The Garden of Reflection
As
part of its plan to present a wider experience of the German Occupation
to visitors, Jersey War Tunnels has created a Garden of Reflection in the
area immediately outside the Café of the Visitor Centre. Entrance
to the garden is free.
Opened to the public at the beginning of the 2003 season, the idea was to introduce an area of peace and tranquillity in which to ponder the images of ‘Captive Island’ and to reflect on the effects of war in general.
The banks of the garden have been reinforced with timber slatted walls on which over 50 steel plaques have been fixed, each engraved with an Occupation or general conflict-related fact that is designed to cause the visitor to reflect on the information.
Another 50 steel and concrete plaques have been inlaid into the lawns and flower beds, each commemorating a Jersey resident who died as a direct consequence of the Occupation. Further names will be added when research is completed later this year.
The Garden of Reflection is cleverly constructed to impart information through the use of simple design that compliments the tranquillity of the surrounding environment. Contrasting as it does with the audio-visual experience of the tunnels of Ho8 and the bustling Visitor Centre, here, the visitor has time to draw breath and reflect on the Occupation and on conflict in general.