Carr, G. (2010). The archaeology of occupation and the V-sign campaign in the Channel Islands during WWII, International Journal of Historical Archaeology 14 (4): 575-592.

The Archaeology of Occupation and the V-signCampaign in the Occupied British Channel Islands

Gillian Carr

# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010

Abstract This paper charts the course of the V-for-victory campaign in the occupiedBritish Channel Islands, set within its European context, from 1940–45, examining themanifestations of the V-sign in a material form, and how this changed with time. Ithighlights the use of the Vas both an open and a hidden symbol of resistance, and the roleit played both in “fighting” the German forces behind their backs and in boosting moraleamong the local population, even after the appropriation of the symbol by the occupiers.

Keywords Channel Islands . Occupation archaeology .WWII .Material culture .

Resistance

The V-sign is the symbol of the unconquerable will of the occupied territories,and a portent of the fate awaiting the Nazi tyranny. So long as the peoples ofEurope continue to refuse all collaboration with the invader, it is sure that hiscause will perish, and that Europe will be liberated.

A message to the peoples of Europe on the launching of the “V for victory”propaganda campaign, Winston Churchill, July 20, 1941 (Eade 1952, p. 31).

Introduction

The British Channel Islands (Fig. 1) boast a rich multi-period heritage, both tangibleand intangible (e.g., Clark 2008). A key aspect of islander history, heritage andidentity today is, however, based disproportionately on one small part of that: thelegacy of the German Occupation of 1940–45. The collective archaeologicalmaterial manifestations and legacy of this event has recently been subsumed underthe concept of “occupation archaeology” (Carr 2009a, b, 2010), which examines thematerial correlates of the series of relationships described in this introduction which

Int J Histor ArchaeolDOI 10.1007/s10761-010-0119-5

G. Carr (*)St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB2 1RL, UKe-mail: [email protected]

typify the situation of military occupation. The legacy of occupation, too, is includedwithin occupation archaeology. This includes the remains of the occupied landscape,which is often still littered with fortifications and the sites of prison camps, andexamines the way that populations view and treat these places today. Other traces andscars of the wartime legacy include memorials and commemorations of occupationand liberation, and occupation archaeology examines these, their form, locations andlocal attitudes towards remembering and forgetting. A final strand of the conceptincludes the actions and attitudes of collectors today and their role in collecting thematerial culture of occupation; something that has both safeguarded the itemsthemselves but has often inadvertently caused the loss of their primary context.

Occupation material culture has revealed much about the experiences ofoccupation, as lived through by islanders, German soldiers, those deported tointernment camps in Germany (Carr 2009b), and foreign workers brought to theislands by the Organisation Todt to build the concrete fortifications of Hitler’sAtlantic Wall. These hand-made, recycled or reworked items are responses tooccupation; they are the material correlates of the series of relationships that theoccupied/occupier condition engendered, and as such are redolent with meaning tothose who experienced occupation. Some are trench art (as defined by Saunders2001, 2003) and some are items of make-do-and-mend. However, all are receptaclesof cultural memory, are key players in the recitation of family anecdotes relating tothe Occupation, and have rich biographies (of the sort described by Appadurai 1986;Hoskins 1998; Kopytoff 1986). More recently, many of these artifact biographieshave been lost as the objects have left their original owners and have been acquired,as commodities, by collectors in the islands and further afield. The aim of manycollectors has been to enhance their collections or private museums and not tocollect stories per se. One of the roles of occupation archaeology is to reunite storiesand artifacts in order to preserve this aspect of the islands’ heritage.

Occupation artifacts can speak powerfully about a number of aspects of theOccupation, such as the shortage of raw materials, food, and fuel, or about the unequalrelationships between occupier and occupied. Many items also have the ability to speakof the experience of being constantly observed, either by military forces, or by fellowcivilians who might denounce you, perhaps for their own personal gain or to even an oldscore, and were thus made in the knowledge of, and despite the danger of, this possibleeventuality. This should be seen within a context where the ratio of islanders tooccupying soldiers was three to one. In occupied France, the ratio was in the region ofone hundred to one (Sanders 2004, p. 128); thus, this particular subset of occupationmaterial culture is all the more rich in the Channel Islands. Some of these items werealso created as part of small acts of (mostly anonymous, sometimes ambiguous, oftenhidden) defiance or resistance, intended to be seen sometimes by the occupiers andsometimes by the occupied, or perhaps by only certain trusted sectors within this lattergroup. Such “weapons of the weak” have been described elsewhere by Scott (1985,1990), who explored the range of “offstage hidden transcripts” which described thenumerous but tiny acts of insubordination which nibbled away at the authority ofthose in power. Studies exist of these acts in other countries that were occupied duringWorld War II (e.g., Stokker 1997).

