The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel off the western French coast of Normandy’s Cotentin Peninsula, composed of two Crown Dependencies – the Bailiwicks of Jersey (the largest of the islands) and Guernsey, which consists of the islands of Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm and some smaller islands. Historically, they are considered remnants of the Duchy of Normandy, and administered separately since the late 13th century.

The only territory of the British Isles to fall under German occupation in World War II, were the Channel Islands. The British government determined that the islands were indefensible, and the islands were ordered to demilitarize. While some 17,000 citizens were evacuated to mainland Britain, most had no choice and were thus subjected to German occupation (41,101 in Jersey, 24,429 in Guernsey, 470 in Sark and 18 in Alderney) that began when German forces landed on Guernsey on 30 June 1940, ending almost five years until the German surrender in May 1945. This book is particularly poignant to me as my father was one of the islanders evacuated before the German occupation. Our ancestorial home was lost as our family sought refuge in England, then Canada before settling in the United States.

Author Winston Ramsey, the former owner of After the Battle and founder of its parent company Battle of Britain International, Ltd, has dedicated his life to producing literature. He began when he was 18 running his family printing business and has since produced over 260 magazines and almost 100 books. The “Then and Now” titles are synonymous with “After the Battle” titles. Winston finally retired in October 2021 at the age of 81. This book is an amazing collection of then and now photographs, many of which I have never seen before, and I have an active interest in the Channel Islands during World War II.

The book is presented in the familiar After the Battle format with black and white photographs showing period photos, often compared with modern day images, maps, detailed information, etc composing the following eleven chapters with a prologue and appendix:

• Guernsey
• Jersey
• Alderney
• Sark
• The Commando Raids
  • Operation Ambassador
• Operation Dryad
• Operation Basalt
• Operation Huckaback
• Operation Hardtack 28
• Operation Hardtack 7
• The Post-War Period
• The Channel Islands Today
• The Cemeteries
• The War Graves
• The War Museums
• Your Holiday Hotel

This book has a boon of photographs for modelers. The period photographs are interesting as it shows German forces intermingled with obvious British backgrounds. The beauty of the After the Battle and Then and Now books is being able to see the same perspective in two time periods. Modelers can use the photos for WWII dioramas or later day derelict vignettes. The Germans used their organic and captured weaponry, so it really is a grab bag of choices to depict.

After the German blitzkrieg in the West, they consolidated their gains and under Hitler’s orders, the Channel Islands became an “impregnable fortress” and became a fifth of the Atlantic Wall – a defensive series of fortifications built from the Spanish border to the Baltic. A lot of those fortifications still stand in the Channel Islands and are present today to view and explore. The British never invaded as the isolated German garrisons were effectively cut off from the war, although the civilians did suffer from the occupation, particularly from lack of food.

The Channel Islands were bloodlessly liberated in May 1945. On Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945, Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced the Channel Islands would be liberated the following day with the announcement, “Hostilities will end officially at one minute after midnight tonight. And our dear Channel Islands are also to be freed today.” Guernsey and Jersey were liberated on 9 May 1945, Sark was liberated a day later, and finally Alderney on 16 May 1945.

In between occupation and liberation, defensive positions were erected with Organisation Todt (OT), forced and slave labor. This is the focus of most of the book. What took five years to emplace, has taken decades to dismantle. The landscape has changed little, and the photographs reflect that. Weapons of all sorts from field gear, communication equipment, French tanks from WWI and WW II, artillery of all sizes, and fortifications are prominent throughout.

This is a great book that provides fantastic insight into a little-known chapter of the Second World War. The biggest question I had reviewing and reading the book was the “Now” photographs as they look dated. The book was originally conceived as a magazine article with the source material collected in 1979 (which also corresponds to the latest dates of de-militarizing and clean up from the German occupation).

My wife and I visited the Channel Islands in 1997 and found the history intriguing, and the locals very friendly and proud. We collected several books while exploring. I now want to return to the Islands with this book as it would be a great assistance in identifying key locations and events during those five terrible years. The Channel Islands, like its people, and those the world over, are resilient and begging to be explored.

Profuse thanks to Casemate and IPMS-USA for providing the review sample.