In 1940, Germany invaded the British Channel Islands, including the tiny isle of Sark, the home of Dame Sibyl Hathaway.
Warplanes flew over the defenseless islands, dropping bombs and killing several people. They were not freed until May 1945.
All the islands suffered under German rule, but some fared worse than others. For instance, the island of Alderney contained four forced labor sites and the only concentration camp on British soil during Nazi occupation. The island was virtually destroyed by the end of the war.
However, Sark had managed to emerge from the war relatively intact. Even though it did not have a modern defense network, or even electricity, it did have feudalism, which was the one advantage Sark had over the other islands.
Sark was the least affected of all the islands, thanks to Dame Sibyl Hathaway. The island had a population of just 400 inhabitants and was the last fiefdom of the Western world.
For 400 years, it had followed 16th-century Norman law, and 61-year-old Dame Sibyl served as the feudal overlord.
When William the Conqueror invaded Britain, he took possession of the Channel Islands. Today, they are the property of the British Crown but are politically independent from the U.K. There is no income tax, welfare, or national health service on Sark.
Queen Elizabeth I established a fief on the island in the 15th century to bring law and order. Before then, Sark had been overrun with pirates and thieves.
When Dame Sibyl found out that the Germans were approaching, she decided to follow the tradition of old Norman law, which stated that Sark’s tenants were sworn to protect the island from invaders.
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Her people were given the option to evacuate like the rest of the islands, but they all decided to stay put. This turned out to be for the best.
Germany considered the Channel Islands a secure location, making them an ideal posting for its most elite soldiers.
As a result, most of the officers stationed there were mainly from the aristocracy. Dame Sibyl met these German officers calmly and with dignity when they came to her home to establish some rules.
The officers were impressed by her social grace and treated her with respect. Their respect played a key role in maintaining the island until its liberation.
She expected the German soldiers to approach her, not the other way around, and insisted that they greet her by bowing and kissing her hand before taking their seats.
She engaged in polite discussions with them and was able to acquire useful information. Her relationship with the aristocratic officer class proved to be significant in successfully protecting her people.
When the Allies landed just one week after Hitler had taken his own life, Dame Sibyl met with a group of British soldiers to talk about the terms of the surrender.
Once the surrender was complete, Lieutenant Colonel K. Allen asked the Dame if she would be okay with him removing his troops from Sark because they were needed elsewhere.
Apparently, Dame Sibyl rolled her eyes, as she had been fending off the Nazis for five years without any help from England. With that, the British liberation team left, and the Dame regained control of her island.
The Dame of Sark died in 1974 at the age of 90. She will forever be remembered as the classy, charming woman who led her people to freedom.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
