The Guernsey Society is an organisation for people with an interest in the

Bailiwick of Guernsey The Bailiwick of Guernsey (french: Bailliage de Guernesey; Guernésiais: ''Bailliage dé Guernési'') is an island country off the coast of France as one of the three Crown Dependencies. Separated from the Duchy of Normandy by and under the t ...

Society aims

The Guernsey Society aims are to promote, maintain and stimulate interest in all matters concerning the

, its past, present and future - and keeping alive the ''Spirit of Guernsey'' both in the islands and overseas. *Publish ''The Review of the Guernsey Society'' three times a year - a high quality magazine with articles on Guernsey's past, present and future *Organise meetings - both formal and informal - in

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and elsewhere *Provide a network for anyone with an interest in Guernsey

History of the Society

The Guernsey Society was formed in 1943 to represent the interests of the island to the British Government during the

German Occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

, and to establish a network for Guernsey evacuees in the United Kingdom. The Society was the idea of three Guernseymen based in London: Sir

Donald Banks Major-General Sir Thomas MacDonald "Donald" Banks (31 March 1891 – 11 July 1975) was a British Army officer, senior civil servant and a founder member and first Chairman of the Guernsey Society. Family Banks was born in Guernsey on 31 Mar ...

, Air Commodore Henry Le Marchant Brock and Colonel Guy Durand Ozanne. Banks became the first Chairman, and Brock became the first Secretary. Other notable founder members included: actor Barry Jones, Professor John Le Patourel, Sir William Arnold and Professor Herbert Fleure.

Publications

The Society has published a regular magazine since 1945. ''The Bulletin'' appeared eight times during 1945 and 1946. It became ''Quarterly Review of the Guernsey Society'' in January 1947, and continued until 1971, when the frequency was reduced to three times a year, and the title changed to ''The Review of the Guernsey Society''. Since its inception it has published articles from a wide range of respected Guernsey figures including

Ambrose Sherwill Sir Ambrose James Sherwill (12 February 1890 – 25 September 1968) was Bailiff of Guernsey from 1946 to 1959. In the early months of World War II, he helped in the administration of the Channel Islands when they were occupied by the Germans. ...

, John Le Patourel, James Marr,

Marie de Garis Marie de Garis MBE (''née'' Le Messurier; 15 June 1910 – 10 August 2010) was a Guernsey author and lexicographer who wrote the ''Dictiounnaire Angllais-Guernésiais'' (English-Guernésiais dictionary), the first edition of which was published ...

and TF Priaulx. In the summer of 1944, the newly formed Society was instrumental in organising, together with prominent members of the Jersey Society in London, a symposium in Oxford to start planning for the future of the Channel Islands following their liberation from

Nazi Occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 ...

. The result was the publication of a book, ''Nos Iles'', which was widely read by members of the States of Guernsey and States of Jersey, and became known as "the Liberation Army's bible". The Society has also published a number of books on the island and its history: * Durand, R, ''Guernsey under German Rule'', 1946 - one of the first accounts to be published about life during the

* Eagleston, AJ, ''Channel Islands Under Tudor Government'', 1951 *Members of the Guernsey Society, ''The Guernsey Farmhouse'', 1963 - a survey of the architecture of Guernsey farmhouses *''Guernsey Ways'', 1966 - a selection of articles from the Review, published to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William the Conqueror, William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godw ...

* Marr, LJ, ''More Guernsey People'', 1992 - the sequel to Marr's ''Guernsey People'' biographical dictionary (published 1984) * Johnston, Peter ''A Short History of Guernsey'', 2014. * Durand, R, ''Guernsey under German Rule'', 2018 - the society published a new edition of this work, which had long been out of print, to mark the 75th Anniversary of the society. The new edition includes a Foreword by the Bailiff of Guernsey, Sir Richard Collas, and an introduction by Vice Chairman, Stephen Foote.

Notability

Articles from ''The Review'', as well as other Society publications, have been influential and widely used as source material for authoritative works on the island's history. Examples include: * ''The Guernsey Farmhouse'' provided the inspiration for John McCormack's ''The Guernsey House''. *

' ''Folklore of Guernsey'' started off as a series of articles published in ''The Review'' during the 1970s. * The following published doctoral theses cite a number of articles from ''The Review'' amongst their references: ** Stevens-Cox, Gregory, ''St Peter Port 1680-1830: the history of an international entrepot'', Boydell Press (1999) ** Crossan, Rose-Marie, ''Guernsey 1814-1914: Migration and Modernisation'', Boydell Press (2007) * Edward Chaney's series of articles (1994–95) about G B Edwards, the reclusive author of

The Book of Ebenezer Le Page ''The Book of Ebenezer Le Page'' is a novel by English writer Gerald Basil Edwards first published in the United Kingdom by Hamish Hamilton in 1981, and in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf in the same year. It has since been published by Pe ...

formed the basis for the authoritative biography ''Genius Friend: G.B. Edwards and The Book of Ebenezer Le Page'', published b
Blue Ormer Publishing
in 2015. * The official history of the

Occupation of the Channel Islands The military occupation of the Channel Islands by Nazi Germany lasted for most of the Second World War, from 30 June 1940 until liberation on 9 May 1945. The Bailiwick of Jersey and Bailiwick of Guernsey are two island countries and British ...

, commissioned by the governments of

and

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

in 1970, lists among its references ''Nos Iles'' and Durand's ''Guernsey Under German Rule'' (see above). * Eagleston's book ''The Tudor Administration of the Channel Islands'' is widely cited, and seen as the reference work for this period in the islands' history.

Activities

The Society organises regular formal and informal meetings in London and Guernsey. In 2010, the Society launched ''Donkipedia'', a wiki dedicated to the Bailiwick of Guernsey.Donkipedia
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References

{{Reflist, 40em

External links

Guernsey Society official web site
Guernsey diaspora Guernsey expatriates Guernsey culture Society of Guernsey Clubs and societies in Guernsey Clubs and societies in London Guernsey Society, Review of the Magazines published in London Eight times annually magazines published in the United Kingdom Triannual magazines published in the United Kingdom Local interest magazines published in the United Kingdom