The evacuation and subsequent German occupation of the Channel Islands during WWII, told through personal accounts, newspapers, and political decisions.

In the summer of 1940 the British Isles stood isolated and alone facing the might of a seemingly unstoppable German war machine. Never before had the United Kingdom been in a state of such uncertainty and possible peril. Fortunately the full breadth of the English Channel held back Hitler's armies, and his ambition. Not so for the Channel Islands which stand just a few miles from the French coast.

To abandon British territory to the enemy was unthinkable, yet the defence of the Channel Islands was impracticable, if not impossible. It was decided, therefore, to evacuate as many as wished to leave.

This is the story of the muddled evacuation, of homes, animals and families left behind, of the German bombing of the islands, the fear of those left behind, and of those first days of German Occupation, told by the Islanders themselves through memoirs and letters, the local newspapers, and the politicians who decided the fate of tens of thousands of men women and children.

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Map of Channel Islands
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: ‘We knew our turn was coming’
• Chapter 2: ‘No strategic use’
• Chapter 3: ‘Vague, unspecified dangers’
• Chapter 4: ‘Women and children first’
• Chapter 5: ‘Snatched out of the grip of the Boche’
• Chapter 6: ‘Unnecessarily hasty action’
• Chapter 7: ‘The blackest day Guernsey had ever seen’
• Chapter 8: ‘A terrifying experience’
• Chapter 9: ‘The Mad Murderer of Berchtesgaden’
• Chapter 10: ‘Marching against England’
• Chapter 11: ‘The first landing on English soil’
• Chapter 12: ‘Strike the flag’
• Chapter 13: ‘Breeches, jackboots and forage caps’
• Chapter 14: ‘A heavy yoke’
• Chapter 15: ‘It’s the finish for all of us’
• Chapter 16: ‘Flushed with victory’
• References and Notes
• Bibliography and Source Information