RG-208-AA-158-I-001

The relief of the Channel Islanders This photograph taken by a Ministry of Food photographer on May 16 just after the people of Guernsey and Sark had received their first provisions since 1940. After June 6 all German supplied food for the islands ceased too and the Germans at once killed off livestock and eat the islanders seed potatoes. Vegetables became more and more scarce. In Guernsey a communal feeding centre was established to which everyone brought whatever they could, soup was made in bathtubs and sold at 15¢ a quart. On liberation day, the relief ship arrived loaded down with a cargo of food, transport and military equipment. In 1942 the Germans deported all Britishers not born in the Islands, about 2000 to Germany. Another 20000 were evacuated to England in June 1940, just before the Germans landed. Now for the first time in 5 years, telegraph services have been restored and there is a rush to let their friends and relatives to know they are alright. Picture shows: Telegram being sent from the Post Office in Guernsey for the first time in 5 years.

Date

1945

Collection

FSA/OWI

Archive

U.S. National Archives (via Wikimedia Commons)

Type

photograph

Original size

7,491 × 5,402 pixels

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