Kenneth William Torode

By Gilly Carr

Kenneth William Torode was born on 1 April 1920, making him 20 years old when the Germans arrived in Guernsey. At the time of the registration of Islanders in October 1940, Torode was single, living in the Vale parish, and working as a greenhouse hand.

Torode comes to our attention because on 12 June 1941 he was convicted of ‘pilfering’ or ‘plundering’ by the Tribunal of Feldkommandantur 515 in Jersey and given a sentence of 9 months. There is no record of him in Guernsey Prison, and nor is there a record of his tribunal in Guernsey or Jersey, indicating that he was deported to Jersey as soon as he was caught. The political prisoners’ logbook in Jersey tells us that he was deported on 19 June 1941. This document indicates that his offence was ‘political’, meaning that he had stolen from German forces. We do not know what was stolen. Also deported on the same day was Gladys Bewhay.

Records from Caen Prison show that Torode arrived there on 22 June 1941, indicating a short sojourn, probably in Granville prison, en route to his destination.

He served his full sentence and returned to Guernsey on 13 March 1942. This same month we see a change made to his Guernsey Occupation registration form. This shows that, on 30 March 1942, he moved to Rue des Marais in the same parish. His 1942 registration form indicates that he found a new job, working for the German forces at the harbour.

No further information is known about Kenneth Torode. The Frank Falla Archive would like to invite his family to get in touch to supplement his story.

Sources

Kenneth Torode’s Occupation registration form, Island Archives, Guernsey.

Kenneth Torode’s 1942 registration form, Island Archives, Guernsey.

Kenneth Torode’s charge sheet, Island Archives, Guernsey, ref. CC14-05/98.

Kenneth Torode’s entry in Jersey’s political prisoner logbook, Jersey Archives ref. D/AG/B7/7

Kenneth Torode’s prison record, Caen Prison, copyright Calvados Archives ref. 1664 w 34.