JERSEY and Guernsey should come together to mark the 80th anniversary of Liberation Day next year with a pan-island celebration, it has been suggested.
The British Channel Islands Occupation Remembrance Campaign is calling for a joint event to celebrate the shared history and hardships faced by Islanders across the Channel Islands during the German Occupation.
Campaign leader Kev South last week sent an official letter to all politicians in both islands ahead of next year’s celebrations.
Mr South, who has family ties to both Islands, explained that some of his Guernsey relatives were trapped in Jersey during the Occupation, and the majority remained on the islands for the full five years.
The letter reads: “This 9 May 2025 heralds the significant anniversary of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Channel Islands in May 1945.
“The Occupation of the Channel Islands was possibly one of the most difficult moments in our history and the Occupation of the Islands had no boundaries.
“For such an important anniversary and the significance would it be possible to have a joint event encompassing both representatives from both islands and members of both States present?”
Mr South explained that the campaign did not seek to replace traditional Liberation Day celebrations in each island but proposed a joint event – potentially on 8 or 10 May, to bring both communities together
“On such significant occasions would it be possible and be right that everyone unites for an extra single event together for all those who went through the Occupation and this significant anniversary of Liberation 80?”
