0:00:04 > 0:00:06This is Coast.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45The wild islands of the British Isles.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49Splinters of land, oceans of water.
0:00:49 > 0:00:54At times the sea protects, at others, it attacks!
0:00:54 > 0:01:00Rocky islets rise like sparkling jewels, ripe for the taking,
0:01:00 > 0:01:03a tempting target for invaders.
0:01:04 > 0:01:09From hostile incursions to the welcome influx of wildlife.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17We'll reveal surprising stories of invasions around our shores.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23My base of operations is on the Channel Islands,
0:01:23 > 0:01:29where remarkably, some German strongholds are still unexplored.
0:01:30 > 0:01:35Now I'm gearing up for an invasion of my own.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39I'm breaking into a sealed Nazi bunker.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41Nobody's seen this for more than 60 years.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47These stories tell of the Invaders of the Isles.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53My island destination
0:01:53 > 0:01:57sits in the firing line between England and France.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59I'm heading to Guernsey.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10Guernsey's the ideal place to recall both the risks
0:02:10 > 0:02:14and the rewards of invasion.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19Its islanders made good money from historic battles with France.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24I'll be exploring how swashbuckling Guernsey sailors
0:02:24 > 0:02:29ran rings around Napoleon's navy.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31But in the Second World War
0:02:31 > 0:02:35the people felt the full force of Hitler's invading army.
0:02:39 > 0:02:45Now the heavens explode each year to mark the end of German occupation.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Guernsey is celebrating its liberty.
0:02:49 > 0:02:54A night that burns bright with the memories of invasion.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00In June 1940, it wasn't friendly fire that lit up the skies.
0:03:02 > 0:03:08The dark hand of the Third Reich was about to grasp the Isle of Guernsey.
0:03:09 > 0:03:15With invasion inevitable, islanders had a stark choice, stay or go.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21I've got here a copy of the Guernsey newspaper, The Evening Press,
0:03:21 > 0:03:28dated Wednesday June 19th, 1940. It reads, "Evacuation of Children.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31"Parents must report this evening."
0:03:31 > 0:03:34Well, these parents were being given just a few hours to decide
0:03:34 > 0:03:37whether to stay or to leave the island.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41The following morning, that quayside over there was packed with people
0:03:41 > 0:03:45queuing up to board ships back to England.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47CHILD CRIES
0:03:47 > 0:03:50Seven-year-old Paulette Tapp's mother was dead
0:03:50 > 0:03:52and her father was away fighting,
0:03:52 > 0:03:56so her grandmother decided Paulette should be evacuated.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Is this you in this photograph?
0:03:59 > 0:04:03This is my grandmother. And that was me when I was three years old.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05- Did she go with you? - No, no.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09I was on my own. Completely on my own, there was nobody.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12While Paulette left for an uncertain future in England,
0:04:12 > 0:04:16on Guernsey, a little boy remained on the quayside.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18- Very good to meet you. - How do you do?
0:04:18 > 0:04:22'Stanley Bichard was the middle one of three boys,
0:04:22 > 0:04:27'who with their mum and dad were about to experience invasion.'
0:04:29 > 0:04:33Just days after the evacuations Guernsey's harbour was bombed,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35many were killed.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40Two days later the island was occupied.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43'The German invaders took their pick of the houses
0:04:43 > 0:04:47'including the one next door to Stanley's family.'
0:04:47 > 0:04:50- Strange neighbours. - Yeah. And the week after,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53they came and they knocked at the back door at my mum's
0:04:53 > 0:04:56and said, "We'd like you to do some washing for the Germans."
0:04:56 > 0:05:00So Mum said, "No, I don't do a wash for the German soldiers."
0:05:00 > 0:05:02They said, "You will wash for the soldiers
0:05:02 > 0:05:05"or you will vacate your premises by the end of the week."
0:05:05 > 0:05:08And, of course, there's five of us in the family,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10you know, where are we going?
