AN Occupation survivor whose most prized possession is the Union flag that he waved as a five-year-old boy along Victoria Avenue on 9 May 1945 is urging all Islanders to pause tomorrow to reflect and remember.
John Syvret’s early years were spent under the jackboot – although he concedes that life on a farm in St Ouen was probably a little easier than those who did not have such ready access to food supplies.
85-year-old Mr Syvret is an avid collector of memorabilia, which includes German artefacts, almanacs and photos – but the most valuable to him is the little flag that a little boy carried from Leoville Farm to the Avenue on Wednesday 9 May, 81 years ago.
There, with his family, he greeted the arriving British forces and celebrated the end of five long years of Occupation. Another piece of history Mr Syvret has kept reminds him of how tough it was: the very Red Cross food parcel delivered to the Syvrets from one of the SS Vega sailings in late 1944 / early 1945.
He said: “So many people sacrificed so much during the War that it is important that we never forget. Wars are horrendous and it was not that long ago – in my lifetime – that World War reached Jersey’s shores. I was only young but I can remember German soldiers marching up Grève de Lecq hill – our freedom cannot be taken for granted.”
Mr Syvret’s eclectic collection includes a German helmet – very much a symbol of oppression – but also more uplifting symbols.
He has, for example, two signs fixed to posts that featured in a ‘Jersey Liberation Fete’ that was held at Springfield in 1945, not long after the Island was liberated.
Each parish had launched their own fundraising effort as a way of saying ‘thank you’ to the Red Cross for coming to the Island’s aid , when it was facing serious food shortages.
Perhaps rekindling the spirit of Battle, the fete included a large creation of the SS Vega. Each sign paraded on that day included the total funds raised by each parish, which in St Ouen’s case was £7,494. Mr Syvret has that sign as well as one showing the total raised across all 12 parishes.
That sum was almost £131,000 – equivalent to more than £7m in today’s money.
Mr Syvret, who was an illustrator at the JEP for many years and still pursues his passion for drawing said: “When you think that Jersey had just come out of the Occupation but still managed to raise over £130,000; it not only shows the incredible generosity of people then but also how grateful they were.
“That gratitude should never be forgotten.”
