Widow 'happy' her Occupation hero husband is being memorialised

Gordon Prigent and 34 other Occupation heroes in the Channel Islands are being memorialised with Stolpersteine.

The late Mr Prigent will have a brass cobblestone dedicated to him on Hope Street, in St Helier, Jersey, where he used to live.

During the Occupation, Gordon refused to work for the Nazis and was forced to work as a Labourer in Alderney.

His wife, Iris, says her husband suffered greatly and was affected by this for the rest of his life.

"Gordon would have been happy to think that he and many others who suffered during the German Occupation are being remembered."

However, Jersey Heritage is still trying to find the family members of 10 other Occupation survivors who are being remembered.

Gordon Prigent and Iris Prigent. Credit: Jersey Heritage

Jersey Heritage and Guernsey Museum have teamed up to launch the project in July, aiming to remember those who played a big part in the island's modern history.

Sites Curator Chris Addy, who has been working with Occupation historian Dr Gilly Carr, says the plan is for 35 stones laid across the islands.

"It's a real pleasure to us that we're able to go into this as a Channel Islands project with the support of Dr Carr and all of the research she's done over the years."

Those being honoured with a Stolperstein in Jersey are:

1. Suzanne Malherbe - The Anchorage (formerly La Rocquaise), St Brelade’s Bay
2. Lucy Schwob - The Anchorage (formerly La Rocquaise), St Brelade’s Bay
3. Emile Du Bois - 4, Samares Avenue, St Clement
4. Ruby Still - Kenton, Victoria Road, St Clement
5. Michael Ginns - Les Mars, La Rue Maraval, Grouville (now part of the Beausite Hotel)
6. Victor Emanuel - 13 Royal Crescent, Don Road, St Helier (plaque to be located on public pavement)
7. Peter Hassall - Northfields, Byron Lane, St Helier
8. Emma Marshall - Tiverton, 13, Chevalier Road, St Helier
9. Gordon Prigent - 3, Hope Street, St Helier
10. Walter Gallichan - 17, Manor Park Estate, Almorah, St Helier
11. Joe Mière - 25, Midvale Road, St Helier
12. Hedwig Bercu - 28, New Street, St Helier
13. Nathan Davidson - 35, Stopford Road, St Helier
14. Antony Faramus - Windsor House, Val Plaisant, St Helier
15. Hyam Goldman - La Petite Ruche D’Or, St Peter’s Valley, St Peter
16. John Max Finkelstein - Mon Desir, Bagot, Georgetown, St Saviour
17. Jean Marie Rossi - Ypriana, 3, Chestnut Avenue, Maufant, St Saviour
18. Erica Oljenick - 8, Overseas, Dicq Road, St Saviour
19. Esther Lloyd - Wye Dean, Georgetown Park Estate, St Saviour
20. Harold Le Druillenec - Westdene, Langley Avenue, St Saviour.

Jersey Heritage has been unable to find the families of those with their names and addresses in bold.

German artist Gunter Demnig. Credit: Jersey Heritage.

Each Stolperstein, which translates to 'stumble stone', is around 10 cm by 10 cm.

They are called stumble stones because the idea is that people will, in some cases literally, stumble across them.

The initial project was created by German artist Gunter Demnig in 1992, and there are more than 100,000 laid across mainland Europe.

The British Isles received its first brass cobblestone in 2022 (as seen above and below), to commemorate Ava Van Dantzig, a 25-year-old Dutch woman of Jewish heritage, outside her workplace in London.

Gunter will visit the Channel Islands in July to help install some of the Stolpersteine in Jersey and Guernsey.

Ada Van Dantzig's Stolperstein in London, UK. Credit: Jersey Heritage.