Memorial Sites
Details of the island's memorial sites that remember the victims of the occupation.
Listings for: WWII Memorial Sites
Garden of Reflection
Tel :
+44 (0) 1534 860808
Jersey War Tunnels in St Lawrence is a site of Occupation heritage conservation and interpretation as well as being an impressive attraction. The Garden of Reflection was created to introduce an area of peace and tranquillity in which to ponder upon the experience of the 'Captive Island' exhibition and to reflect on the devastating effect war can have on human lives. This evocative landscape contains over 50 steel plaques set into the lawns and flower beds, each commemorating a Jersey resident who died as a direct consequence of the Occupation. There are a further 50 steel plates set into the hillside, each containing a thought provoking Occupation or war related fact.
Gorey Harbour - Memorial to Captain Ed Clark & Lieutenant George Haas
Address:
Gorey Harbour, Gorey Pier, St Martin, JE3 6EW
Plaque reads, "CAPTAIN ED CLARK / LIEUTENANT GEORGE HAAS
On 8th January 1945 these two American officers escaped from their prisoner of war camp in St Helier. Assisted by local residents and in particular Deputy W.J. Bertram, B.E.M, of East Lyne Fauvic, they successfully avoided recapture by the German forces.
On the night og 19th January 1945 they removed a small boat from this harbour (Gorey) and 15 hours later after an arduous crossing in bad weatehr , landed near Carteret on the French Cotemin Peninsula.
This tablet was unveiled on the 50th anniversary of this event on 20th January 1995 by Sir Peter Crill K.B.E. Bailiff of Jersey"
Harbour Memorial
Address:
Elizabeth Terminal, Jersey Harbours, St Helier
This was established at the instigation of the States of Jersey 50th Liberation Anniversary Committee. Unveiled by Sir Philip Bailhache in 1996, the memorial is dedicated to the 22 Jersey men and women who perished in German camps and prisons. The site is the focus of Jersey’s annual Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration.
Jersey Jewish Congregation Memorials
In September 1998 the Jersey Jewish Congregation held a memorial service dedicated to both the Jews who suffered during the Occupation and the non-Jews who came to their aid. The speakers included Sir Philip Bailhache, Bailiff of Jersey; Sir Graham Dorey, Bailiff of Guernsey; Mr Jon Kay-Mouat OBE, President of Alderney; Lord Jakobovits, Emeritus Chief Rabbi; the Very Rev. John Seaford, Dean of Jersey; Rev. Malcolm Weisman OBE, Minister to the Jersey Jewish Congregation. After the service Lady Jakobovits unveiled a plaque ‘Dedicated to the memory of those Jews who suffered during the German occupation of the Channel Islands 1940-1945’.
On 20 July 1999 the Jersey Jewish Congregation held a service in memory of Therese Steiner, Auguste Spitz and Marianne Grunfeld at the new Jewish cemetery in Jersey. After the service a plaque was unveiled.
Two further Jewish cemeteries, both dating from the nineteenth century, also exist in St. Helier. Westmount Cemetery and Almorah Cemetery.
La Hougue Bie
The former command bunker built, in part built forced workers, became the first Occupation museum after the war. The Jersey Heritage Trust felt that the display of memorabilia was inappropriate and in 2000 converted the bunker into a memorial to forced workers. A sculpture was commissioned from Maurice Blik, a child Belsen survivor, and this now sits on top of the bunker as a symbol of hope.
Mont Bingham - Former Prisoner of War Camp
Address:
Mont Bingham (near Leonis Boxing Club), South Hill, de Haut de la Ville, St Helier, JE2 4US
Now a public park and quiet area with reversing bays for learner drivers, the area at Mont Bingham was once a Prisoner of War camp for 41 United States of America and 9 British personnel who were brought back to Jersey from France or picked up in coastal waters.
New North Quay Lighthouse (outside Maritime Museum)
Address:
New North Quay, St Helier
"In Memoriam - Between 1940 and 1945, more than 300 islanders were taken from Jersey to concentration camps and prisons on the continent, for political crimes committed against the geman occupying forces."
Westmount Memorial
Address:
Westmount, near People's Park, St Helier
This memorial was established on the site of former forced worker graves in Jersey. An annual memorial event is held on Liberation Day. A senior official from the Russian Embassy attends together with representatives of official bodies representing those who suffered and the families of the deceased. A few surviving former workers still attend.