This paper explores the materiality and material expression of a range ofartifactual “weapons of the weak” which constituted one of the most well-known

Int J Histor Archaeol

resistance campaigns of the Occupation: the V-sign campaign. The V-sign was sopopular and important to islanders that it has retained its currency to the present day,most often aired during the annual celebrations of liberation day on May 9. Althoughthe initial phases of the campaign are widely known in the islands, its full extent hasonly recently been uncovered during the author’s research. By exploring the fullchronology of the campaign and the changing trajectory and media of its materialcorrelates as it changed in use from an ephemeral and removable mark to a symbolthat soon after materialized in a permanent artifactual medium, it is hoped that thefull biographies of these occupation artifacts can be restored where lost.

The German Occupation of the Channel Islands

The German Occupation of the British Channel Islands of Jersey, Guernsey,Alderney, Sark, and Herm, which lie in the Bay of St Malo off the coast of North-West France, began at the end of June and beginning of July 1940; they were the lastplaces in Western Europe to be subsumed under German rule. They were targetedbecause of the propaganda value to Hitler of having his army on British soil.Although tens of thousands of islanders evacuated, following the withdrawal ofBritish troops, and amid much panic and chaos in the days before the Germansarrived, many more stayed behind.

Although their British status was to protect them from the worst excesses of ruleby the Third Reich, as experienced by countries in Eastern Europe, the islandersexperienced or saw many examples of Nazi brutality. Although many islanders todaydescribe the overwhelming behavior of the occupying troops as “correct” (at leastuntil the summer of 1942; see Willmot 2005), people were still sent to prison orconcentration camps for offending against the authorities with acts of pettyresistance (see Sanders 2004). Anti-Jewish legislation was carried out on theislands, and three non-British Jews were deported to Auschwitz (Cohen 2000). Overtwo thousand islanders were deported to civilian internment camps in Germany in1942 and 1943; and thousands of forced and slave workers from across occupiedEurope, many of whom were treated abysmally much to the dismay and distress ofislanders, were brought to the islands to help the Germans with construction work.

The Occupation was a long and difficult one, typified by increasing shortages infood, fuel and rawmaterials, although some trade with France was possible. After the D-Day landings in Normandy by the Allies in June 1944, the islands were cut off and thepopulation and occupying army alike slowly starved, saved only by the monthly arrivalfrom December 1944 of the Red Cross ship, the Vega, bearing food parcels. Theislanders were liberated by British forces on May 9, 1945, an event that has neverbeen forgotten, is still talked about regularly, and which is celebrated annually.

The V-sign Campaign

In German-occupied Europe, the actions of partisan and resistance groups are wellknown. These fighters were able to commit their acts of sabotage and retreat into theforest and mountains. In the British Channel Islands, armed resistance or sabotage was


perceived to be foolhardy in the extreme and virtually impossible due to the small,densely populated and flat nature of the islands, the large number of German soldiersbilleted there, and the lack of obvious industrial targets for saboteurs. Despite this, somenon-armed resistance did take place (e.g. Willmot 2000; Sanders 2004), and evidenceof defiant material culture survives, most notably the cottage industry in crystal radiosets, which began to be made after the Germans confiscated radios in June 1942.

The possession of a radio to receive outside news was of vital importance to theisolated islanders, and was to be a conduit through which came the outsideexhortation to defy the enemy. It was this encouragement and propaganda from theBBC that led to the eventual confiscation of radios, but they were still within thehomes of civilians at the time of the beginning of the campaign described here.

Throughout the spring of 1940, Germany occupied a series of countries inEurope. Once they had recovered from their initial shock, many of the peoples ofoccupied countries such as Belgium, Holland, and France needed an outlet for theiranti-German feelings. As part of their wartime propaganda, the BBC’s EuropeanService looked for a common symbol that would unite all occupied peoples andexpress their patriotism and resistance against German occupation at the same time.The choice, broadcast in January 1941 by the BBC’s Belgian program organizer,Victor de Laveleye, was the letter V, “because V”, as he explained,

is the first letter of the words “Victoire” in French and “Vrijheid” in Flemish:two things which go together, as Walloons and Flemings are at the momentmarching hand in hand: two things which are the consequence of one of theother, the victory which will give us back our freedom, the victory of our goodfriends the English. Their word for Victory also begins with V. As you see,things “fit” all round. The letter V is the perfect symbol of Anglo-Belgianunderstanding (quoted in Rolo 1943, p. 136).

