I recently asked my blogging friend, Roy McCarthy, if he would be willing to write a piece for my blog. I always love reading a new post from Roy. From the photographic essays he takes us on around his home of Jersey (the Channel Islands) to introducing us to novels and poetry, his writing so often reveals the intimacy and depth of our everyday lives.
This is just one of the reasons I’m looking forward to reading his latest book A West Cork Mystery, and why I was delighted when he accepted my offer to share a story about a reading experience he had.
Here it is:
Batterie Lothringen
Before the forces of the Third Reich invaded and occupied the Channel Islands in June 1940 they had done their homework. Their aerial reconnaissance had helped them plan their defences. Noirmont, a rocky headland overlooking the southern approaches to Jersey and the capital St Helier was an ideal location.
Construction of defence installations began there in 1941. However, with an Allied invasion becoming more likely, a huge project was undertaken in 1944 to build Batterie Lothringen with four naval guns and numerous bunkers, including the massive Command Bunker. All this was part of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall.
Batterie Lothringen
After the Occupation, in 1946, the land at Noirmont was purchased for the people of the Island from the previous owners.
As part of the Liberation celebrations in June 2013 I was pleased to be asked to take part in a little event deep in the Command Bunker. A string quartet played to a capacity audience of 70 or so. Mine was the first reading in between the musical pieces. I had chosen a passage from Tess of Portelet Manor. In this part of the book I recognised that many of the German troops remaining in 1945 were non-regulars. They were conscripts, both old and young, with no love of the Nazis. The passage I chose was an exchange between a young German soldier and a cold and hungry Tess as she sat on the harbour wall at St Aubin.
Batterie Lothringen
It is quite a poignant scene and I had read it aloud many times beforehand so that, hopefully, I could get through the piece without faltering. As I took the stand however and looked at the audience, including war hero Eric Walker MBE, it was a special moment. One way or the other I did my bit, rather professionally I thought, and stood down. It was one of my proudest moments.
Here is the passage Roy read from Tess of Portelet Manor
(It’s New Year’s Eve 1944 and the Red Cross ship ‘Vega’ has just arrived with life-saving supplies):
And it was on this day that Tess met Arno. Having mooched
around with the others at the parish hall, Tess had decided, for no
particular reason, to come down to sit on the harbour wall. She
pulled her coat around her. She was tired, cold and hungry, but this
was a condition that she was now well used to – the same as everybody
else. The harbour was virtually empty of boats, the Germans
having heavily restricted boating activities since their arrival. St
Aubin’s Bay was quiet. German naval activity had been severely restricted
since the Allies had taken control of the area.
‘Good morning. May I join you on the wall?’
Tess glanced to her left. It was a young German soldier in his
grey uniform. She shrugged and looked away. The soldier swung
his legs over the wall and sat down.
‘The people are happy about the supply ship, yes?’
Tess shrugged again, didn’t look his way and didn’t bother answering.
The young soldier seemed to take no offence. He reached
inside his tunic jacket and extracted a paper package. Opening it,
he took out a chunk of bread, maybe a sandwich, and took a bite.
He joined Tess in gazing out across the harbour and bay.
‘May I offer you a sandwich?’ The soldier held out the package
towards her.
‘No, thank you.’ Her manners defeated her diffidence.
‘It is cheese.’ Silence reigned. Tess was used to advances from
the soldiers and was quite used to treating them with contempt and
the crude remarks that would follow. But she had not tasted cheese
in a year or more.
‘One day soon, all this will be over. No more fighting. We will
live in peace once more. We will all be reunited with our loved
ones. Germany will be punished for its aggression.And, in time, we
will return to this island in a spirit of friendship, not as enemies.
And we will ask forgiveness and bring tokens of our regret for our
actions. I will not meet you then, so today I offer you this sandwich
as my personal token of regret. Take it, please.’
She turned and looked at him for the first time, her eyes brimming
with tears. She saw a boy, no older than she, with blue eyes
and short, blond hair under his cap. Just a boy, with a mother and
father at home, maybe brothers and sisters. A girlfriend, perhaps.
And she took the sandwich without a word.
Want to read more of Roy’s work?
His blog: Back to the Rock
Some of his books (click on images):
Tess of Portent Manor
A West Cork Mystery
reading interrupted. 
Reblogged this on Back On The Rock and commented:
It’s always an honour to be asked to appear on another blog. I’m very happy that Letizia of the popular book lovers blog ‘Reading Interrupted’ has allowed my to reflect on a special day for me in 2013.
What a touching passage. A spark of light and hope in an otherwise dark period.
Nail on head Carrie, thank you. The Channel Islanders (and indeed the German garrison) were at their lowest ebb and were literally starving at this time. There were very few sparks of hope that winter. The ‘Vega’ arriving was a fantastic event.
I’m sorry to say I did not know this about the Channel Islands. My father and two uncles fought in that war and I thought I knew a lot about it. I will be reading more of Roy’s works and opening my eyes a bit wider. Thank you, Letizia for bring Roy to your site!
I know you’ll enjoy his work, Dannie!
Thanks Dannie. Indeed the Channel Islands were only a vague concept in my mind before I moved here in 1977 – and that was from England only 100 miles or so away. It’s unsurprising that others much further away haven’t heard of them. They have got a rich history though and are now grown up enough to welcome tourists from Germany, and indeed old soldiers.
Roy guesting…yay! That would have been so cool to be a part of that ceremony. What an honor. I would have cried during the passage, I’m sure of it.
I remember this part from the book. I definitely got choked up over it.
Thanks Britt. Yes the fictitious passage in the book, the setting in the bunker, some of the old people in the audience, Eric Walker – it was a powerful few minutes for me.
