4 July 1940 Part 3

4 July 1940 Informant’s report on a visit to Guernsey in July 1938

Enclosure 1 to Intelligence Station Northern France No. …/40 secret command matter. Captain of Cavalry Mirow. Lille, 4 July 1940.

Oral report by a reliable confidential informant on the results of his week-long visit to the Norman island of Guernsey at the end of July 1938.

At the end of July 1938 the informant spent one week on the Norman island of Guernsey. He did not visit the other islands, particularly Jersey, the largest of the Norman islands. He was therefore only able to give information on military installations on Guernsey.

The informant’s journey to Guernsey was a personal visit to a German manufacturer resident there who owns a large tannery. About 150 Germans live on the island, together with about 300–400 German domestic servants; recently, however, these have been systematically replaced by Czech and Polish domestic servants.

The island’s total population is about 42,000. In summer there are another 20,000 seaside visitors.

Constitutionally the island is autonomous and does not belong to England. The King of England is regarded merely as the island’s head of state in his capacity as Duke of Normandy, a title the English kings have retained since the time of William the Conqueror.

The informant reached the island by sea via Ostend, London and Weymouth. He returned via Southampton.

One month before his visit, in June 1938, the English First Lord of the Admiralty, Duff Cooper, had reportedly been on the island to inspect its potential military uses. He is said to have decided to establish a larger airfield and a submarine station on the island.

Preparatory work for a larger airfield in the centre of the island was already in full swing, as the informant established by personal observation.

[Continued on page 2.]

Editorial note: This is a report dated 4 July 1940 describing a visit in July 1938; the claims are those of the informant.

Informant’s report on Guernsey — continued

According to him, the airfield was approximately twice as large as the airfield at Cologne.

The informant noticed nothing of the construction of a submarine station. He nevertheless considers the island extremely suitable for this purpose because it consists of large granite rocks with deeply indented, concealed bays and underwater caves into which ships can proceed a considerable distance.

The informant observed no warships or other military vessels.

According to him, the island’s military garrison amounts to about 400 men concentrated in one barracks. They are exclusively islanders receiving military training there.

A trench covered with gorse bushes runs all around the island, interrupted at intervals by prepared gun positions. Guns had not yet been brought into position. Individual sections of the island’s perimeter fortifications were closed by prohibition notices, so the informant could not inspect them.

Communications exist by telephone and cable to the English ports of Weymouth and Southampton mentioned above. There is no radio transmitting station on the island, but there is a receiving station. The informant assumes that the transmitting station is on the larger island of Jersey, which is about twice the size of Guernsey.

The nearest French port is St Malo in Brittany. There are, however, no connections with it, since the population, as already noted, is exclusively oriented towards England.

In the island’s granite quarries the informant spoke with many workers of Irish nationality, whom he found all to be very friendly towards Germany.

Otherwise, the island is very densely populated owing to its fertility and the high-grade horticulture practised there. The island’s interior is hilly, with many brooks and small watercourses. The only larger level area, in the centre of the island, was, as already noted, being developed into an airfield.

Mirow, captain of cavalry.

T-1022 Roll 2439, T1022_R2439_English_Translation.docx. Archive and frame references follow.
PG 38019 | Frame 00774, original sheet 29, report page 1
PG 38019 | Frame 00775, original sheet 30, report page 2