The letter V was also an easy one to write on walls in the dark, and from the start,de Laveleye hoped that the new symbol would undermine German morale. In hisfirst broadcast, he asked the occupied peoples to “let the occupier, by seeing thissign, always the same, infinitely repeated, understand that he is surrounded,encircled, by an immense crowd of citizens” (quoted in Rolo 1943, p. 137). TheBBC extended the V-campaign to France and within weeks, people were chalkingVs on walls in Belgium, Holland, and France; by April, the Germans announced thatanyone caught chalking up Vs would be prosecuted. In case the occupiers were inany doubt as to what was going on in the occupied countries, in May 1941, the BBCbroadcast on their German service to tell the Germans about the V-sign campaign,telling them that it was a “Symbol of defiance. A symbol of hate. Above all, symbolof final victory” (quoted in Tangye Lean 1943, p. 82).

The BBC also broadcast the V-sign campaign to the English-speakers of Europe;the broadcaster was “Colonel Britton” (otherwise known as Douglas Ritchie), and itwas he who also introduced the more ephemeral and less dangerous “V-sound” to hisaudience on June 27, 1941 (Rolo 1943, p. 139). It was his voice on the radio thatChannel Islanders heard.

The V-sound was the rhythm of the Morse letter V (three dots and a dash), and theEuropean service broadcast this played on an African kettledrum by percussionistJames Blades, followed by the “da-da-da-dum” opening theme of Beethoven’s Fifth


Symphony, which preceded the news. It became the station identification andinterval signal, allowing it to be identified under difficult circumstances, such as onsmall radio sets concealed in the mattresses of POW camps (Blades 1977, p. 179).Listeners were instructed on how the V-sound could be incorporated into daily life(for example, by clapping hands in a V-rhythm to call for a waiter or to call childrento order in schools), and a V-song to the tune of Beethoven’s Fifth symphony waswritten (Rolo 1943, p. 139). On July 18, Colonel Britton announced that July 20would be the day for the mobilization all over Europe of the “V-Army”; this was alsothe date that Churchill chose to make his speech (and V-sign) to contribute to thecampaign.

The V-sign campaign was not intended for the Channel Islands because of theunfeasibility and danger of any organized resistance; nonetheless, at the beginning ofJuly 1941, Islanders began to paint V-signs on street signs and walls as ColonelBritton had requested (Cruikshank 2004, p. 168). Personal diaries written at the timerecord the campaign; for example, Nan Le Ruez in the island of Jersey wrote on July5, “This morning we heard a recording of a broadcast made by Col. Britain [sic] lastnight to occupied countries, again about the V-sound and sign. He told people inoccupied countries to keep quiet until July 14th, then, on that day to let Germans seeV-signs everywhere.” (Although this would appear to be a mistake on Le Ruez’spart, as other diarists record that July 20, 1941 was “V-day,” it seems that Ritchiefirst chose July 14 (Bastille Day) to be V-day, until it was felt that too muchemphasis was being placed on France. The date was then changed to July 20;Mansell 1982, 138.) Later Le Ruez (2003, p. 33).wrote “20th July … we have beenhearing a lot about the ‘V’ lately. Today was to be the mobilisation of the V-army allover Europe! We don’t quite understand what it all means. Here in Jersey, this week,the Germans have been painting huge Vs on the houses where they are and on cars,etc. They want it to mean Victory for them!”

Diarist Leslie Sinel (1945, p. 48) also recorded the presence of V-signs painted onhouses and walls in St. Helier, the capital of Jersey, from July 1, noting that theGermans saw such actions as sabotage and announced that if the responsible peopledid not give themselves up, then penalties on the affected district would mean theconfiscation of radio sets, a fine, and a civilian guard that would be required nightlyto prevent a recurrence. The first and last of these penalties were carried out(Cruikshank 2004, p. 169). Sinel (1945, p. 50) also records that two women weresentenced to nine months each in a French prison for V-propaganda. Like Le Ruez,Sinel records that, on July 21, the Germans started putting up the V-sign themselveson occupied buildings and cars. In the island of Guernsey, diarist Winifred Harveychronicled hearing Colonel Britton’s speech, and witnessed the appearance of V-signs in several parishes. She also noted that on July 19, the day before the special“V-day” asked for by the BBC, the Germans started painting Vs encircled by laurelson every house they occupied and every car they drove, even wearing Vs on fabricarmlets on their upper arms (Harvey 1995, p. 83).

