Posted on 05/10/2020 11:09:26 AM PDT by thecodont
When Germany invaded the Isle of Sarkthe last foothold of feudalism in the western worldDame Sibyl Hathaway protected her people with the unlikeliest of weapons: Feudal etiquette, old-world manners, and a dollop of classic snobbery.
Dame Sibyl Hathaway had 275 Nazi prisoners on her hands and knew exactly what she wanted to do with them.
It was May 1945. Five years earlier, Germany had invaded Hathaways home in the British Channel Islands, a tiny isle of 400 called Sark. Despite having no modern defense network or fancy gun emplacementsit didnt even have electricitySark had proven itself to be uniquely prepared for its unwelcome visitors. The island had an advantage that the rest of Europe had discarded centuries earlier: feudalism.
(Excerpt) Read more at mentalfloss.com ...
What a great article, especially on Mother’s Day.
Thanks for sharing.
images:
http://www.google.com/search?q=isle+of+sark&tbm=isch
smears in The (so-called) Independent:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/a-poisonous-paradise-mps-told-of-tensions-on-isle-of-sark-9062696.html
smears in The (so-called) Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/oct/07/sarks-top-police-officer-says-channel-island-awash-with-criminals
Good story.
Dame of Sark, but she was a seigneur (feudal lord), so I guess that’s why the headline calls her that.
Hey, read the entire story . Liked the part about the Germans making butter out of skim milk! Thanks for the post.
“Dame of Sark, but she was a seigneur (feudal lord), so I guess thats why the headline calls her that.”
The term for female is seigneuresse.
I think bob’s point is a good one.
**On May 8, 1945**
The Germans were still threatening them on VE day?
Nazi sympathizers/ex-Germany soldiers were still targeting GI soldiers when they occupied Germany well into 1949..
Fascinating stuff, thanks for posting!
Dame Sybil in 1945.
thanks great post.
our pastor just gave a great sermon on the “Wise Woman” for Mother’s Day, which he summarized by making three biblical points about her:
1. She builds her house.
2. She hears good council and accepts correction when necessary.
2. She’s made up her mind (her heart is not divided).
In the article, Dame Sybil, imo, perfectly exemplified those three principles under the dire circumstance of German occupation and completely qualifies as a very wise woman and mother.
we all would do well to follow her example under present circumstances.
Thanks for the article. I never had even heard of Sark.
My great-grandmother did much the same with the Nazis on her manor in Lithuania. Although she was fluent in German, she would only speak in French to the Germans, so the only officers that came by were French speaking.
Any relation to Cutty Sark (hic)?
I sure learned some things today. Thanks for posting.
A really great, informative and humorous , entertaining article. Thanks for posting this. It is marvelous.
I learned that Sark is an actual place from a Bergerac episode.
feudalism bump
“Lady” is just a courtesy title with no legal power.
A British Red Cross ship arrived when the Germans cleared out of the island. They had British food parcels and American food parcels. The islanders swarmed the ship. They threw back the British food parcels and chose the American food parcels. I know for a fact, though supplied with healthy food in the war, luxury appetizing foods were very scarce. This for the ordinary Briton.
I also heard the American and Canadian food parcels were intercepted by the British bureaucrats. For themselves and friends. We kids got a bag of apples labelled from Canada as our food parcel. Distributed to the local school.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.