The Dame Of Sark

Dame Sibyl Mary Hathaway DBE was interviewed by BBC Southwest boss Tom Salmon for a series called 'Reporters Choice'. The programme was originally transmitted in May 1972 and provides a facinating oral archive on Channel Isles history in the 20th century. It's filming in colour was unusual and probably experimental as the region was not able to transmit colour until 1974. From 1927 until her death in 1974, Dame Sibyl Hathaway ruled Sark, a small feudal territory in the Channel Islands. Her tenure is most notable for her formidable leadership during the German occupation in World War II. Dame Sibyl convinced the islanders to stay when Britain demilitarized the islands. When German forces arrived, she received them at her residence with strict etiquette, ensuring she was treated as the ruling authority. She maintained this stance throughout the five-year occupation, using her fluency in German to negotiate for her people. Her husband was deported to an internment camp, but she remained a "tower of strength" for the population. After the war, she continued to rule as a benevolent dictator, preserving Sark's unique, car-free feudal way of life as a tourist attraction until her death at age 90.