All over occupied Europe, including the Channel Islands, the Germans rapidlyappropriated the V-sign wherever they could, adding the laurels of victory underevery V to distinguish it as their own. The Germans claimed that the V stood for“Viktoria”, an old German victory cry (Rolo 1943, p. 140). In August 1941, inJersey, they issued a postcard that soldiers placed in the windows of German


barracks and billets, which read “Victoria—von den Ahnen begonnen, von den Enkelnvollendet” (Victoria—begun by the ancestors, completed by the grandchildren) (JerseyArchives, ref. L/D/25/M2/3). The Germans believed that as they were the only oneswho had been victorious so far, they were the only ones who could logically use theV-sign to mean victory. Examples of this “Germanification” of the V-sign to be seen inGuernsey include a piece of graffiti set in a concrete German fortification withinCastle Cornet in St. Peter Port, the island’s capital. It is in the shape of an upendedspade with a swastika on one end, a V-shaped handle on the other, and laurels in theshape of a V in the middle. It is flanked by the artist’s initials and the year 1942. Alsoin St. Peter Port, still visible today, is a V-sign encircled by laurels on the wall of ahouse once billeted by German soldiers (Fig. 2). Such was the impact of the V-signcampaign and the importance of the Occupation to Islanders today, this sign has beenrenewed over the years and has not been allowed to fade, even though it depicts theGermanified V. Other examples of German Vs survive in the islands today, althoughmore can be seen in Occupation photographs, such as those painted on the entrance ofthe harbor tunnel in Sark (Richard Heaume collection, German Occupation Museum,Guernsey) and in the window of a German bookshop in St Helier in Jersey (MarkLamerton collection, Jersey).

Despite the penalties and the German appropriation of the V, the Islanders beganto fight back, adding the letter E before the V in a couple of locations, thus denotingan English victory (Falla 1981, p. 56; Harvey 1995, p. 83). The then Bailiff (crown-appointed ruler) of Guernsey, Victor Carey, apparently under German threat ofdeportations (King 1991, p. 57), made an announcement warning people against“committing these foolish acts,” yet signs continued to appear. On July 8, the Bailiffput a notice in the Guernsey Evening Press on German orders, offering a reward of£25 to “the person who first gives to the Inspector of Police information leading tothe conviction of anyone … for the offence of marking on any gate, wall or otherplace whatsoever visible to the public the letter ‘V’ or any other sign … calculated tooffend the German authorities or soldiers.” This incitement to people to denouncetheir fellow Islanders provoked a cartoon, copies of which were put throughletterboxes during this period, depicting the Bailiff hanging from the V-shapedbranch of a tree, the ermine on his official robes marked with Vs, and a bird on theother branch whistling a V in Morse code. The caption reads “£25 Reward,” with the“w” in “reward” looking more like a “v.”

Despite—and indeed because of—the penalties, Vs continued to appear, but in other, lessnoticeable forms; the campaign was entering its second, and more ephemeral, phase. Vswere chalked onto the bicycle seats of German soldiers (Alf Williams, pers. comm., 2004)and traced in the dusty windows of unoccupied houses and shops; people also cut Vs out ofpieces of newspaper and scattered them in the streets. Some red paper Vs still survive in thearchives of Jersey War Tunnels museum (Jersey War Tunnels, ref. 2002/486/5).

Other recorded examples of Vs from this phase include the act of breakingmatches in the form of a V and throwing them in the road; leaving knives and forkson tables in the shape of a V after a meal in a café (Jersey Archives, ref. R/06/4); theuse of the algebraic fraction “22/G,” which meant “Victory over Germany” (V beingthe 22nd letter of the alphabet); signs proclaiming “VVanted Rabbits And Fowls,”which meant “Victory—RAF”; and the use of the Morse V to knock at the door oftrusted friends (Falla 1981, pp. 57–59). Guernsey hairdresser, Francis Margot,


shaved a V in the back of the head of a German soldier without his knowledge, butcalled him back into the salon to remove it before he had got very far down the street(Francis Margot, pers. comm., 2006).

After the transience of the painted and chalked signs of the first phase, and theephemerality and vulnerability of the cut-out newspaper Vs and broken match sticksof the second phase, the campaign moved into new territory and, paradoxically, intoless ephemeral media as the movement went underground and the penaltiescontinued. During the third phase, Vs became smaller, more mobile and moreambiguous to escape detection. Examples appeared on bank notes, stamps, cigarettelighters, and badges.

