'Longing reunion. Fondest love, Mum Dad’
What would you say if your only means of communicating with your family was a 25 word message that could take months to arrive? This was the question that faced the Hill family. William, Florence and their three children, Kenneth, Herbert and Billy, lived in Guernsey when the war broke out. After the Dunkirk evacuations in 1940 and with the British government saying that the island was undefendable, William and Florence decided to see out the war in Guernsey. William had a grocery shop and elderly parents to consider, but they decided that their two oldest boys, Kenneth and Herbert, aged twelve and eleven, would join the 17,000 people, almost 50% of the population of the island, who were evacuated from Guernsey between the 20 and 28 of June. First to leave were 5,000 children with their teachers and 500 adult helpers. Billy aged just five, would remain with his parents.
Germany's occupation of the island began on the 30 June 1940. The Germans allowed the government of Guernsey to stay in charge of most aspects of law and order, and life carried on until the effects of rationing and the closing of local firms hit hard. Later radios were banned, and about a thousand men and women from Guernsey were deported to Germany. With the help of the International Red Cross they were able to make contact with their family in Britain. A system that had been used to help prisoners of war communicate with their families was expanded to include the Channel Islands. Using a form like this they could write a short message which would be sent first to Red Cross headquarters in Geneva, then on to the intended recipient. Initially the word count was 20 but this was later raised 25. In this letter from December 1941 we see Florrie and William asking after their family in Britain, particularly their boys. They say "Everyone well. Thank Alice for having Bert. Love to boys, no news from them. Is Peggy working? Are you with Art? love Florie, Will". Just 25 words to ask all the questions they want and to convey their love to their boys. [Music]
Now if you note this blue streak here, this was a chemical applied by the Germans to check for any hidden writing, any invisible ink, and it will appear quite often on these messages. So Margaret Sweeney, Williams's sister, writes to tell them about the family that Bert is living with. She writes "all well, hope same. Expecting letter from Ken. Bert fine living with Miss Scott, who keeps house for her uncle. Lively and plays golf." Now this is the only information that William and Florrie have about the lady who is effectively bringing up their son.
In this German Red Cross letter that comes from Guernsey Will and Florrie are writing to their boys. They write "dear boys everyone well. You have grown tall Bert. What is Ken's height? Relieved to know you are happy. Longing reunion. Fondest love, mum, dad." Now this is particularly sad because it is clear that the children are growing up without their parents seeing them, they don't even know how tall their own children are. Because these letters had to go through the Red Cross message bureaus and to travel through Portugal, Spain, France to Geneva and then through the German postal system to get to Guernsey, it could take months for letters to reach their intended recipient. The last letter that we have was written from Guernsey to the UK, it's dated 16 March 1944, and it arrived in the UK on 6 June 1944. There was no reply. Because of the Allied invasion of northern Europe, D-Day, this method of communication was cut off. In 1945 Guernsey was liberated, after five years the island was free. The Hill family were reunited and Herbert and Kenneth returned home. These letters are very brief, but they can tell us a lot about one family's experience of separation and anxiety brought about by war.
What would you say if your only means of communicating with your family was a 25 word message that would take months to arrive?
The Hill family from Guernsey were separated by the Second World War. William and Florence decided to send their two eldest sons away from the island as the war in Europe came closer. Half the population of Guernsey left - but William and Florence stayed behind with their youngest son and William’s elderly parents.
From 30 June 1940, they were living under German occupation.
However, the Hill’s found there was one way of hearing news about their children and other family members who had left Guernsey. Watch IWM curator Simon Offord to find out how brief letters kept one family connected through their wartime separation.
