In 1066 William Duke of Normandy became William 1, King of England, the Channel Islands became possessions of the English Crown. As a result there was the need to http://www.museums.gov.gg/castlehistory
The Bailiwick of Guernsey consists of the Islands of Guernsey, Herm, Sark and Alderney, plus the smaller islands of Lihou, Jethou and Burhou.
The Channel Islands came under the British crown when William, Duke of Normandy invaded England in 1066. To this day, the Queen’s official title in the Bailiwick of Guernsey is that of the Duke of Normandy. The link between Britain and France still survives today in Norman Law, surnames and Guernesaise, the local language. Nowadays Guernsey, its capital St Peter Port and the smaller islands are a favourite tourist destination.
During 1940 – 1945, the islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops and huge numbers of defensive positions were built as part of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall. Of the population of 40,000, 17,000 were evacuated to England.
The materials and effort spent on the Atlantic Wall was totally disproportionate to the strategic importance of the islands but Hitler was convinced that the British would try to recapture them. However the British Government had already decided in 1940 that the islands could not be defended without huge loss of life. By 1943 over five thousand foreign slave workers were working on Guernsey, many of whom lost their lives from exhaustion and starvation. They were guarded by a garrison of 13,000 German troops.