Fig. 1 Map of the Channel Islands. (Drawn by Ian Taylor.)


Probably because of a shortage of coinage, in December 1941 it was decided toprint Jersey notes in small denominations. The Jersey artist, Edmund Blampied, wascommissioned to design the notes in denominations of £1, 10/-, 2/-, 1/- and 6d, allbut the last bearing a Jersey scene on the back. The 6d note had the word “sixpence”written across the back in such a way that, when the note was folded horizontally, alarge V, the top section of the “X” in “sixpence,” was visible, and Jersey peoplewould pass each other notes folded in this fashion. Blampied’s designs obviouslymet with approval, as by May 1942, a month after the new banknotes were issued,Blampied was asked to design a set of pictorial stamps as stocks were running out.Again, he used well-loved Jersey scenes in his designs, and beneath each of these heintroduced inverted Vs (Syvret 1986, pp. 126–127).

Knowledge of the V-sign campaign even spread to the foreign workers, theworkforce of the Organisation Todt (OT), who were in the islands to build theconcrete fortifications of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall. One such worker, a Frenchman,made a ring out of a French franc for Guernseyman Claude Rondel in exchange forsome food. The sides of the band were engraved with Vs although the centre of thering was plain; thus, the Vs could have been quickly and easily shown or covered upby spreading and closing the fingers (Fig. 3).

Fig. 2 V-sign on house in St Peter Port, Guernsey. Photo: Gilly Carr


Another OT worker, a Belgian named Guy Guillard, showed Guernseymen RoyMachon and Alf Williams a penny that he had crudely clipped so that the King’shead was cut out with a V-shape carved underneath. Williams and Machon bothdecided that they would start making versions of this V-sign coin, but would filethem down to make a finer version which could be worn as a badge (Fig. 4).Machon, who worked as a projector operator at the local cinema, made his badges inthe projection room while the Germans watched films. Williams made his usingmetal clippers, a saw, and a carpenter’s file in his workshop in the dairy at hisfather’s farm, attaching a small safety-pin with solder to the back of the coin.Williams and Machon wore their badges underneath the lapel of their jackets so thatthey could not be seen by any passing German soldier or anyone else who mighthave reported them. They would lift their lapels to flash the badge at friends theypassed in the street. Soon, trusted friends were asking for their own badges, andwould bring along pennies, sixpences, shillings, florins, and half-crowns as rawmaterial, paying one Occupation Reichsmark for the finished product. Williamsestimated that he and Machon made 300–400 badges between them, worn secretly,or just kept as souvenirs and mementoes by men and women alike (Carr andHeaume 2004). The badges were even remarked upon by island diarists. On October23, 1942, Violet Carey wrote in hers:

I met Mabel Kinnersly who gave me my “Kings Head.” She knows amysterious boy who cuts out the King’s head in an English shilling and alsocuts out a beautiful “V” under the King’s head and mounts a pin on it. He doesit with a fretsaw. It is lovely; I wear my marquisite crown and G.R. on top of it.We have to provide the shilling and pay him a mark. We all wear them underour coats. Mabel wears hers openly, but it is rather silly because if the Gestapospot it they will take it from her (Evans 2009, p. 107).

Fig. 3 Ring engraved with Vs made by foreign worker in Guernsey. (Courtesy Lucy Harnden; photo:Gilly Carr)


Although the radio V-campaign lasted until May 1942 (Tangye Lean 1943,p. 192), Williams continued to make the V-sign badges until the end of the war,although Machon was caught by the Germans wearing one openly on his lapel in1942. He was sentenced to six months in a camp in Munich, and was then deportedto the civilian internment camp of Laufen, where he joined other island men whowere deported later on, as discussed below.

The inventiveness with which the letter V was used or incorporated within otherartefacts is further illustrated by two items. The first is a pendant once given toWilliams and now in the German Occupation Museum in Guernsey. In a creativetwist on the “22/G” (“Victory over Germany”) graffito, this pendant is made up oftwo coins, soldered end to end, with a Guernsey coin on top and a German onebelow. The two are held in place with little Vs. Hanging from the V-shaped loop ontop of the pendant is a plaited length of red, white and blue wool (Fig. 5). It is likelythat Williams was given this pendant on the assumption that he, more than anyone,would understand its symbolic depiction of “victory of Guernsey over Germany.”

