Wild allegations
Sir: As a native Jerseyman, I was surprised that you should publish such a wildly inac- curate article by Artemis Cooper (Invasion of the sun gods', 30 November).
Presumably she based it largely on the archives recently released, which consist largely of statements made to British Intel- ligence officers by escapees from Jersey in 1944, some of whom were angry young men who made the wildest allegations, now quoted as fact, which were simply hearsay and have never been confirmed. It is corn- pletely wrong to say, as she does, that offi- cial relations with the Germans were cor- dial and totally subservient, and it is much too facile to imply that the local authorities should have coolly ignored German instruc- tions, regardless of the consequences.
The Bailiff of Jersey made the most valiant efforts throughout the war to miti- gate the hardships of the islanders, and to say that he was like an official of the Vichy regime is mischievous libel. Certain Vichy officials were pro-German whereas Mr Coutanche, as he then was, had a son at sea with the Royal Navy. As for the behaviour of Jerseywomen, there were 184 illegitimate births from 1940 to 1945 and 2,308 legiti- mate births. A local doctor estimated that 120 babies at most were of German parent- age over five years. About a dozen local women became notorious for their behaviour, but illegitimacy did not double in Jersey as asserted by Artemis Cooper. The official figures were published in the Fifties, so her assertion would indicate slipshod research.
The worst collaborators were not put on trial for the simple reason that they had broken no existing laws and the Home Office decided that retrospective legislation was not in accordance with British justice.
C. G. Cull
Box Hedge, Acton Bridge, Northwich, Cheshire
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