Jersey postage stamps issued during the German Occupation
German Occupation postage stamps
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fter the stock of stamps held in the Island's Post Offices became exhausted during the latter end of 1940, letters had to be handed over the counter with cash in order to be franked by postmark. Though correspondence could only be despatched for inter-insular or local deliveries, this arrangement soon proved to be inconvenient and was presently obviated by the issue, under the orders of the Occupying Authority, of stamps designed and printed locally.
Arms of England
The designs thus approved bore the name of the island, the value of the stamp and the shield of arms of England as borne on the royal seals issued c1290 by Edward I to his Bailiff in each bailiwick.
The heraldically improper manner by which these arms became known as the arms of Guernsey and Jersey respectively was explained in an article entitled "The Leopards of England and the Channel Islands" published in our Bulletin for 1943. This true nature of the arms was fortunately unknown to the Germans, who otherwise might well have suppressed the leopards and compelled us to display their barbarous swastika instead.
In January 1941 I was asked by our Bailiff to design a 1d stamp for Jersey and told to base my design on one which had already been approved in Guernsey by the Germans, who would sanction no other.
Not being anxious to assist the Nazis in any way, I hesitated to accede to this request until it occurred to me that it afforded a good opportunity to insult our conquerors with impunity, hence the insertion of the four minute 'A's in the corners of the design which were intended to stand for “Ad Avernum, Adolphe Atrox": that is to say "To Hell with you, Atrocious Adolf".
This stamp was issued very appropriately on 1 April 1941; but only a small proportion was used for the purpose for which it was intended, the bulk being greedily purchased, with a view to ultimate gain, by a host of German and local collectors and speculators.
The ½d stamp did not appear until 20 January 1942, when the corner letters were changed to 'A' 'A' and 'B' 'B', signifying "Atrocious Adolf" and "Bloody Benito". In connection with these stamps I asked for no fee as a designer, nor was I offered one.
Evening Post
Both the 1d and ½d designs were printed under the most adverse conditions by the “Evening Post" of Jersey and the photographer responsible for their reproduction was J Higginbotham, a member of their staff. The 1d stamp was printed in carmine on various papers and the ½d in green, and though the difficulties encountered resulted inevitably in many blemishes and irregularities, these merely enhanced the value of the stamps in the eyes of ardent collectors and increased the acquisitive zest of the keener types of philatelist.
The next stamps to be issued were known as the Pictorials. These miniature works of art were designed by our member Edmund Blampied and engraved by Henri Cortot in Paris. They were printed by the French Government Printing Works at the Postes, Telegraphes et Telephones in Paris.
The following list is taken from Jersey under the Swastika by R Mollet
| 1943 | June 1 | ½d Green | Entrance to an old Jersey Farm |
| June 1 | 1d Red | Portelet Bay | |
| June 8 | 1½d Brown | La Corbiere Lighthouse. | |
| June 8 | 2d Orange | Elizabeth Castle | |
| June 29 | 3d Blue | Mont Orgueil Castle | |
| June 29 | 3d Violet | Seaweed gatherers at La Rocco Tower |
360,000 stamps of each value in sheets of 60 stamps.
Further printings were as follows :-
- 1943 ½d – 120,000
- 1943 1d – 240,000
- 1944 ½d – 240,000
- 1944 2½d – 360,000
The last two lots were printed on an inferior paper and the gum was thin and dull. The taste of the gum was not recorded.
Royal cipher
A patriotic motif was introduced by Mr Blampied in his design for the 3d stamp, whereon the Royal cipher, GR, appears in the scroll-work in the base of the triangle which encloses the 3d.
C J d'Authreau, Acting Head Postmaster of Jersey, had the kindness to supply the following valuable details :-
- The amount paid to the Evening Post for the first 1d and ½d stamps was £155 17s (£72 in 1941, £47 10s in 1942 and £36 7s in 1943).
- The amount paid to the French firm for the six 'pictorials' was £548 7s 5d (£464 in 1943 and £36 2s 5d and £48 5s 6d in March and May 1944 respectively.
- The fee paid to Edmund Blampied, the designer of the 'pictorials' was £60.
A Guernsey first day cover posted to Jersey in 1941
A Jersey first day cover from 1943
1942 first day cover
A States provisional stamp overprinted with a swastika
English stamps overprinted with a swastika
English stamps overprinted with a swastike - withdrawn under protest before they were issued
Stamps were cut in half in Jersey and Guernsey to match postage rates
A 1943 proof
This is something of a mystery. The envelope, containing 1943 stamps, is marked as a first day cover. But it could not have been posted to England during the Occupation. The date on the postmark cannot be read
This is a forgery. A very limited number of English stamps were overprinted in this way as a trial in 1940, but were never put into circulation. None are known to have been overprinted later in the Occupation
An unusual cover with both Guernsey and Jersey stamps from 1941. Although the envelope is postmarked November 1944, we suspect that this was a post-war forgery, because it is difficult to understand how a cover commemorating the 1941 issues of both islands would have been issued three years later in the final months of the Occupation
An cover created for a collector and not for posting, containing UK, Jersey and German stamps
