Seymour Hotels Centenary Magazine SPREADS - Flipbook - Page 39
LIFE UNDER OCCUPATION
LIFE UNDER
OCCUPATION
At the beginning of World War II, Jersey was a thriving holiday
destination. But hospitality in the Island came to an abrupt standstill
in the summer of 1940 when Hitler’s occupying forces arrived.
Almost overnight twenty years of hard work, of lovingly purchasing
and decorating the hotels and developing the Seymour tourism
offering, was crushed and commandeered by the Nazi arrivals.
T
wenty miles off the coast of
France, the Channel Islands
were quietly demilitarised. After
several scouting missions, Jersey and
Guernsey were bombed by German
planes. The reason? The potato and
tomato trucks at the harbour were
thought to be hiding weapons. Hitler
discovered the Islands had been left
unprotected and were there for the
taking; the very outcome Churchill
hoped to prevent by “hiding”
the decision to
demilitarise. At 9pm
on the evening of
the bombing, the
demilitarisation was
announced on the
BBC, but it was too
late for those injured
and killed in the
attack. Within three
days, white flags were
hung from every
building and German
soldiers were marching
through the streets.
For Churchill,
the Channel Islands
were of no strategic
value. But for Hitler,
they were the perfect
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stepping stone.
This would be the beginning of five
years of hardship and hunger for the
Channel Islands and their residents.
It wasn’t long before the German
Forces commandeered all of the
Seymour hotels and Mascot Motor
coaches. The Pomme d’Or Hotel was
used as the Kriegsmarine Headquarters,
the Portelet Hotel became the
Luftwaffe Billet, and the Merton
Hotel was turned into a hospital. But
thankfully, not everything was taken
with these orders.
Before the Germans seized the
Seymour properties, the family rallied
and hid as much as they could. Cutlery
and lamp fittings from the dining
rooms, bed linen, blankets and sheets
from the bedrooms; they took as much
as they could and hid items in the
back of cupboards and under beds.
Silverware was even buried in the
gardens. As much as they could grab
in the time available was
removed and hidden.
George’s son Robin
remembers, with a
chuckle, sleeping on a bed
about six-feet high. It was
a pile of linen!
Once the soldiers
moved in, it was too late
to hide more. The hotels
were shut down and
requisitioned. Staff and
family members weren’t
even allowed to step
foot into the properties.
Understandably anxious,
George tried to visit the
Pomme d’Or to check on
the state of his precious
hotel. He was summarily
arrested and spent the rest of the day
in the lock-up because he had dared to
cross the threshold of what was now
the Kriegsmarine Headquarters.
Gladys and Stan Mason, George’s
sister and brother-in-law, remained
lodging in the Manager’s home situated
across the road from the Merton
Hotel. Although able to keep an eye
on the hotel from a short distance,
frustratingly he was unable to act on
what he saw being done to the building.
Everything George and Ada had
worked so hard to build was taken
away, almost overnight.
In 1942, more than 12,000 islanders
were deported from Jersey to
internment camps in Germany. As
George and Ada hailed from Britain,
their names were on the list for
deportation, together with their
children. Just in time, George was
given an “essential” job that would
protect his family from having to
leave. He was asked to administer and
provide staff for the premises that the
German Forces had commandeered
that now housed soldiers and officers.
Somebody was needed to service these
establishments. Apparently, it was the
responsibility of the occupied power to
supply this service to the Armed Forces
and George was chosen for the role
thanks to his reputation and status as
an expert local hotelier.
Despite his new role, George was still
barred from his hotels. But he kept an
eye on them whenever he could.
On 9th May 1945 the Channel Islands
were liberated. The Tommies marched
through the streets, to cheers and huge
celebrations, and raised the Union Jack
on the Pomme d’Or balcony. This was
the first time the “Jack” had flown for
five years in the Island and it marked
a joyous end to five years of suffering.
Sweets were handed out to children by
the Tommies and laughter and joy filled
the air. The relief was palpable; seen on
the faces of everyone packed into the
square alongside the Pomme d’Or and
the harbour.
George and Stan were finally able to
re-enter the properties. But they didn’t
find the beautifully decorated and cared
for hotels they had been forced to leave.
Furniture had been taken and scattered
across the Island and the hotel interiors
were left in tatters. If a soldier had
wanted another room, they’d simply
knocked into the wall or fired at it to
make space. The hotels were empty
shells; everything needed to be found,
returned and put back in order.
Stan, George, and George’s eldest
son, Duncan found an old lorry from
Mascot Motors – the only vehicle the
Germans’ hadn’t taken to the mainland.
They embarked on a search across the
Island to find as much of their missing
furniture as they could from the mass
of buildings and bunkers the soldiers
had lived and worked in.
The few items the family had
managed to hoard away at the start of
the Occupation were swiftly dug up
from the garden, pulled from cupboards
and pulled from under beds. From
that moment until the end of winter,
George, Ada, and their family worked
tirelessly to get the hotels repaired and
ready for the 1946 holiday season.
Despite having to clear mountains
of rubble and rubbish and having
no money, no staff, and no trading
business, the Seymour family refused
to give in. The Seymour spirit saw them
through. With hard work, not much
sleep and a steely commitment to get
the hotels ready, they did it. The doors
opened and once again visitors were
welcomed across the threshold.
Seymour Hotels had risen from
the ashes.
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