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On the 9th May we shall celebrate 80 years since the Liberation of this island from occupying forces.
My late grandfather, also Ben Shenton, was arrested during the occupation and jailed. He had a radio well hidden in his home, and he would listen to BBC broadcasts and rely to others the truth about the war – which was a very different from the German censored truth. This act gave people the hope they needed at the darkest hour, and revived their spirits.
My Grandfather served in the Royal Navy during the First World War, having joined up in 1913 aged only 15. He fought in the Battle of Jutland onboard the HMS Agincourt, and went on to fight the Bolsheviks in Russia in 1918. He became a man that hated war, and anyone that celebrated armed conflict.
During the occupation years few spoke out against the deportation of the jews or were willing to put themselves at personal risk. Evolution has built into us all the instinct of self-preservation, so the trait of powerless acceptance by the majority is perhaps understandable. Unfortunately, his possession of a radio was notified to the governing forces by an anonymous informant, and he was arrested and jailed. The informant was never identified, no doubt for their own protection.
The Jersey police and Jersey judiciary, operating under the laws set by their German occupiers, could not aid him, or any others seeking the truth, for law is not always linked to justice or what is right. The BBC’s broadcasts were considered propaganda by the Nazis, who feared that the truthful reporting and counter-narratives provided by the BBC would undermine their own propaganda efforts and weaken German morale. You can be jailed for not doing anything ethically or morally wrong, but for merely going against the wishes of those in power.
If the enemy holds people against their will they are ‘hostages’, if you hold the people of the enemy against their will they are ‘detainees’. When we invade we are “liberators”, and locals that resist are “terrorists”. How mighty is the power of a word or phrase. When the USA pulled out of Afghanistan the locals that colluded with the occupying forces, or liberators depending on your viewpoint, were held in the same esteem as those that collaborated with the Germans (or Nazi’s if you want a harder, but more inaccurate, soundbite) in Jersey. Here we shaved the heads of Jerrybags and ostracised collaborators, in Afghanistan they murdered those that trusted the Americans. We constantly hear about “Muslim Extremists” because that is the message the Government wishes to convey. I grew up during the troubles in Northern Ireland and the IRA were never described as “Roman Catholic Extremists”- because it didn’t fit the political narrative (note: I am a Roman Catholic).
During the second world war the German authorities went to great lengths to jam BBC signals and punish those caught listening to its broadcasts. My father, having seen the horrors of war, was very much in favour of peace. He was arrested because his views did not fit in with the narrative at the time, ethically he was striving for the truth and had done nothing wrong. It was those that arrested him, and those that informed on him, that had chosen to obey the law and go against the principles of seeking to broadcast the truth – which is the moral high ground. They were under orders from a powerful overseas Government that were keen that their message must prevail.
My grandfather’s arrest put his family, already suffering, under further great strain. In February 1942 his son, Ben Edward – after whom I’m named, had died aged just 19. His daughter, Constance Mary, died in July the following year – she was just 18 years old. My father was younger, just 13 when war broke out. The isolation of the island for those long occupation years had led to a severe shortage of medicines and both died of TB (tuberculosis). Despite being a convicted man, having served a jail sentence, my grandfather was awarded the British Empire Medal for meritorious civil service worthy of recognition by the Crown in 1956.
Seeking the truth, standing up for those suffering from the aggression of others, and the protection of the principles of free speech, are traits he passed down to my father, and to me and my brother and sisters. The importance of independent thought, the desire to seek and convey the truth, are vital characteristics that we must fight for. The ethical and spiritual sole within us, our empathy for those suffering injustice, is far purer and far greater than the politicised laws of governments that seek to suppress it. Those with power do what they can, and the rest do what they must.
Liberation Day is a time for celebration, and also a time for reflection. The festivities around the island reflect the importance of freedom – freedom of person, freedom of movement, and freedom of thought. I’ll be contemplating on what my grandfather would think of the world today, the progress we have made, and asking myself whether he would be very disappointed in what we have achieved.
