How did your family stay connected when war kept them apart? For Channel Islanders scattered across the world, the Monthly Review (May 1941–August 1945) was a lifeline. It provided reports of letters and telegrams from those living on the occupied islands. It also printed announcements of births, marriages and deaths of Channel Islanders both on the islands and around the world. Reports from Channel Island societies kept communities united, while stories of resilience provided hope. More than a newsletter, it was a beacon of endurance in a time of separation.
How did your family stay connected when war kept them apart? For Channel Islanders scattered across the world, the Monthly Review (May 1941–August 1945) was a lifeline. It provided reports of letters and telegrams from those living on the occupied islands. It also printed announcements of births, marriages and deaths of Channel Islanders both on the islands and around the world. Reports from Channel Island societies kept communities united, while stories of resilience provided hope. More than a newsletter, it was a beacon of endurance in a time of separation.
German forces occupied the Channel Islands from June 1940 until May 1945. During the years of occupation, the Stockport and District Channel Islands Society published 47 issues of the Channel Islands Monthly Review to support Channel Island evacuees and loved ones. It became a lifeline for evacuees and those anxiously awaiting news. It carried stories of resilience and hope, updates on life under German rule, and messages of love from afar.
During the war, the usual postal service between the Channel Islands and the UK was prohibited. Families torn apart by the occupation had only one fragile thread of communication—the Red Cross message service, but the messages were strictly limited to just 25 words, heavily censored, and took months to reach their destination, winding their way through neutral countries like Switzerland before finally arriving. To make matters even harder, only direct family members could receive these precious updates. For refugees stranded in the UK, there was one lifeline—they sent their Red Cross messages to Stockport for publication in the Monthly Review, sharing what little news they had in the hope that loved ones might see it.
In the pages of the Monthly Review you will find announcements of birth, deaths and marriages during the occupation. The Society printed messages received from the Channel Islands. They were often messages of hope and comfort for those worrying about the lives of those under German occupation.
The newsletter also reported on the activities of other Channel Island Societies. It covered major orders or changes on the islands, such as the November 1942 deportations of those without permanent residence or men aged 16 to 70 born outside the islands.
The Channel Islands were liberated on 9 May 1945. The Society continued printing the Monthly Review until August 1945. The Society also promoted the collection of the evacuee ‘census.’ These were forms completed by evacuees who wished to return to Guernsey once German occupation ended.
Monthly Review Suspended
The first issue was printed in May 1941 after a long winter of little news from the islands.
The are no issues for May and June 1942. In May 1942, the Ministry of Supply suspended the publication of the Channel Island Monthly Review due to wartime regulations prohibiting the initiation of new periodicals to conserve paper supplies. This action prompted a parliamentary outcry, as documented in the Hansard records from May 12, 1942, where concerns were raised about the cessation of this vital publication for Channel Islanders. Lord Portsea stated: “This review brought comfort to thousands, for it collected all the messages that had any reference to individual families or to the islands themselves—messages which are long delayed. I have not myself heard through the Red Cross since January 9. There have been thousands of messages since then, and it is of great advantage and happiness to me and thousands of islanders fighting on this side to know what has happened to A, B, C, D, whom they have known in the islands.”
Consequently, an exception was granted, allowing the Review to resume in July 1942 as Volume 3, following the absence of May and June editions.
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