Island men also made trench art cigarette lighters, which they sold to Germans,probably in exchange for cigarettes or food. They are very similar to ones made byAllied soldiers in the trenches in World War I, and the men who made them couldwell have fought in that conflict. What is remarkable about these items is the way inwhich they were decorated. Like the earlier examples, they had coins pressed intothe sides as decoration; however, more often than not, the coins chosen to decoratethe lighters made for Germans were those depicting George V (Carr 2008a, b). Themore inventive the V-campaign became, the less it was recognized, such thateventually these small items of resistance were used by the enemy without beingrecognized for what they were.

The artifactual V-sign campaign continued to thrive. People were no longeropenly daubing walls or gateposts, but were resorting to ever more underground and

Fig. 4 V-sign badge made by Roy Machon. (Courtesy of the Valette Military Museum, St. Peter Port,Guernsey; photo: Gilly Carr.)


daring methods in its usage. Alf Williams continued to make his V-badges, and theGuernsey Underground News Service (GUNS) started up. This small organizationsecretly transcribed the BBC news onto sheets which bore the V-sign in its heading,and which were distributed by hand and then by word of mouth between May 1942and February 1944. The main five men involved were eventually arrested after beinginformed upon and were sent to the continent; two of them died in concentrationcamps and the other three were liberated days from death, and eventually returned tothe Channel Islands (Falla 1981; King 1991, p. 91).

Winifred Green was another islander unlucky enough to enter the prison systemon the continent. She was sentenced for being disrespectful to a pro-Nazi Swiss chefin the hotel where she worked, shouting “Heil Churchill” in retaliation for his daily“Heil Hitler,” and giving him the V-sign (although it is not known whether this waswith the palm facing outward or inward—the palm facing inward being a rudegesture in British society). She was sentenced to six months in Caen prison in 1941and while there, embroidered a handkerchief with the words “Heil Churchill,” “CaenPrison,” the initials “RAF,” and the letter “V.”

Deportations and the V-sign

In September 1942, and again in February 1943, a total of 2,200 islanders weredeported to civilian internment camps in Germany. Those sent away in the first wavewere targeted for being English-born (as opposed to indigenous islanders). Thosesent in the second wave were ex-officers, freemasons, British Jews, or people withprevious convictions against the German administration. A contingent from theisland of Sark was also selected in retaliation for a failed British commando raid inthe island some months earlier. These deportations shook the islands’ populationsprofoundly.

As the frightened and hungry deportees were taken through war-torn France andBelgium by train, the local civilians gave them the V-sign to help raise morale, asrecorded in the internment diary of Gerald Webb on September 28 and 29, 1942(Guernsey Archives, AQ 78/10). After a period spent in transit camps, the majorityof islanders were eventually taken to the camps of Wurzach (mostly Jersey families),Biberach (mostly Guernsey families), Liebenau (for single women) or Laufen (forsingle men). It was in these camps that the V-sign campaign was invigorated and afourth phase developed, becoming even more inventive and, at times, audacious inits use. It seems that, to a certain extent, the deported islanders felt that, as they werealready receiving the punishment of being interned, they were free to commit the“crime” of displaying V-signs, although they were not blatant in the way that theyused them. What is clear is that the use of Vs flourished in the camps and becamepart of the subtle language of resistance to internment and a source of pride at beingunbroken in spirit despite living behind barbed wire. Former internee Michael Ginnssuggests that, as long as these guards were slipped a piece of Red Cross soap orsome cigarettes, they were happy to turn a blind eye to various activities in camp(Michael Ginns, pers. comm., 2008). Because listening to foreign radio stations wasbanned in Germany in case people heard enemy propaganda (Rolo 1943, p. 121;Sanders 2004, p. 113), it is possible that German camp guards were not aware of the


V-sign campaign. In any case, the German civilian police, the Schutzpolizei, whowere mostly old men or former World War I veterans, soon replaced the more strictand vigilant Wehrmacht who guarded the camp.

Making greetings cards, sketching, painting, and portraiture were among the mostpopular artistic pastimes in the camps, and one artist, Eric Sirett, produced some ofthe best artwork in Biberach. One of his pencil sketches depicts Monty Manning, aformer scoutmaster and one of the adults in charge of the young boys’ barracks inthe camp. Manning is clearly shown sporting a beard and a moustache cut into a V-shape; the caption makes it clear that this was deliberate (Fig. 6). To German guards,Manning was probably seen as an eccentric Englishman, but to other internees,Manning was a walking V-sign, and his appearance must have provoked muchlaughter and good cheer in camp. A similar example is seen on a woman’s rope-soled shoe made in Wurzach camp (Jersey Archive, ref. L/D/25/E1/4) (Fig. 7) whichhas a V-sign made from plaited Red Cross parcel string on its sole. This would haveleft the most marvelous footprints around camp, especially when wet. The evidenceof this resistance would soon dry and disappear, preferably before the guards hadseen it.

