Christmas 1945 in Jersey: Bikes, turkey and freedom

New bikes and radios, a scramble for turkey and a taste of freedom are the standout memories for people who remember Christmas 1945 in Jersey.

It was the first Christmas following the five-year occupation of the island by the Germans during World War Two.

Lucy Layton, Jersey Museum’s exhibition curator, said new bikes to replace those run into the ground and radios to replace those confiscated during the Occupation were popular gifts.

A lucky few residents also got their first taste of turkey in several years as 750 of the birds were allocated to be shared by the population of 45,000.

Gerald Le Cocq, 91, was 10 when the war ended and 11 on Christmas Day 1945. He remembers being given a second-hand Elswick bicycle and a football and eating cockerel for dinner.

He said the main difference between the Christmas festivities of 1945 and during the occupation was the freedom of movement.

Ms Layton said bikes would have been a popular Christmas present after the war.

“Most bikes in the island had been pretty much run into the ground during the occupation, tyres were thread-bare,” she said.

Ms Layton said many radios would also have been gifted in 1945 because they had been confiscated by German soldiers to prevent islanders from listening to British news.

Mr Le Cocq said he ate cockerel on Christmas Day throughout the occupation because his family owned poultry. He added the birds were kept inside overnight to stop them being stolen from outside their home in St Martin.

Some Jersey residents were able to eat turkey on Christmas Day in 1945.

Ms Layton said: “The island was only allocated 750 turkeys, so for a population of about 45,000 that was a real dilemma about how they were going to distribute those.”

Food rations were still in place at the end of 1945 and were controlled by the States of Jersey Department for Essential Commodities.

Ms Layton said: “After five years of restrictions there was a real excitement about being able to celebrate in freedom, to be able to come and go when you want and not be subject to curfews.”

She said traditional events such as the Boxing Day car sprints on the Five Mile Road returned.

She added: “I think there was a lot of wanting to return back to normal as quickly as possible.”