Monday, 11 April 2011

Guernsey Lily

Guernsey is a tiny island just off the coast of Normandy. You can see France from its leeward shore, but Guernsey is a British Crown Dependency. I was going to say it is part of the British Empire, but that’s not entirely true. Somehow the defence of the island is the responsibility of the United Kingdom, but that’s not exactly the same thing. I’m told the people who live here don’t pay taxes to the Crown, and that they refer to themselves as “The States,” which I find amazing. Guernsey was occupied by the Germans for several years during World War II. Right before the occupation, many Guernsey children were evacuated to England. Thousands of islanders were sent to German POW camps. Many of them never returned.

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