The Channel Islands are an archipeloago in the English Channel.  There are two Crown Dependencies. The first is the Bailiwick of Jersey, the largest of the islands and the Bailiwick of Gurnsey, consisting of the islands of Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm and some small islands.  They were once part of the Duchy of Normandy.  They are not part of the UK, they are independent nations.  However the UK is responsible for their defense and international relations along with the Isle of Man and and the British Overseas Territories. The islands’ population is close to 172,000.  The term Channel Islands is georgraphic not political.  Each Bailiwick has its own government. Before Germany invaded in World War II, In 1940, about about 24,000 evacuated.  Thousands of children were sent along with the schools to England and Scotland.  The Germans build four prison camps which house about 6000 people with over 700 deaths.  The Germans destroyed documents before fleeing, so actual death figures are not known. The British Royal Navy then blockaded the islands, but the inhabitants nearly starved.  By negotiation, the Red Cross was able to send supplies with the supply ship SS Vega in December 1944.  The Germans departed over 2,000 islanders, sending Jews to concentration camps.  The Germans used slave labor from Spain and Russia laying over 65,000 land mines in Jersey alone.  The islands were liberated on 9 May 1945, the day following VE day.  After the libaration, the islands need to reconstruct and bring back its ciizens, most were not able to return before Dec 1945.  The legislatures had to be reformed, Social programs were started and the islands immediately began to develop tourism.  This paragraph was extracted from:  Channel Islands Wiki

These are the flags of the Channel Islands in order shown:  Herm, Brecqhou, Alderney, Guernsey, Jersey