John F Hanley
Jack Renouf Novel Series
John Hanley grew up in Jersey surrounded by the ruins of the WW2 German Occupation. His mother lived through it and every adult he knew had a story to tell. His passion in the 1960s was swimming and water polo and he virtually lived at the JSC swimming pool during the summer months. He was fascinated by the war and often wondered what it would have been like if he had been nineteen in 1939 and not 1965 and off to war instead of drama school in London. After retirement, he tried to find out and started writing this series which chronicles the lives, loves, and losses of four friends; Jack, Saul, Caroline, and Rachel — three of whom are eventually recruited into S.O.E. (Special Operations Executive) devised by Churchill to "set Europe ablaze". In the first four books, they have fought in France, Portugal, Spain, Jersey, and now Ireland.
The next set of orders will take them to America for the fifth in the planned ten book series.
Jersey - July 1939 – population 50,000
Largest of the Channel Islands at forty-five square miles lies ten miles from France and 100 miles from England. Extensively fortified to resist French invasion, it has been a British Crown Possession for over 800 years. Its climate is ideal for agriculture and produces thousands of tons of early potatoes for the British market each year. Sheltered in the bay of St Malo, caressed by the Gulf Stream, it enjoys an even more benign tax regime. It has become a haven for the wealthy some of whom will sell their souls for money.
Channel Islands from satellite
Les Ecrehous reef between Jersey and France
Jersey from the air
Les Ecrehous Low tide
Les Ecrehous at high tide
St Catherine's with Les Ecrehous and France in the background
Surprise attack 28th June 1940
Bombing of St Helier Harbour
Jersey - German issued driving licence
German fortifications Jersey 1940-1945
Re-enactment German coastal artillery firing
1781 Battle of Jersey - British garrison defeat French invaders
Victoria College view from Fort Regent
Victoria College re-enactment
John Hanley - Press launch with water polo match in background
Jersey - July 1939 – population 50,000
Largest of the Channel Islands at forty-five square miles lies ten miles from France and 100 miles from England. Extensively fortified to resist French invasion, it has been a British Crown Possession for over 800 years. Its climate is ideal for agriculture and produces thousands of tons of early potatoes for the British market each year. Sheltered in the bay of St Malo, caressed by the Gulf Stream, it enjoys an even more benign tax regime. It has become a haven for the wealthy some of whom will sell their souls for money.
Channel Islands from satellite
Les Ecrehous reef between Jersey and France
Jersey from the air
Les Ecrehous Low tide
Les Ecrehous at high tide
St Catherine's with Les Ecrehous and France in the background
Surprise attack 28th June 1940
Bombing of St Helier Harbour
Jersey - German issued driving licence
German fortifications Jersey 1940-1945
Re-enactment German coastal artillery firing
1781 Battle of Jersey - British garrison defeat French invaders
Victoria College view from Fort Regent
Victoria College re-enactment
John Hanley - Press launch with water polo match in background