0:05:12 > 0:05:15Many island children had gone to seek safety on the mainland.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21Seven-year-old Paulette, travelling alone, was evacuated to Cheshire,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25to be looked after by nuns.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27This homesick little girl
0:05:27 > 0:05:31was about to acquire a very special guardian angel.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Remember, in this country
0:05:33 > 0:05:38the gift must be based on your ability to give.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt
0:05:40 > 0:05:44was coaxing American women to do their bit for the war effort.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47Mrs Roosevelt sought a young pen pal,
0:05:47 > 0:05:52she received a letter from a lonely girl in Cheshire.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55"Dear Mrs Roosevelt, first of all,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58"I hope you are well and in good health.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01"Please give my best regards to President Roosevelt.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04"Thank you very much for the pretty green dress. It fits me just fine
0:06:04 > 0:06:07"and I love the blouse to go with it.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10"Your loving foster child, Paulette."
0:06:10 > 0:06:15Meanwhile, guardian angels were in short supply on Guernsey.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19As the occupation wore on, rations were meagre.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Four ounces of meat a week for the family of five.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26- That's nothing! - Eggs were very hard to come by,
0:06:26 > 0:06:30because everybody killed the chickens to have food for eating.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34"We had a lovely supper, lemonade, cakes and biscuits.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37"Then for tea we all had a bar of chocolate."
0:06:37 > 0:06:41- Remember being hungry? - Oh, yeah. Yeah.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45Yes, a few times.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50- It must have been very difficult for your mother knowing that.- Yeah.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53Mum and Dad suffered a lot at different times.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57- Yeah. How do you feed a family of five when you've got nothing?- Yeah.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04Paulette had a full stomach but an empty heart.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08Her gran on occupied Guernsey couldn't get letters out.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13My only person that I really loved was my grandmother,
0:07:13 > 0:07:19I missed her cuddles and hugs, you know, because we didn't get many.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23They were good, the nuns, but we didn't have the love.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27Paulette's safe surroundings were tinged with sadness.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31For young Stanley, the lush landscape of Guernsey may have been
0:07:31 > 0:07:36a war zone, but it was still his playground.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40A favourite prank was pelting passing cars with lumps of turf.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42It was just along there somewhere,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45lovely turf about as big as my hand there.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48So when a car came, if the window was open,
0:07:48 > 0:07:49I didn't know it was a German,
0:07:49 > 0:07:52I wasn't being brave or anything like that,
0:07:52 > 0:07:54but I spiffed the turf over the edge,
0:07:54 > 0:07:56it went straight through the window
0:07:56 > 0:07:58and hit the officer straight in the face.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02And, of course, there was a squeak of the tyres and we hid.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05We were petrified then.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08The headmaster of the school said they were going to take hostages,
0:08:08 > 0:08:10because they thought it was an act of sabotage,
0:08:10 > 0:08:13it wasn't sabotage, it was a game, like, you know?
0:08:13 > 0:08:17And we got away with it by writing a letter of apology
0:08:17 > 0:08:20to the Commandant. They let us get away with it.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24German rule ground on for nearly five years.
0:08:24 > 0:08:29By the end the invaders were as much prisoners as the islanders -
0:08:29 > 0:08:32both were starving.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36After D-Day in Normandy there was nothing coming in at all
0:08:36 > 0:08:38and also the Germans were suffering,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41a lot of cats went missing during the war.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43- They ate them? - Oh, yeah. And dogs. They had my dog.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45- They ate your dog? - Oh, yeah.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48But you couldn't buy anything cos nothing was coming in.
0:08:49 > 0:08:55The desperate days ended on the 8th of May, 1945.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00With the war over, Paulette came home,
0:09:00 > 0:09:02but she's never met Stanley
0:09:02 > 0:09:06to share their different experiences of invasion.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09Is it better to leave home and be fed
0:09:09 > 0:09:12or to stay with your family and go hungry?
0:09:12 > 0:09:14I couldn't let my children go.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17I'd want them with me. I would try and do everything I could.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20If somebody had been able to cuddle me, you know.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23- And you miss that, don't you, when you're children?- Oh, yeah.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26So in that way, I suffered more emotionally
0:09:26 > 0:09:28- and you suffered more with your food.- Oh, without a doubt.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Without a doubt.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33BOTH CHUCKLE
0:09:41 > 0:09:43In our fights for survival,
0:09:43 > 0:09:47we've created some remarkable artificial islands.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52Forts that helped keep foreign aggressors at bay.
