New memorial announced for slave labourers

A Jersey visitor destination has unveiled plans for a new public memorial to honour slave labourers who were brought to the island in World War Two.

Jersey War Tunnels, which tells the story of life in the island during the German Occupation, is planning a large sculpture called Sentinel of Souls and a commemorative trail, said owner Lance Trevellyan.

He said the aim was to "create a significant memorial that draws public attention to the terrible cost of war, the lives lost, and the human suffering endured during the Occupation".

Thousands of slave labourers were brought to the Channel Islands by the Germans to build concrete defences, including a gun emplacement at Corbiere.

Mr Trevellyan said the privately funded project, part of wider plans under way to upgrade the tunnels, would involve a consultation with local communities, artists, and historians, with local artists expected to contribute to the final design.

The tunnels are a former underground hospital complex in St Lawrence.

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