Other Vs were not intended to be as humorous; they existed simply to boostmorale in camp and, I believe, provide an invisible bond of solidarity with theirfriends and family left behind in the Islands through the use of cultural referents that

Fig. 5 V-pendant belonging to Alf Williams. (Photo: Gilly Carr.)


were probably meaningless to their guards but not to other internees. Examples ofthese are numerous and include a mug made from a Red Cross tin engraved with alarge V-sign by internee Byll Balcombe, enabling him to drink a toast to victory(Fig. 8). Balcombe engraved many mugs while in Biberach (Carr 2008b) andfrequently depicted the profile of Mount Everest above a small V-sign on their bases.When turned sideways, this morphs into the profile of a man’s face (probably that ofBalcombe himself) and the V turns into his eye.

Other examples of Vs incorporated into the material culture of everyday lifeinclude a V-shaped scissors case, decorated with Vs, and made in Liebenau camp(Red Cross Archives, ref. 0551/18). Morale was also boosted by making the linkbetween the V-sign and patriotism, as seen in an embroidered tablecloth made inWurzach, dedicated in the centre to George V by the use of his monogram and animage of a crown on a cushion. Colored Vs decorate the edges of the cloth. Whilethis could have been explained away, if challenged by a guard, as a patrioticdedication to the king, George VI was actually the reigning monarch at this time andhad been on the throne since 1936. Four known surviving V-sign badges, all madefrom coins of George V and VI and worn in Biberach, tell us that they continued to

Fig. 6 Pencil sketch of Monty Manning by Eric Sirett. (Courtesy Peter Sirett,; photo: Gilly Carr.)


be worn by deportees in camp, although it is not known how openly, or whether theywere made in camp or carried by the deportees into Germany.

Vs were also used to create camaraderie between fellow internees. As GeraldWebb reported in his internment diary on New Year’s Eve, 1942, a group of ChannelIslanders in Laufen made a gift for the Greek contingent in their camp: a “decoratedbox containing the Greek and British national colours in silk and a large V-sign withthe year 1943 set in between” (Guernsey Archives, AQ 78/10). Camaraderie andfriendships were also cemented and celebrated by the exchange of greetings cards onspecial occasions, which was clearly a widespread craze and pastime in all camps,judging by the large number of these that survive today. Several depict V-signs, oftenin patriotic colors (e.g., Jersey Archive, ref. L/C/01/B/A/19 (Fig. 9)).

The internee community as a whole in camp celebrated special occasions such asChristmas, as we know from diaries and from photos taken by Red Cross aidworkers who visited. A solitary part of a Christmas decoration exists in a privatecollection in the form of a V-sign made of roundels of sailors’ faces, cut from boxesof Player’s Navy Cut cigarettes and slotted together (Mike Martel Collection, privateownership.)

We know from sketches, watercolors, and rare photos of barrack rooms that roomdecorations such as paintings and Union flags existed all year round. As a Biberachcamp pencil sketch by John Merry of room 15 in barrack 6 testifies, internees alsoplaced V-signs above the doorways of their rooms (Candie Gardens Museum,GMAG 1979/314a); this same view is also rendered as an embroidery by the sameartist, and is in the German Occupation Museum in Guernsey.

Liberation and Beyond: The V-signs Go Public

Both in the internment camps and in the islands, V-signs marked the eventualliberation. This was the fifth phase of the campaign. In Wurzach camp, for example,a flan dish was made from a Red Cross tin to commemorate the date and time of the

Fig. 7 Von the sole of sandal made from Red Cross parcel string. (Courtesy Jersey Heritage Collections.)


liberation of the camp (Jersey War Tunnels, ref. 2003/929/2). At the bottom of thedish are the initials “POW,” with the O nestling between the two arms of a V,looking like the head and arms of a stick figure throwing up their arms in joy atbeing liberated.

In the islands, as the end of the war approached and victory was assured, theislanders grew bolder. The V-sign once more became visible and moved further intothe public domain. A large V was incorporated into the granite paving of RoyalSquare in St Helier during repair work by stonemasons, under the very noses of theoccupiers, who apparently turned a blind eye (Bob Le Sueur, pers. comm., 2008). Itwas finally unveiled at the time of liberation. Liberation day was marked by hugecrowds rejoicing in St Peter Port and St Helier. Close scrutiny of photos from thisday shows islanders holding up the V-sign salute, or wearing Vs stuck onto the frontof their hats (Mark Lamerton collection, Jersey).