0:09:59 > 0:10:04But some in the British Isles have suffered conquest in living memory.
0:10:04 > 0:10:05I'm on Guernsey.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12In the Second World War on the Channel Islands,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15attackers soon became defenders.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21The invaders of these isles left a grim legacy.
0:10:23 > 0:10:26German bunkers that outlasted the Third Reich.
0:10:29 > 0:10:35Some 1,000 Nazi fortifications were embedded in the rock of Guernsey,
0:10:35 > 0:10:39potent symbols of the propaganda value to be gained
0:10:39 > 0:10:43by occupying British Crown Territory.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47Hitler wouldn't give up the Channel Islands without a fight.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50Now I'm gearing up for an invasion of my own.
0:10:50 > 0:10:55Many of these tombs of tyranny were sealed at the end of the last war,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58but one of the bunkers is about to be re-opened
0:10:58 > 0:11:02for the first time in over 60 years.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04I'm going to be a Nazi tomb raider.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09On a beach-side golf course,
0:11:09 > 0:11:14they're excavating the entrance to the forgotten underground bunker.
0:11:17 > 0:11:22To see what could lie in store, I'm visiting another site.
0:11:22 > 0:11:28This gun emplacement was only re-opened in 2010.
0:11:28 > 0:11:32My guide is bunker specialist Paul Bourgaize.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39- Chilly and dark, isn't it? - Just watch these steps here.
0:11:39 > 0:11:45We're in a small square... room, what have we got over here?
0:11:45 > 0:11:47This is actually a fortress telephone.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49So this is a hand-cranked telephone?
0:11:49 > 0:11:51- Yep. - So what does this say?
0:11:51 > 0:11:54"Achtung Feind host nit!" was a warning you'd find above all phones,
0:11:54 > 0:11:57and it basically says, "Warning, the enemy is listening,"
0:11:57 > 0:12:00so it was just, "Watch what you're saying."
0:12:04 > 0:12:07- Very smooth, isn't it? - Yeah.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10It's approximately a tonne of steel that's moving there.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13- Top quality German engineering. - Yeah.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16This portal cut into the concrete
0:12:16 > 0:12:20was the firing position for an anti-tank gun.
0:12:20 > 0:12:25Its crew were charged with repelling a possible beach invasion.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28Historians on Guernsey are re-discovering
0:12:28 > 0:12:32the secrets of fortifications across the island.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36The digger's scoop has just revealed the top of a doorway.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41Nobody's seen this for more than 60 years.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Buried for decades.
0:12:49 > 0:12:54Now we're the first to enter a forgotten lair of Hitler's army.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58This was once a staircase
0:12:58 > 0:13:01that a six-foot man could walk down,
0:13:01 > 0:13:06now... it's like a cave entrance.
0:13:12 > 0:13:19Incredible! Look at this on the roof, miniature stalactites of rust.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21Very nasty gunk all over the floor,
0:13:21 > 0:13:23this seems to be oil more than water.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27Cos this is a personnel bunker, these are the hooks for the beds
0:13:27 > 0:13:31or the bunks, still original, all fixed to the wall.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34- So these hooks...?- That's where the bunks would have been.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36- Hooked on there? - There would have been a chain
0:13:36 > 0:13:38hanging from the ceiling attached to those hooks.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42- Oh, here?- Yeah.- So these are like ship's bunks. Did they fold away?
0:13:42 > 0:13:45They do fold away, yes.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48'Up to ten men slept in this windowless tomb -
0:13:48 > 0:13:51'their job, to man the gun emplacements.'
0:13:51 > 0:13:54This is smaller, what was this space for?
0:13:54 > 0:13:56Yeah, this is a ventilation escape shaft as well.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58Where did you escape? There's no way out.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00This is the escape shaft here.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04It would have been quite tricky to get out of here,
0:14:04 > 0:14:09you've got a steel door, you'd have had two rows of steel girders
0:14:09 > 0:14:12across there in those recesses that had to be pulled out,
0:14:12 > 0:14:15you've then got a brick wall that needs to be demolished,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18and then the whole escape shaft which goes right up to the surface
0:14:18 > 0:14:20was filled with sand. All that had to come in
0:14:20 > 0:14:22before anybody could go out.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24Why did they make it so difficult to get out?
