When the tea ran out

By the end of July 1941, people on Sark were drying blackberry and rose leaves to make tea.

Coffee substitutes were made from sugar beet, parsnip, barley and dried carrot. Tobacco was stretched with dock leaves, clover heads and coltsfoot. The Sark Visitor Centre’s 2020 booklet, Sark: An Island Occupied, says the mixture smelt like old bonfires.

Sark could produce food, but not every supply

Early in the occupation Sark still had pork, milk and butter. Sark: An Island Occupied says some German soldiers sent Sark butter home to Germany.

The SS Staffa was initially allowed to sail between Guernsey and Sark three times a week, bringing coal, paraffin, food and flour.

Fishing continued under restrictions. At one stage, boats could leave only during fixed daytime hours rather than according to the tides. Catches fell until the rules were changed.

The weekly allowance of local meat, when it was available, could be half a pound including bones and sometimes only six ounces.

Household materials were reused

When toilet rolls ran out, people reused the red and green paper in which Guernsey tomatoes had been wrapped. When that supply disappeared, Sark: An Island Occupied records the use of dock leaves.

Blankets became coats. When sewing thread ran out, old sheets were torn into strips and individual threads were teased out for reuse.

Children’s boots were opened at the toes so they could be worn as feet grew. Slippers for children were made from rug wool, felt from old hats and salvaged leather.

Three hundred more soldiers arrived

In October 1941, another 300 German soldiers came to Sark.

The following month, coal and paraffin arrived for the troops. Sark: An Island Occupied says none was given to islanders.

Large quantities of flour were reportedly stored for military use while residents hid small supplies of potatoes.

Isolation deepened after June 1944

The Normandy landings in June 1944 left the Channel Islands increasingly isolated from German supply routes.

By November, starvation was a threat across the Channel Islands. On Sark, horses were slaughtered for meat before cattle because cattle could still provide milk. Potatoes were stolen from fields. German soldiers harvesting root crops ate tubers raw as they worked.

The SS Vega brought relief

In December 1944, Britain, Germany and the International Red Cross agreed that relief supplies could enter the Channel Islands.

The Swedish ship SS Vega brought food, medical supplies and other essentials for civilians. Its cargo included food parcels for islanders. German soldiers did not receive those parcels.

For the wider occupation story, read Sark in the Second World War. If you want to spend longer on the island, see retreats on Sark.