This classic is now on display in a museum in Guernsey, having previously escaped Nazi clutches
According to Fox News, a 1926 Trojan Tourer stashed away during wartime conflict will be showcased for the first time since rescue from Nazi confiscation.
When the Germans stationed upon the island of Guernsey back in July 1940, Nazis commanders banned all cars for private use. They followed this by seizing all mobile vehicles and moving them to France by September of that year.
During the time that the Trojan was in hiding, Nazis officials kept public records as to who owned private transport. Helene Gacon was on their list. However, when they came to seize the car, thugs left empty-handed as Helen had ordered her gardener hide the vehicle in a building within her vineyard.
Now on display at the island’s German Occupation Museum, although it no longer runs, the car remains an amazing piece of history and represents defiance against the Nazis. Which is always a good thing.
Richard Heaume, the curator of the German Occupation Museum, said, “Mrs. Gacon, recently widowed in 1938, had no intention of giving her car up to the Germans.
“Being a grower, she asked her head gardener to hide the car in a shed on their vinery at Les Nicolles, Forest.
“The Germans had car registry records so they came to Les Nicolles to look for Mrs. Gacon’s car but were unable to locate it and, so, she got away with it.”
When the war had ended, Mrs. Gacon took the car out to Sr. Peter Port, the capital and main port of Guernsey, for the Liberation Day parade. Then, in 1958, Mrs. Gacon sold the car to Owen Le Tissier. Then former owner of the Manor Hotel, Michael Marshall, bought the car, and it remains in the family today – owned by his daughters.
Next year, on May 9th, islanders will mark the 75th anniversary of Nazis leaving the island. As part of the celebrations, mechanics hope to have the car running once again. We wish them the best of luck.