0:14:24 > 0:14:27Well, they don't want people coming in either, so...
0:14:27 > 0:14:30So this was a last resort if you were completely trapped down here?
0:14:30 > 0:14:32A gas attack or anything like that.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34- You'd dig your way out? - Absolutely.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36This up here, by the looks of it,
0:14:36 > 0:14:40was some sort of newspaper or article but it's all in German.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44- The second word is "Fuhrer". - That's very exciting, that.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48'It translates as, "Sworn to the Fuhrer".'
0:14:48 > 0:14:51- Perhaps there was a picture. - Of Hitler?
0:14:51 > 0:14:52- Definitely a possibility. - Yeah.
0:14:58 > 0:15:03You might think the soldiers who once sheltered in these dank vaults
0:15:03 > 0:15:07would want to purge the island from their memories.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11But some, like Fritz Kunz, who was stationed in a bunker,
0:15:11 > 0:15:14still return to Guernsey.
0:15:14 > 0:15:21In 1943, aged just 17, Fritz found himself in charge of a gunnery crew.
0:15:22 > 0:15:27All the other soldiers came to Russia,
0:15:27 > 0:15:30and I was the only who knows the gun
0:15:30 > 0:15:33and so became high commander of the gun.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36- But you were lucky not to go to Russia.- Of course.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40- Yeah. The Eastern Front was a bad place to be.- Yes.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45We came here and we was thinking we came in the paradise.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48- Really?- Yes. - You thought it was paradise?- Yes.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53What did you think when you saw the bunker being opened over there,
0:15:53 > 0:15:55how did you find that?
0:15:55 > 0:15:59Oh, it was... awful.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02It was a horrible thing.
0:16:02 > 0:16:07- Do you remember when Guernsey was liberated?- Yes.
0:16:07 > 0:16:13- What happened? - It was... going out.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17- A huge relief? - Oh, now it is peace.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20- Finished?- Finished.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40We're on a journey to explore invasions of our isles.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45It's a story they know all too well on the Isle of Man.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00This island has been occupied by the Norse...
0:17:00 > 0:17:03the Scots...
0:17:03 > 0:17:05and the English.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13Today, though, it's fiercely independent.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17Surprising then, that the Manx people open their arms to one race
0:17:17 > 0:17:21that lays siege to their isle every year.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27Ruth Goodman is bracing herself for an epic invasion.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33Out there beyond the sea, the leather-clad clans are gathering.
0:17:36 > 0:17:41An army is assembling from around Britain and far beyond.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45They mount their two-wheeled chariots bound for the Isle of Man.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50The locals, ready to do battle... for business.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54Burgers, buns, beer - the TT is in town.
0:17:55 > 0:18:00For two weeks in early summer, the sound of high-speed combustion
0:18:00 > 0:18:05and the smell of leather cover the island...whatever the weather.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Day and night, wave after wave of boats
0:18:08 > 0:18:13disgorge disciples of the most dangerous bike-fest on Earth.
0:18:13 > 0:18:17TT stands for Tourist Trophy, and these days it attracts
0:18:17 > 0:18:23over 30,000 tourists, who bring around 10,000 motorbikes.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28So what's in it for the bikers, and how do the locals feel about
0:18:28 > 0:18:31this friendly invasion of their small isle?
0:18:38 > 0:18:42The hotels can't accommodate the sudden influx of bodies.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47Bikers are berthed in private houses all over the island.
0:18:48 > 0:18:51Everybody mucks in to keep the TT on track.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59And the restaurants stock up for a briefly lived bonanza.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01He's huge...!
0:19:01 > 0:19:03That's the female.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06It's a female. How can you tell?
0:19:06 > 0:19:10And that's the male. That bit there carries the eggs.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12Beautiful colour.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14This is probably our busiest time.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17It's a big part of the year. Eat and drink, isn't it?
