During the German occupation of Jersey, a stonemason repairing the paving of the Royal Square incorporated a V for victory under the noses of the occupiers. This was later amended to refer to the Red Cross ship Vega. The addition of the date 1945 and a more recent frame has transformed it into a monument. The Royal Navy blockaded the islands from time to time, particularly following the liberation of mainland Normandy in 1944. There was considerable hunger and privation during the five years of German occupation, particularly in the final months when the population was close to starvation. Intense negotiations resulted in some Red Cross humanitarian aid, leading to the arrival of the Red Cross supply ship Vega in December 1944.
The end of the occupation came only after VE-Day on 8 May 1945. Jersey and Guernsey were liberated on 9 May 1945. The German garrison in Alderney did not surrender until 16 May 1945 and was one of the last of the Nazi German remnants to surrender. The first evacuees returned on the first sailing from the UK on 23 June,[7] but the population of Alderney was unable to start returning until December 1945.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_Islands
