Belle Vue Circus

What is it?

It is a programme from Belle Vue dated 1942

When did you get it?

June 2010

Where did you get it from, and how?

It was given to me by Sir GeoffretyRowlands, who lives in Guernsey. His parents were evacuated from Guernsey to Stockport in June 1940, just days before the island was occupied by Germany for five years.

What does it mean to you?

It is important to me because it was kept by Sir Geoffrey's parents until the day they passed away. The time that they spent in Stockport and Manchester was very precious to them. They visited Belle Vue several times during the war, and made good friends in Stockport and Manchester. They had arrived in Stockport with very few possesions and the local people were kind to them. It was a big decision for them to leave Stockport to return to Guernsey in 1945.  I visited Guernsey in May 2010 when Sir Geoffrey unveiled a plaque which commemorates the evacuation to England.  During his speech, he mentioned his parents and stated how kind the people of England were to them. He also visited Stockport in June 2010 to unveil a blue plaque at the railway station, with the Mayor of Stockport. The plaque commemorates the arrival of thousands of Channel Island evacuees in Stockport in June 1940