0:19:17 > 0:19:19- Yeah, party time. - Party time.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21As long as they eat it, we'll catch it.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28Look at that, it's like one enormous giant prawn. Delicious.
0:19:30 > 0:19:36Every bite, lick and chip swells the bank balance of the Isle of Man.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40This is an invasion any island would welcome.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43So how did this small, self-contained community
0:19:43 > 0:19:46come to host the world's ultimate motorbike road race?
0:19:50 > 0:19:53'I'm heading for a private viewing of some rare film that takes us
0:19:53 > 0:19:56'right back to the beginning.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59'This little picture palace is about as old as the TT -
0:19:59 > 0:20:02'a century and counting.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06'I'm meeting social historian and TT expert Matthew Richardson.'
0:20:06 > 0:20:08- Hi.- Hello. - What's this then?
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Well, this is some early footage of one of the first TT races
0:20:11 > 0:20:12on the Isle of Man.
0:20:12 > 0:20:13Oh, blinking 'eck!
0:20:13 > 0:20:16He just picked himself up and got back on the bike.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18That's a pretty low speed crash.
0:20:18 > 0:20:19It's... It's all relative.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23The 1911 Junior TT, the winner won at just over 40 mph.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26The current lap record is just over 130 mph.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30They still look like pushbikes with motors on, don't they?
0:20:30 > 0:20:32Well, they were. Technology was very primitive.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36The TT races began after speed regulations were imposed on
0:20:36 > 0:20:41British roads in 1903, a 20mph limit was set on the mainland.
0:20:41 > 0:20:46The self-governing Isle of Man had no such restrictions.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49In the early days it wasn't all about speed, it was very much
0:20:49 > 0:20:52a trial of reliability, one of the early riders comments that
0:20:52 > 0:20:56although he won the race, he had to stop to mend a puncture.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59Pushing the bikes to breaking point year after year
0:20:59 > 0:21:04created the TT's global reputation for thrills and spills.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06Go anywhere in the world,
0:21:06 > 0:21:08people might not be sure where the Isle of Man is,
0:21:08 > 0:21:11but there's a fair chance they'll have heard of the TT races.
0:21:16 > 0:21:21'They say to understand someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes.'
0:21:21 > 0:21:24I'd never normally wear trousers at the beach.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27'Or ride a mile in their leathers.'
0:21:27 > 0:21:30But then, tights and bikes don't really mix.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36I'm joining the tribe that has taken over the island,
0:21:36 > 0:21:39for a ride with one of the race's royals.
0:21:42 > 0:21:48Sidecar passenger Rose Hanks was the queen of the TT in the '60s.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51And Roy was her prince.
0:21:51 > 0:21:57Roy Hanks has been TT racing since 1966 - a sidecar legend.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Now Rose has agreed to turn her husband over to me,
0:22:01 > 0:22:04and she is a hard act to follow!
0:22:04 > 0:22:09In 1968, Rose became the first woman ever to get on the podium.
0:22:09 > 0:22:10There she is, proud moment, yeah.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13Absolutely. Rose was the first.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16I remember when I first met her, she impressed me then,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19but when she was dressed in black leather
0:22:19 > 0:22:21she was even better looking and...
0:22:21 > 0:22:26Rose's skill in the sidecar made her a star in the '60s.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Today, she's happiest steering the family bike business
0:22:29 > 0:22:31out of the limelight.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33Cos there wasn't so many girls around doing it
0:22:33 > 0:22:36you got more attention, so...
0:22:36 > 0:22:37They wanted me to wear make-up.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41I says "No, I don't wear make-up racing."
0:22:41 > 0:22:44They were good days, they were, the best.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48- That was the year she was presented to...- Prince Philip.- Prince Philip.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51See the mop of hair, there. Not on Prince Philip, on Rose!
0:22:53 > 0:22:56For riders like Rose, the glamour of the TT
0:22:56 > 0:22:58goes hand-in-glove with the danger.
0:23:05 > 0:23:10The infamous mountain course is considered the world's most lethal.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14Over 130 riders have been killed on the road.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20Sometimes I get a bit worried and concerned
0:23:20 > 0:23:22how dangerous it could be and has been.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27But once I'm on my bike racing...
