8th August 1942

Dennis Leister is deported from Jersey

Dennis Leister, known as John, arrived in Jersey less than six months before the occupation, but didn’t return to the mainland in advance of the Germans’ arrival, having apparently been so intoxicated at the time of the evacuation that he ended up in hospital and missed the boats. His father was German and his mother English.

He was arrested and convicted of theft, and sentenced to six months’ jail, to be served in Europe. After various escape attempts, of varying degrees of success, he joined the German army, married, and fled to Italy as the final battle for Berlin was getting underway. There, he was arrested, taken back to Britain to stand trial and sentenced to three years for assisting the enemy.