Following the German occupation of the Channel Islands from June 1940 to May 1945, the Stockport and District Channel Islands Society published the Channel Islands Monthly Review. Designed to support Channel Islands refugees and their loved ones, the Channel Islands Monthly Review connected those whose lives had been torn apart following the German invasion.
The Channel Islands Monthly Review became a lifeline for those evacuated from the Channel Islands. During the Second World War, the usual postal service between the Channel Islands and the United Kingdom ceased, the only method of communication being the Red Cross message service. This method, however, was sadly limited, as messages could only number 25 words, were heavily censored, and took months to reach their destination, having to travel through neutral counties like Switzerland before arriving in the hands of loved ones.
Here the Channel Islands Monthly Review stepped in. Refugee Channel Islanders would send their Red Cross messages to the publication in the hopes that friends and families would be able to read them in its pages.
Also contained within the pages of the Channel Islands Monthly Review were news of the Channel Islands Societies across Britain, announcements of births, marriages and deaths under the occupation, and tidings of the honours that had been received by Channel Islanders. The title reported on the regulations imposed by the occupying forces, and how Channel Islanders were copying under such challenging circumstances.
The Channel Islands Monthly Review first appeared in May 1941, but publication was briefly suspended in May and June 1942. This suspension was due to the Ministry of Supply prohibiting the publication of new periodicals to conserve paper. However, due to parliamentary outcry, and the support of the likes of Lord Portsea, the suspension was lifted and the Channel Islands Monthly Review resumed publication in July 1942.
A vital publication for Channel Islanders during wartime, the Channel Islands Monthly Review ceased publication in August 1945, the Channel Islands having been liberated on 9 May 1945.
The Channel Islanders Monthly Review has been made available in partnership with the Bailiwick Guernsey Digitisation Partnership, which brings millions of searchable records online. These can be found at Findmypast.
For this newspaper, we have the following titles in, or planned for, our digital archive:
- 1941–45 The Channel Islands Monthly Review