Large Vs were just as popular in Guernsey as Jersey. Although the exact date ofits construction is unknown, but probably dating to soon after liberation (if onlybecause of the scarcity of raw materials in the island towards the end of theOccupation), a giant letter V was marked out in pale grey roof slates on the darkgrey slate roof of a shop in the parish of St. Sampson’s, Guernsey. This fifth phasewas nothing if not audacious; it was at last a public symbol and was displayed withpride.

Around the same time, the Guernsey newspaper cartoonist, Bert Hill, painted on aGerman helmet his now locally famous image of a Guernsey donkey kicking aGerman soldier out of the island with his hind legs, leaving hoof prints on the seat ofthe German’s uniform (Fig. 10). (People from Guernsey are known locally as“donkeys”; Jerseymen are called “crapauds” (toads). While these terms can bederogatory (often when referring to people from the neighboring island), they arealso used with pride by the islanders themselves.) To one side of the donkey is alarge letter V; on the other are the words “Liberation May 8th 1945.” This uniquepiece of trench art combines the ultimate local symbols of victory and liberation withthe ultimate symbol of German oppression, the helmet.

Fig. 8 Mug engraved by Bill Balcombe in Biberach internee camp. (Courtesy Christine Bailey; photo:Gilly Carr.)


Even today, the V-sign retains its currency in the Channel Islands. It is one of thefew symbols of Occupation era known and understood by almost all islanders andcontinues to be used in annual liberation day celebrations on May 9. In its sixth and,possibly, final phase, the letter V is now a symbol of pride and identity. On liberationday in Guernsey in 2008, for example, a red, white and blue V-sign formed one of

Fig. 9 Card painted in Biberach internment camp. (Courtesy of Simon Hamon.)

Fig. 10 Helmet painted by Bert Hill. (Courtesy of Mark Lamerton; photo by Gilly Carr.)


the key motifs used in the commemorative program of events, and in the mainbookshop in St. Peter Port, the bunting (which was displayed in all shop windows)was arranged in a large V.

Conclusion

During the Occupation, the V-sign underwent a number of radical changes in form,size, shape, media and visibility, but never changed its original meaning. After theGermans appropriated the V for themselves and placed heavy penalties on their use,what started as a highly visible symbol quickly went underground, appearing onsmall and mobile objects such as badges, cigarette lighters, stamps and bank notes.The campaign continued and flourished in the Channel Islander civilian internmentcamps of Germany where it became a unifying symbol of identity and solidarity forthose communities, whilst still retaining its initial meanings of defiance, resistanceand confidence in ultimate victory. As liberation drew near and was eventually freelycelebrated, V-signs exploded onto the scene once again, highly visible andpermanently marked in the fabric of the built environment. They have sinceremained potent symbols in the islands, linking the community of islanders back totheir occupation wartime legacy, which is such an integral part of their identitytoday.

It is ironic that what started out as a series of defiant and anonymous “weapons ofthe weak,” beginning as the most ephemeral and transient symbols of theOccupation, where they were drawn in dust, ripped out of newspapers or existedonly as a sound, were, at the same time, powerful symbols which fostered socialcohesion and solidarity against the occupiers, and have also become the mostdurable and long-lived of all wartime symbols. Many artifacts which “fought” in thiscampaign exist in the islands today, but the finer detail of their interpretation, orrather their biographies, has been lost except in the rare case where the artifacts haveremained in the hands of the maker. It is hoped that this research will go some waytowards allowing artifacts and islanders to reclaim the heritage that exists on theedge of memory.

Acknowledgments I would like to thank the people of the Channel Islands, especially those of theGuernsey Deportees Association, the Jersey former internees, and also the Occupation generation, forsharing their stories and artifacts with me. I would also like to thank the curators of the GuernseyOccupation Museum, the Valette Military Museum, Candie Gardens Museum, Jersey Museum, Jersey WarTunnels and Jersey Military Museum for their time and help. This paper has also been improved bydiscussions by Nick Saunders and by comments from the audience of the Jersey branch of the ChannelIsland Occupation Society and of CHAT 2007 in Sheffield. The research was made possible thanks togrants from the British Academy; the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University ofCambridge; and St Catharine’s College, Cambridge.

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