The annual free event, which is hosted by the parish, was attended by dozens of Islanders, many of whom were present when Jersey was freed from Nazi rule 74 years ago.
To mark the occasion, the event’s organiser, Leo Harris, presented the remains of a historic Union Flag to the parish of St Helier, which were accepted by St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft.
The flag was raised by Mr Harris’s father above the Marina Hotel, which his family owned, to mark the fall of Berlin on 2 May 1945.
Mr Harris explained that it was hoisted for only a couple of hours before a German officer asked for it to be taken down to prevent any violence from taking place.
‘It was the first flag to fly to show the Germans that Berlin had fallen,’ said Mr Harris.
‘After about two hours, we heard a knock on the door and in came a high-ranking German officer.
‘He said to my father, “I know why you are flying the flag – because Berlin has fallen, but the soldiers outside don’t know that. If they do, there may be bloodshed in the streets”.
‘So my father took it down.’
Among the guests at the breakfast was 80-year-old Occupation survivor Alexis Bouteloup, who was attending his first Liberation Day celebration.
Mr Bouteloup now lives in Tasmania and travelled back to catch up with relatives, celebrate the Island’s Liberation and leave historic photographs and memorabilia with his family here.
‘I have got photographs of me and my twin brother at the last Battle of Flowers in 1939,’ he said.
‘I remember the Occupation vividly. We lived on Trinity Crescent. We used to see the tanks come down and when we went
to school the Germans would jackboot down the pavements and we would have to move.’
He added that on Liberation Day he remembered being given oranges and bananas by British soldiers but being unsure what they were because of the limited food supplies during the Occupation.
The event, which was supported by Waitrose and La Mare Vineyards, was attended by the Lieutenant-Governor, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton and Chief Minister John Le Fondré, as well as a number of other States Members.
