The Channel Islands have become members of international remembrance trail, ‘The Liberation Route Europe’, with VisitGuernsey leading on the combined membership.
The membership comes as the islands prepare to mark the 75th anniversary of their liberation at the end of World War II (WWII).
The Liberation Route was formed in 2008 with the objective of sharing WWII knowledge and stories with the general public, to commemorate, educate and reflect on the historical events of WWII.
With points of interest spanning nine countries, including France, the Netherlands and the UK, featuring famous WWII points of interest such as the Normandy Landings beaches and memorials, the Route has a strong following from ‘remembrance’ tourists living in Europe, the UK and also in Canada and the USA.
Visitors follow the Route digitally via a dedicated consumer website and a mobile phone application. Via the app, visitors use geolocations to navigate to various points of interest along the Route, and are then presented with written, pictorial, audio and video histories of the location in question and its role in the liberation of Europe during WWII.
15 liberation-oriented points of interest have been selected for the Islands of Guernsey’s section of the Route, including locations in Herm, Sark and Alderney. Sites include Castle Cornet, the White Rock Pier, L’Ancresse and Creux Harbour, along with museums such as the German Occupation Museum and Alderney Museum. Stops on the Route will be visible to the public through the use of Liberation Route ‘Vectors of Memory’ – metal wall and floor vector emblems – to be accompanied by a short overview of the location.
In Jersey, points of interest include Elizabeth Castle, Liberation Square and Noirmont Point.
Mike Hopkins, director of Marketing & Tourism, said: ‘After over two years of hard work by the VisitGuernsey team, we are delighted that the Islands of Guernsey have been accepted for membership of The Liberation Route Europe. This allows us to showcase the islands’ unique occupation and liberation history to almost 400,000 Liberation Route website visitors and 28,000 social and app followers, all with an interest in WWII remembrance tourism. We also look forward to establishing new relationships with specialist European and North American tour operators via this prestigious network.’
Helen Glencross, acting head of Heritage Services, added: ‘Membership of the Liberation Route brings access to an international network of almost 300 members and partners, who are WWII heritage professionals. This presents a great opportunity for both the Heritage Services team and industry stakeholders to share knowledge, stories and best practice with like-minded individuals, for the support and preservation of our islands’ WWII heritage.’
The Channel Islands’ membership of the Route was recently launched at the Liberation Route Europe Annual Conference in Brussels. Representatives from Guernsey and Jersey travelled to Belgium for the conference.
Chris Addy, Sites Curator at Jersey Heritage, said: ‘It was an honour to represent the Channel Islands with my colleagues from Guernsey at the LRE conference, and ensure that the islands’ life-changing Liberation events, extraordinary community stories and historic locations associated with them take their place alongside those of our European counterparts. We hope that our involvement in the initiative will help to raise awareness of the unique Channel Islands perspective, and encourage visitors to follow in the footsteps of our Liberators, particularly on the year of the 75th anniversary.’
Rémi Praud, managing director of the Liberation Route Europe said: ‘We are delighted to welcome the Islands of Guernsey and the Channels Islands as members of the Liberation Route Europe, and to include such interesting and unique stories and remembrance sites to our route. We are looking forward to cooperating with our new partners and together keeping the memory of the war alive, especially for the young generations.’
For more information about the Liberation Route and its points of interest in the Channel Islands, visit the website www.liberationroute.com
