What's in your pocket, Peg? by Penny Byrne illustrated by Lauren Radley

What's in your pocket, Peg? A story of life in occupied Jersey

I mentioned in a recent post that I visited the Channel Island recently and in particular I spent time in Jersey. The Channel Islands were occupied by the Germans during World War II. Here are a few facts:

• 19th June 1940 The population of Jersey is 23,000. On this date 6,000 islanders left on advice of the government
• 28th June 1940 The island is bombed and 44 islanders are killed.
• 2nd July 1940 Jersey surrenders
• 1940 Islanders instructed to change their clocks to German time and the curfew is 11pm. Cars now have to drive on the right and people can only listen to German radio stations. Everyone is issued with an identity card
• 1941 there are 12,000 German soldiers on the island and fishing is banned
• 1941 the Germans deported 2,300 islanders
• 1942 radios are banned
• 30th December 1944 the SS Vega arrives with 120,000 food parcels, medical supplies, 5 tons of salt and 4 tons of soap.
• 9th May 1944 Liberation Day

The end papers of What's in your pocket, Peg? are filled with photographs of islanders and original documents such as a curfew pass, fuel coupons, Jersey stamps, an identity card, a letter from King George VI, coins, and the Red Cross parcel distribution notice. 

What's in your pocket, Peg? recounts the events of the occupation through the eyes of a child and in a dual language text. Jèrriais is the traditional language of Jersey. During the occupation islanders used it as a secret language.

So, what was in her pocket? You can see some of these things on the front cover. At first, she had some sweets - humbugs and barley sugars. When the neighbours leave, she has a photo of her friend. After the bombing and all the potato trucks are destroyed Peg collects a small piece of shrapnel. On the day the islanders surrender people hang out white flags. Peg has her Aunt Edith's white bloomers which she uses as a flag. On the next page Peg is holding her papa's watch because now they live under a curfew. The family hide their radio. Peg has some copper wire in her pocket. To keep up morale the islanders produce a secret newspaper, and they make small badges from coins. Peg has a victory badge in her pocket. 

Food is now scarce but there are blackberries in the hedgerows. Then Peg finds a turnip in the fields - it is not much but they will share it. Finally, the ship arrives with supplies. On this page we don't see Peg's pocket, instead we see inside the parcel - cheese, coffee, butter, sugar, raisins, sardines, soap and best of all a bar of chocolate. On the final page Papa comes home with a wonderful gift for Peg - an orange!

I did a one-day tour in Jersey and the guide told lots of very interesting stories about this time. In the market one of the fruit sellers used the inside of paper bags to pass on messages to the resistance. One day a young worker accidentally placed some fruit purchased by a young German solider in one of these bags. When he saw the writing he demanded to know what it said. This girl was young and a bit dreamy, but she quickly invented a story that this was a love poem to her sweetheart and luckily the soldier believed her.

This book will probably be quite impossible to find in Australia but if you live in the UK it is available from their major book sellers. The ISBN is 9781838532543 and the publisher is the Independent Publishing Network. This book was published in 2020.

EDIT - Penny Byrne replied to my Instagram post and she said:

Thank you for this! Am heading to Perth in Feb 2025 if anyone needs me to bring copies with me to post from there! I have done 12 children’s books that are either based in Jersey or have some link to it - pop onto my website for a peek pennybyrneauthor.com Always grateful to have readers around the world 🌎 💖

Here is a photo of the author with her books:

"I’ve always wanted to write a children’s book about the Occupation, and the Liberation 75 celebrations seemed the perfect time to do it. The book is designed to work on a number of levels – to appeal to younger readers who might enjoy guessing what is in Peg’s pocket, as well as to older children who want to discover what life was like under German rule. There is plenty of other information for teachers and adults as well. Thanks to our very generous sponsors and the Co-op, all proceeds from the sales of the book will be shared equally between four local charities."

See inside this book here. And check out the other vibrant work by the illustrator Lauren Radley. 

Here is the statue in Liberation Square in St Helier Jersey.