Silences mark 80th anniversary of Sark raid

Two silences have been held to mark the 80th anniversary of a military operation on Sark in which two people died.

Operation Hardtack 7 was one of a number of British commando raids in the Channel Islands and northern France in December 1943, during World War Two.

It involved British and French soldiers who attempted to come ashore at Hog's Back, but found a track heavily mined.

Pte Andre Dignac and Cpl Robert Bellamy were killed and several others injured.

John Hunt, branch treasurer at Sark Branch Royal British Legion, said: "They were supposed to come to Sark on 25 and 26 December but they weren't able to climb the rocks at Derribal.

"They came back on 26 and 27 and decided to climb the rocks at Hog's Back.

"Unfortunately because of the previous raid a year before, Operation Basalt, they had mined the track from Hog's Back and unfortunately the men walked into this minefield.

"It immediately killed two men and left a number wounded. They decided to withdraw and get back to England having failed in their mission unfortunately."

On Wednesday, a wreath was laid at Hog's Back with a two minute silence, followed by another silence at the cemetery in memory of the two soldiers who died.

Poor weather meant a delegation from Guernsey and the Honorary French consul could not attend.

Mr Hunt said: "As an ex-serviceman myself I believe we should remember the people that took part in these operations. I believe we should remember these people and hopefully not repeat the mistakes that were made in the past."

Follow BBC Guernsey on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. Follow BBC Jersey on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. Send your story ideas to [email protected].