Aaron Yeandle

The history of Elizabeth College is closely interlinked with the history of Guernsey and many of its former pupils have become significant figures in the island. The school, however, has never been insular in outlook and generations of Old Elizabethans have made their mark all over the world. With no fewer than four OEs have been awarded the VC. Elizabeth College was founded by Royal Charter on 25 May 1563, on the orders of Queen Elizabeth the  1st. During the 19th century, the school catered for many boys whose parents were employed by the British government in far-flung outposts of the British Empire. A number of those same boys themselves followed distinguished colonial careers. In the same era, the College was noted for its ability to prepare boys for entry into the army and naval colleges on the mainland. The record of Old Elizabethans in the two world wars and other major conflicts of the past two centuries is wholly exceptional. 

Ahead of Guernsey being occupied by German forces in 1940, the entire school was evacuated to Derbyshire and spent five years ‘in exile’. Boys had little or no contact with their parents during the occupation of the island. The College itself was used by the occupying German forces as a headquarters building and the official liberation announcement was made to cheering crowds from the steps of the school in 1945.