including paraffin, coal and flour.
Sark had no form of direct taxation on people or businesses,[2]: 17 and the number of Germans in the island was increasing.
Not many radios existed, many civilians spoke their local patois (Sercquiais), rather than English, and were not interested in the BBC.
Later in the year they altered course and began listening to advice from Sibyl Hathaway before issuing even more orders, making restrictions milder in Sark than elsewhere.
A July message informed Sibyl Hathaway that her son had been killed in a bombing raid in Liverpool.
The year progressed with a fair amount of fraternisation, evenings in pubs and dances with local girls created a relaxed atmosphere.
[2]: 41 German antisemitic orders only applied to one person on Sark, the Czech Jewish Annie Wranowsky.
[9] The Germans imported a few motor vehicles[7]: 60 as well as draught horses as they began work on fortifying the island.
[7]: 99 Visitors no longer arrived and the only excuse for a local to visit Guernsey was toothache, as Sark had no dentist.
[3]: 29 German soldiers managed to set fire to their headquarters, the Hotel Bel Air, which was burnt to the ground.
Interpreted by Sibyl Hathaway to mean non-Sark born people, the initial list was reduced and ultimately only nine were sent to Guernsey.
[7]: 101 Single men were sent to Ilag VII in Laufen, Bavaria,[2]: 37 joining many other deportees from the Channel Islands.
Another British commando raid, this one intending to land on Sark, Operation Basalt, comprising 12 men arrived on 3–4 October 1942 by MTB with the objective of capturing a prisoner.
The lady there (Mrs Pittard, recent widow of the Sark doctor) directed them to the Dixcart Hotel, where after killing a sentry they forced entry and found five sleeping German military engineers.
Families went to Oflag V-B, located at Biberach an der Riß in countryside in southern Germany with a view of the Bavarian Alps.
There were 120 cattle so milk was sufficient for half a pint per person per day, farmers were also growing produce on 200 acres (81 hectares) and kept chickens and rabbits.
The two dead men, thought by the Germans to be Canadians, when in fact they were Free French, Pte Andre Dignac and Cpl.
[14] American planes carrying paratroopers passed 5,000 feet (1,500 m) over Sark on the night of 5-6 June 1944 as part of Operation Overlord.
[2]: 52 Three recovered 8.8 cm SK C/35 naval guns were emplaced in Little Sark as Batterie Klein-Sark for use in an anti-shipping role.
[15]: 132 When Cherbourg and St Malo fell to the Americans, the islands were cut off and both civilian and German rations were reduced.
The British Home Secretary Herbert Morrison observed that she remained "almost wholly mistress of the situation" throughout the occupation.
The deportees and service personnel returned to an island, which once cleared of mines and barbed wire, had changed little during the war.
In 1965, on the 400th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth I's grant of charter signed in 1565,[18] she was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