0:23:29 > 0:23:31..I'm 21 again.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36Who wouldn't want to be 21 again?
0:23:36 > 0:23:39I'm along for the ride, Roy's at the handlebars.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42The tarmac of the TT beckons.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45Whoa...!
0:23:52 > 0:23:56From my sidecar seat, the future rolls out ahead.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59But echoes of the past are never far behind.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Wow, what a view!
0:24:07 > 0:24:11Now I can see why bikers enjoy overtaking the island each year.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16- Ah, marvellous! - SHE LAUGHS
0:24:37 > 0:24:40Fragile isles face many perils.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48But some, like Guernsey, rise to the challenge.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55For centuries, the islanders succeeded in turning the threat of war
0:24:55 > 0:24:58into a money-making venture.
0:25:00 > 0:25:05Towers like this that pepper the shore are some 200 years old -
0:25:05 > 0:25:09defences against possible invasion by the French
0:25:09 > 0:25:12running rampant under Napoleon.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17The islanders learned that during times of war
0:25:17 > 0:25:23different rules apply - rules that can be bent to your advantage.
0:25:25 > 0:25:31As the threat of invasion rose, riches rolled in with the waves.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Guernsey became a "treasure island"
0:25:34 > 0:25:40thanks to the ill-gotten gains of the infamous Guernsey privateers.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43CANNON FIRE
0:25:43 > 0:25:45Described as the Despair of France,
0:25:45 > 0:25:51these private warships were fast and heavily armed with determined crews.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57Guernsey was the ideal base for privateers to strike
0:25:57 > 0:26:00at rich cargo vessels sailing the English Channel.
0:26:02 > 0:26:07But how could these Guernsey bandits get away with plundering booty
0:26:07 > 0:26:09from the big boys of Europe?
0:26:12 > 0:26:15I'm searching for evidence of their exploits.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20Some locals still benefit from those long lost wars.
0:26:21 > 0:26:26'Peter de Sausmarez is a descendant of a famous Guernsey privateer.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32'To the family, he's Grand Matthieu - Great Matthew.'
0:26:32 > 0:26:34But this is the Grand Matthieu.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Centre-stage in your portrait gallery here?
0:26:36 > 0:26:40Well, very important. Yes. We're all descended from him.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42And, of course, he was the one who sowed the seeds
0:26:42 > 0:26:45of the family recovery and fortune again.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49And what evidence do you have that he was involved in privateering?
0:26:49 > 0:26:52Well, I've got a few letters he wrote, and these are examples
0:26:52 > 0:26:57of letter books. But these we found are of...1712.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59So very early on.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02- So Matthew is in at the beginning. - Right at the beginning. Absolutely.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04And here is a letter here saying, erm,
0:27:04 > 0:27:08"I'm writing on behalf of Thomas de Marchant
0:27:08 > 0:27:10"to offer him a privateer ship of eight guns,
0:27:10 > 0:27:12"and to recruit some sailors."
0:27:12 > 0:27:15You had to have weapons of inducement.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18And we've got some rather fine examples here.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20This is what the seamen would be using.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24This is interesting because this is French. Erm...
0:27:24 > 0:27:27You can see it's very basic and very simple,
0:27:27 > 0:27:30but one thing that's absolutely tip-top is the blade.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33- Look at that.- So all the effort was put into this blade.- Indeed, yes.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37If you can imagine people coming aboard, and waving these. You know.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41- Is that a stick...? - Or slash, I think. Yeah.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43Back in the scabbard now, do you think?
0:27:43 > 0:27:46Perhaps it'd be safer there, wouldn't it? Yeah.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49Very good. Erm, I think you'd make quite a good privateer.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53Do you think? It would be quite fun, wouldn't it?
0:27:57 > 0:28:00Strong-arm tactics soon built up fortunes.
0:28:00 > 0:28:05The gains may have been ill-gotten, but these weren't pirates.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07The privateers had powerful friends.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13The British, worried about French invasion,
0:28:13 > 0:28:16welcomed attacks on the foreign ships.
