Letters from Army administrator

Two letters written after
the Liberation in 1945

Lieut-Col Taylor

These letters were written in May 1945 to his wife by Lieut-Col James Taylor, the Army officer in charge of facilitating the Island's return to normal administration in the weeks immediately following the Liberation

Civil Affairs Unit

Lieut-Col James Taylor was one of the first Army officers to set foot in Jersey on Liberation Day, 9 May 1945, and he had the most important function of all.

He was in charge of the Civil Affairs Unit, whose function was to assist the island administration to return to normality after the departure of the occupying German forces.

The States Superior Council, led by the Bailiff, Alexander Coutanche, which had been the administrative authority under the Germans during the Occupation, was now in full control, but subject in the early days to any Defence orders issued by the liberating force commander, Lieut-Col William Robinson.

Lieut-Col Taylor's role was effectively to act as a 'fixer'. He and his department were charged with sourcing anything not currently available - bicycles for postmen, for example - and to oversee the big clean-up of German fortifications, from landmines to ammunition dumps to heavy artillery.

He worked very closely with the heads of States departments, and particularly with the Bailiff, Alexander Coutanche, with whom he formed such a close friendship that, having been invited to stay at his St Brelade home, remained there throughout the months he spent in Jersey.

Letters

He wrote many letters to his wife during his time in the island, two of which, written in the fortnight after he arrives, are now held by Jersey Archive. They provide a fascinating insight into his work and the state of the island in the days immediately following the Liberation.

The first shows that he was not an admirer of his fellow Lieut-Col, who was in overall command of the forces sent to Liberate the island and organise the removal of all Germans and as much of their equipment as possible.

He described William Robinson as 'a Lt-Col who doesn't fail to let people know that he has been a Brigadier and who wears white gloves and generally makes a noise and is goodhearted, but is always "registering' personality".'

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  Lt-Col Taylor with Bailiff Alexander Coutanche and his wife, with whom he stayed during his time in Jersey
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  Evening meals in the Coutanche household were formal affairs. The Coutanches had two servants

Lieut-Col Taylor's letters to his wife

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