Liberation Day stories 'should be captured and shared'

Organisers of Guernsey's Liberation Day have spoken of the importance of making sure stories from history are "captured and shared" and the event remains "accessible to everyone".

With fewer witnesses to pass on their stories of Guernsey's freedom from the German Occupation during World War Two, and nine years until the 90th anniversary, organisers said they were conscious of engaging future generations.

More than 20,000 people attended the celebrations in 2025 but Helen Glencross MBE, chair of the Liberation Day organising committee, said future change was "inevitable".

She said organisers were keen to ensure the day's events "represented all parts of the community".

Glencross added: "I think it's important that we capture the stories of people that had first-hand experience."

She said these stories should be shared so that "people understand what the occupation period was like and what Liberation Day really means".

Referencing a "degree of pressure" to keep popular elements of the day, she said these included the parade and church service, while the cavalcade - a parade of military vehicles - was "incredibly popular".

Asked about the next decade and a the lack of major anniversary milestones, she said they were "very keen" to make it accessible to everyone in terms of entertainment.

Adrian Datta, Rector of St. Pierre du Bois church said stories from the wartime generation from the Occupation were "at the heart of everything we do".

Datta said he was conscious of future generations and there being "enough celebration" to keep interest, adding: "But also let's actually reflect and sit down and remind ourselves of what actually happened to be respectful of the other generation that actually lived through this."

He said there was a place for "silence and respect" but also for "letting your hair down".

"When I look at the world today and there's so much pain so there's countries that feature on the news and I think we don't sometimes know just how privileged we are to live in a place that is so peaceful and so extraordinarily safe."

Full information of this year's event on 9 May can be found on the Liberation Day website.

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