Those behind the initiative to remember the Red Cross ship and its life saving missions to Guernsey will aim to get a memorial in place for 7 May 2025.

Historian Paul le Pelley and the C.I. Occupation Society had been hoping to get a plaque in place on the States owned building at the corner of the Cambridge Berth in time for 27 December 2024, the 80th anniversary of the SS Vega sailing into Guernsey for the first time:

"It's stalled, partly because of us not knowing what the planning permissions were. We were hopefully going to get it supported by Education Sport and Culture, meaning there would be no fees involved. But I'm now told there are no exemptions for States committees, so we have to go through the whole planning procedure and pay all the fees."

Mr le Pelley says, instead, the aim will be to have the memorial ready for the 80th anniversary of the Liberation commemorations in May 2025:

"We're now hoping to get it ready for the anniversary of the summer visit of the Vega on May 7 1945."

"The States-owned building is leased by AB Marine and they have no objection to a plaque going on the wall. We haven't gone ahead and planned the shape of the plaque yet, but I have something in mind."

Mr le Pelley has carried out extensive research into the boat and its life saving missions to get Red Cross food parcels into Guernsey and Jersey.

After the summer of 1944 it was difficult for the German occupying forces to get provisions from France into the islands without vessels running the risk of being attacked by the Allies, who controlled the French coast.

Mr le Pelley says a fisherman who escaped the island in early November 1944 told the authorities in London about the scarcity of food. At the same time, the Germans agreed to the Bailiff making an appeal on German radio. These two events ensured both the British authorities and the Red Cross knew about the population running out of food, and they acted within weeks:

"The ship came up from Portugal and had to rendezvous off the Hanois. Then it was escorted into St Peter Port. When it was unloaded, only a third came off, as it was a ratio of one third for Guernsey and two thirds for Jersey, as their population was bigger. It did that six times."

He says the first food parcels were given out on New Year's Eve, 1944:

"It was a Sunday. 125 shops opened on a Sunday, to distribute parcels. You can imagine a Methodist Island, but everything went out of the window to distribute the parcels, thank goodness."