Search for relatives of Jersey Occupation heroes set to be remembered through memorial stones

German artist Gunter Demnig is creating new memorial stones to commemorate heroes of the Occupation. Credit: Jersey Heritage

Jersey Heritage is looking for relatives of heroes from the Occupation ahead of the roll-out of Stolpersteine memorial stones across the island.

The organisation has tracked down the relatives of half of the 20 people who will be honoured by the stones but is struggling to find family for the remaining 10.

Stolpersteines, translating to 'stumble stones', are cobblestones embedded into pavements to commemorate victims and survivors of Nazism.

There are now more than 100,000 Stolpersteines laid across mainland Europe.

Each brass cap is handmade by German artist Gunter Demnig, who will visit the Channel Islands in July to install some of the 20 stones in Jersey and Guernsey, with schools and community groups expected to lay the rest.

Chris Addy from Jersey Heritage says: "The support we have received so far for the Stolpersteine project has been wonderful.

"We hope there might be an opportunity in the future to add further stones to remember people who lived through these difficult years."

Iris Prigent is involved in the project to memorialise her late husband, Gordon. Credit: Jersey Heritage / Iris Prigent

Iris Prigent's late husband, Gordon, will be commemorated after being conscripted to Alderney during Jersey's Occupation.

Iris explains: "My husband Gordon suffered greatly as a result of being sent to Alderney for refusing to work for the Occupiers.

"This experience affected him for the rest of his life.

"Gordon would have been happy to think that he and many others who suffered during the German Occupation are being remembered."

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