One More Guernsey Peer?

Baroness Jill Pitkeathley (née Bisson) tells how her son, Lord Pitkeathley of Camden Town, has joined his mother in the House of Lords, a unique combination. On the 80th anniversary of VE Day, he spoke about Guernsey’s Second World War Occupation

My parents, May and Rolly Bisson from the Capelles, were delighted when I presented them with Simon, their first grandchild and the event was even more special for us all when he actually arrived on Liberation Day! They thought that was very clever of me and he was given a middle name of Bisson in their honour.

If anyone had told me then that 60 years later that baby would address the House of Lords on the 80th anniversary of Liberation Day as Lord Pitkeathley of Camden Town I would have said it was sheer fantasy. But that is what happened and it meant that Guernsey’s experience was shared in the Lords during their important debate on the 80th anniversary of VE Day. These are his words:

My Lords, I am grateful for the opportunity to add a voice from one of the smaller corners of our national story. … Eighty years ago, the world breathed again. After years of darkness, brutality and sacrifice, peace was declared in Europe. On VE Day, and later, on VJ Day, nations rejoiced, and lives broken by war began slowly to mend. I rise with a small personal thread woven into that greater tapestry. My mother, whom some of you will know, and her family are from Guernsey, one of the beloved Channel Islands—the only part of the British Isles to endure occupation by German forces during the Second World War, as the noble Earl has already reminded us. In June 1940, my noble kinswoman, then less than a year old, was, with just 24 hours’ notice, bundled on to a boat leaving Saint Peter Port, along with half her family. The rest were either fighting abroad or chose to remain on the island and experienced, in some cases, including my own family’s, the occupying forces taking over their homes. Nearly five years later, on 8 May 1945, Winston Churchill gave his famous address to the nation. Among his words were these, simple but profound: “our dear Channel Islands … are also to be freed to-day”. He was in fact a little premature. The islands would not be fully liberated until the following day, 9 May; a day that is celebrated every year in the Channel Islands and one that is also, by happy coincidence, my birthday.

Churchill’s words, though a day early, brought immediate hope to a people who-had waited so long for freedom. What transpired between those two dates tells us stories of hardship, suffering and extraordinary resilience. For nearly five years, the islanders lived in harsh isolation. Rations dwindled to near-starvation levels; electricity failed; civilians resorted to eating candle wax and rose hips to stay alive; and the elderly died cold in their beds. Some were deported to internment camps, never to return. Yet amid hunger and fear, they showed quiet, unwavering resolve. They held fast to their community, their customs and their humanity, even as the war stripped so much else away.

Today, as we mark the 80th anniversaries, we remember not only the great battles and sweeping victories but the quiet heroism, the perseverance of civilians under occupation, the stubborn endurance of small communities far from the centres of power and the enduring spirit that kept hope alive through the darkest years. In these uncertain times today, I take hope from their example. The liberation of the Channel Islands reminds us that freedom must never be taken for granted, and that even in the most isolated places, the ideals of liberty and justice burn just as brightly. We owe a debt of gratitude to all who fought, all who endured, and all who rebuilt. Their courage brought us our freedom. Our memory of them keeps that freedom alive.

Baroness Pitkeathley, with Lord Pitkeathley of Camden Town and Lord Kennedy of Southwark, the Labour Party Chief Whip

Many readers will know that I have been a member of the House of Lords since 1997- indeed I have had the honour of addressing the Guernsey Society on my experience both in Guernsey and in London. It did not occur to me though that my son, who has followed a life path very different from my own, would one day join as a Peer in a Labour Government and that we would be the first ever mother and son to occupy those privileged positions.

My career path from the Ladies College, Bristol University, local government and the public sector always focussed on social issues, principally health, social care and carers. Simon spent years as a singer/songwriter before combining media with business and politics and becoming Chief Executive Camden Business Improvement District. Of course we always discussed politics, especially the ups and downs of the Labour Party , but never spent much time talking about the House of Lords - in fact he says now that had he known he would get a Peerage he would have paid more attention to what I said about it!

Of course you never do know exactly when or even why, you are going to be ‘raised to the peerage’ as any approaches or discussions are always treated with total confidentiality; it was therefore a complete surprise to me when just before last Christmas, Simon rang to tell me first that his daughter in law has given birth to a girl [my second great granddaughter] and second that his peerage would be announced in 2 hours time!

He was introduced in February – and I was one of his supporters – a huge honour. It was even more special that when he made his Maiden Speech I was able to sit on the Woolsack as a Deputy Speaker – a position I have held for almost 20 years.

As our interests are so different I think it unlikely that we shall be speaking in the same debates or move amendments to the same legislation, so I have not yet been able to refer to him as ‘my noble kinsman’ but I certainly hope to do so at some point. One area we share of course is an interest in Guernsey and I am delighted that Simon has joined the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Channel Islands so I look forward to attending those valuable meetings together. Another bonus is that as we live near to each other in North London he can drive me home after the many late night sittings.

There is as yet no retirement age in the Lords so I am still a very active member, but when the time comes for me to retire, Guernsey can be secure in the knowledge that another peer remains who is as interested as I am in the Island.

Jill Pitkeathley