0:28:16 > 0:28:21So much so, the privateers got a contract from the King.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23This is a Letter of Marque -
0:28:23 > 0:28:27basically, a pirate's licence to operate legally.
0:28:27 > 0:28:33It's dated "the year of our Lord 1804".
0:28:33 > 0:28:40At the top up here is a wonderful portrait of King George III,
0:28:40 > 0:28:42and down on the bottom is the King's royal seal.
0:28:42 > 0:28:47Now, this letter allows the bearer
0:28:47 > 0:28:53to "lawfully apprehend, seize and take all ships, vessels and goods
0:28:53 > 0:28:57"belonging to the French Republic."
0:28:57 > 0:29:00This is a royal permit to plunder.
0:29:05 > 0:29:10The Crown encouraged Guernsey boatmen to be a thorn in the side of the French,
0:29:10 > 0:29:16and the privateers had home advantage against passing ships.
0:29:16 > 0:29:20Skipper Roger Perrot has local knowledge of these treacherous seas.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26What would it have been like trying to navigate through these islands
0:29:26 > 0:29:30under sail, no engines, without an electronic chart-plotter
0:29:30 > 0:29:32- like the one here? - Well, just hell.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36I would not like to have been sailing a really big ship around here.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39In privateering time, they were brilliant sailors.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42We're armchair sailors, really, aren't we?
0:29:43 > 0:29:46This is a really dangerous part of the world.
0:29:46 > 0:29:51We're going to go over some really rather nasty rocks, in a moment.
0:29:51 > 0:29:53- Those rocks are quite close, aren't they?- Yeah.
0:29:58 > 0:29:59Fear not!
0:30:02 > 0:30:08Daredevil sailors giving the French a bloody nose in the Napoleonic wars?
0:30:08 > 0:30:11Is that how the islanders regarded the privateers?
0:30:11 > 0:30:15In Guernsey society it was considered to be an honourable profession
0:30:15 > 0:30:19until the 1820s, which is way after the end of the Napoleonic war.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22So would privateers have been celebrated on shore?
0:30:22 > 0:30:26Oh, yes, absolutely. And most of the ships were made in Guernsey, as well.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29I suppose privateering was considered more of a middle-class occupation,
0:30:29 > 0:30:32and when you became nouveau riche, and moved up an echelon,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35then you went into the Navy - the Royal Navy -
0:30:35 > 0:30:39where you could still make a lot of money.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48Many of the islanders shared the spoils of the privateers'
0:30:48 > 0:30:54plundering raids, as local historian Annette Henry knows.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58They weren't exactly following the principles of fair trade, were they?
0:30:58 > 0:31:01Not really, no, but in times of war you have to do what you can,
0:31:01 > 0:31:03and living on an island we needed to make money.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07- And was it lucrative? - It was incredibly lucrative.
0:31:07 > 0:31:08One could amass a fortune of...
0:31:08 > 0:31:13Well, an instance in 1799 has a Mr LeMeseurier amassing a fortune
0:31:13 > 0:31:18of £212,000 sterling then, in 1799.
0:31:18 > 0:31:19Equate that to today's terms
0:31:19 > 0:31:22and we're looking at a quarter of a billion pounds in one year.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26It was said a fifth went to the sovereign,
0:31:26 > 0:31:29two-thirds of the remainder went to the owner of the ship of war,
0:31:29 > 0:31:32and the remainder went to the captain and crew.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36The sovereign was very happy to issue as many Letters of Marques as possible.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48The privateers played a dangerous game in their tiny boats
0:31:48 > 0:31:53dodging the warring giants on both sides of the Channel.
0:31:53 > 0:31:58But when peace settled on the seas, their game was up.
0:32:08 > 0:32:13Our island shores bear the scars of conflicts long past.
0:32:19 > 0:32:25But the dying sun hasn't quite obscured the age-old fears of invasion.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31For some, the pain of conquest is a living memory
0:32:31 > 0:32:34that makes freedom something to cherish.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44Those who remember the long dark night of Nazi occupation
0:32:44 > 0:32:47celebrate their liberty.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49I'm proud to stand with them
0:32:49 > 0:32:55and think of the price people paid facing the invaders of our isles.