Island Destiny

A True Story of Love and War in the Channel Island of Sark

By: Richard Le Tissier

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Born in 1920, Werner Rang joined the German Army in 1939. He trained as a medical orderly and was posted to western France in 1940, arriving in Guernsey in October 1941 as a member of the very large number of occupying troops in the Channel Islands.

The German Army Doctor in Sark was found murdered in April 1942. Werner first visited Sark in the summer of that year, only to return the following year for a six-month tour of duty serving as medical orderly to Sark's new doctor. It was then that he first encountered young Sarkee Phyllis Baker. She, having learnt German, acted as interpreter on behalf of the Island’s doctor and the locals for the remainder of the Occupation.

A true story of love and war in the Channel Island of Sark

Island Destiny reveals some fascinating detail of life on Sark and Guernsey during the war years and of Werner’s fate as a POW in England for three years following Liberation in 1945. Werner was befriended by one Lady Gower and corresponded with Phyllis, a period during which they grew gradually closer. He and Phyllis married in May 1948, just in time to avoid Werner’s repatriation to Germany, and both soon returned to Sark.

The couple have led a happy and fulfilled life in the Island, though not without its ups and downs. Since 1968 they have run Rang the Jewellers; both have held office in Sark’s Parliament and in 1991 Werner was awarded the British Empire Medal. Perhaps Werner is most fondly known for his 29 years, from 1961 until 1990, as Sark’s ambulanceman.

Island Destiny is at once an intensely human story and one which demonstrates the folly of war and the triumph of love between two young people from opposing sides of a conflict. It is a life-affirming tale which reveals much about a particular period of history, about a unique island community and about two special individuals.