Thanks for hosting Roy, Letizia. He’s a beautiful writer as evident in this passage.
I agree, Jill! Thanks for dropping by.
Ah thank you Jill 🙂
Heavy stuff. Well written.
I agree, Tim. Thanks for the reblog and tweet.
Reblogged this on T. W. Dittmer and commented:
This is definitely worth your time to read.
Appreciated Tim, thank you!
The Channel Islands don’t get much love in English history books, you would think it would be a fascinating social and historical lessons for people in education, much like Sealand. Real people caught up in huge events makes for wonderful reading and it’s captured superbly here.
It’s funny how history of the Channel Islands is not more well known. Fortunately, we have Roy’s posts to help us, especially as he does it so movingly.
To be honest the Channel Islands had a pretty peaceful existence – barring the odd visit by the pesky French – for many centuries. Even the Occupation could be regarded as low-key by others – certainly the atrocities that went on elsewhere in that period deserve more attention. It was an evil and depressing time but the CIs got off lightly in the end by comparison. Appreciate your comments Ste J.
The only thing that I read about the Channel Islands these days is the Barclay brothers trying to ruin Sark, I will have to look into the history of the islands more right from the first settlers. It pleases me there is still so much history I have yet to explore.
Indeed, the Barclays are detested and they couldn’t give a damn. The history of the islands is intriguing indeed but without the ‘grand events’ that have shaped the wider world. We content ourselves with inter-island rivalry 🙂
Thank you both for bringing us back into 1944 with that beautiful passage. I always love time traveling through books and will make sure to look this one up.
Thank you Sheila – it was probably the lowest ebb in Jersey’s history. After the D-Day landings the food supply lines from France had been cut and it seemed to the islanders that they had been abandoned by the outside world. They had little news of the progress of the war – hope was pretty much exhausted at that stage. No wonder the Liberation celebrations are so fierce even 70 years on.
To not have news of the progress of the war… I can’t imagine that feeling of isolation.
Oh, this pierced my heart. What a wonderful passage. Thank you! My father was a WWII vet who fought in France during the D-Day invasion and beyond. He and my mother got married on a three-day leave before he left the U.S. on a troop ship. She didn’t see him for the next two years. He never talked about much of his war experience, but he did have a piece of an American plane marked in German with the date it had been shot down. When I asked him about it, he said he recovered it from a German soldier. Then he said no more. So many young people, so many lost lives. Such waste. This passage offers a glimmer of hope during such a bleak time, and I am thankful for that.
Jilanne, thanks so much for this. You are rightly proud of your father. Without his efforts alongside his comrades the world could have become a very different place. Unsurprisingly many vets refuse to speak about their experiences to save spreading the misery. But I thought the young German soldier in the little scene at St Aubin spoke for many of his countrymen in that he was caught up in events beyond his control.
What a fascinating family story, Jilanne; thanks for sharing.
A wonderful post ~ thanks so much to you both.
I agree, thanks for popping by.
Thank you Jean! Nice to be over here on Letizia’s blog.
The excerpt offers shades of hope that peace could be near. I enjoyed the read! A touching post, Roy. Nice guest feature, Letizia!
“Shades of hope” – lovely phrase, Christy.
I have friends who say I write like a poet even when it’s not poetry hehe! Hugs to you!
That is true!
Thank you Christy – yes, when all seemed hopeless and grey maybe the ‘Vega’ and the fictitious young, thoughtful soldier gave a little hope that all bad things come to an end.
Always a pleasure to read a post by Roy, and now an added pleasure of visiting you here. I learn so much from Roy’s writing, as I did today, here. Thanks to both of you.
Thank you Pam, appreciated 🙂
I agree with you, I always learn so much through Roy’s writing. Thanks for popping by!
What a lovely passage. Thank you for sharing. I also appreciate learning something about the Channel Islands.
Thanks so much Kate. There’s quite a bit of historical linkage between the CIs and the US. There are a few Newfoundland townships that grew up in the old cod fishing days and whose present day inhabitants are direct descendants of those early settlers. Not to mention New Jersey 🙂
Beautifully poignant Roy! There is something about war stories that is so compelling. At least to me. I really love history. Thank you for sharing this moment with us.
Thank you Cybele – I appreciate that from a consummate storyteller.
Great post! Roy is such a wonderful writer. He really transported me to the war. Thanks for sharing this. Makes me want to log off and go read right now.
His words do that to me too.
Thanks so much Juliann 🙂
Great post, Roy! That was a moving passage from your book and indeed must have been an honour and proud accomplishment for you to read it at the ceremony.
Hello Janna and thank you. A total honour and I was relieved I didn’t mess it up.
What an amazing experience Roy, not only reading your work in public, but to such an audience and on such an occasion. Letizia, I know Roy, but thanks for prompting this post 🙂
So glad you appreciated the post, Andrea.
My first introduction to the Channel Islands’ story was through The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guernsey_Literary_and_Potato_Peel_Pie_Society Roy’s story has reignited my interest in that era. I would have been in tears when he was reading that excerpt; sharing bread, forgiveness, such powerful symbols.
Thank you Gallivanta. Yes the Guernsey book went down very well, even in Jersey 🙂 Must read it one day.
Great post. On my way for a visit now.
This sounds very poignant and compelling, indeed! Is this fiction based on fact? That’s what I’ve gotten as an impression, but don’t know if I’m right! 🙂
I remember this passage when I read Tess, and found it very moving. It was a perfect choice of an excerpt to read at the celebrations!
I agree, Naomi, the perfect passage.
Very interesting post. If I remember correct I have seen few years ago a documentary about this. Btw, 1944 is my birth year, so I am historic relic. 🙂
It must have been interesting to see a documentary on this. Especially as it is your birth year! 😉