Rainbow Promise

One from the archive, from 6th May 2005, part of a sequence called "Clouds of Glory"

Rainbow Promise

Clouds came, with heavy, falling rain
Thunder crashed from sky, as if in pain
And lightning flashed in all directions,
Wind lashed the land, fear in afflictions
Of people, taking shelter, holding hands
As the dark storm beats across the lands.


When storm is over, the rainbow comes
A bow in the clouds, this now becomes
A sign of promise, between the maker
And all that lives, both now and later.
A covenant of clouds, that now the rain
Brings rivers of life, grass on the plain.

The Victorian December 1983: JCG Girls Impressions of the College, and a College Revue

Three little maids from school are we,
Pert as a schoolgirl well can be. Filled to the brim with girlish glee,
Come from a ladies' seminary.

The one thing that adds a little spice to life at J.C.G. is the short period of time spent up at the school on the hill. The majority of the J.C.G. sixth form pupils venture at some time to the 'home' of our male counterparts, whether for lessons, sport or cucumber sandwiches! There you are sitting in your comfortable easy chair in the warmth of our J.C.G. sixth form centre, when suddenly the bell rings and you realise you have precisely fifteen minutes (our break) to get up to `Vic!!Armed with our pullovers, scarves, legwarmers, hats, gloves and ... thermal underwear(?) we dash to the front steps where our chariot should be awaiting us — but never is.

After braving the wind and rain for ten minutes a taxi for seven finally rolls up to collect thirteen of us. There is a mad scramble for the seats leaving six poor souls to wait another ten minutes for the next cab. After dodging the College House boys who seem to think that Mont Millais is their own private property, we finally turn into the one and hopefully only Victoria College.

So how does this school compare with the one we have just left? Well for a start it seems to be overrun with males! Some are respectably dressed in rather dashing black suits, and others in not so dashing black gowns, who when in full flight towards a miscreant, distinctly resemble a bat homing in on its prey! Of course there is the latest arrival of the 'elite' society in the sixth year. They strut around in grey suits with an umbrella over their arm — even in bright sunlight! Perhaps one could be excused for thinking this is the latest in parasol fashion? Having been abandoned in the courtyard we proceed to the relative comfort of the seventh-year library.

However, despite what some of the boys think, the girls are not up there for them, and as the bell goes we, with great enthusiasm, make a bee-line for the signing-in book, so that we cannot be accused of skiving. Lessons are much the same as at 'the school across the valley' apart from the obvious temperature drop — maybe associated with the change in altitude? Nothing to do with the heating system of course!

Thursday is the highlight of the week for the hockey players. As 2 o'clock approaches (minus their hockey boots indoors we might add!) an influx of determined females swarm onto the 'Vic' hockey pitch ready to do battle and intent on going for the boys' legs and not the ball.

But, alas, the time comes when we have to leave the elegant surroundings, the witty conversation and the ego-boosting glances, yet there will always be another day to ascend the hill, to meet and enjoy it with the boys .... conversation that is!

Three young ladies?

This term has been quite busy from a musical point of view. Despite exam pressures successful summer concert took place on Sunday, 17th July, in the Great Hall. The audience was fairly large and they appreciated a wide variety of music. The evening began with the junior choir singing a group of 'sea and shore' songs. This was followed by an energetic yet accurate performance by the wind ensemble. Their rendition of 'Suite for Seven' was well appreciated by the audience. 

Following this were a series of several solo pieces. Jeremy Averty on trombone, Paul Christmas on clarinet and Michael Johnson on flute all performed their pieces very well. A trio of third year musicians then came on to play 'Apple Pie Rag'. This lively piece was very popular with the audience and the bright melody was fully justified by these young musicians. The first half was concluded by Alan Hilton who played Grieg's 'Sonata in A Minor' on the piano. Despite having his music almost blown from his sight he continued and completed an inspired performance.

The second half was started by Ian Rumfitt who played Handel's 'Organ Concerto'. The organ was utilised excellently by one of College's best performers for several years. The evening was concluded by the senior choir who sung the `Magnificat' by Pergolesi.

They were backed by a small orchestra and the two continued to give an entertaining and enjoyable performance of this renowned piece of music. All in all, very appreciative.

On the following day, there was a short concert by the junior school during which several of the aforementioned items were performed. Once again the audience was pleasingly large and the younger boys were encouraged on seeing a large number of parents there.

There was, however, a very poor number of people for a lunchtime recital in the town church on 16th May. The programme was entirely instrumental and consisted of the brass and wind ensembles and several soloists. The recital was concluded with all' the performers playing a medley from 'My Fair Lady'.

It was a shame that the audience for this was so small and there is no doubt that the players' performances were affected by this. It is very encouraging for the boys to be playing to a large audience and it would be nice if they did receive the recognition and support they deserve.

One individual performance worth noting this term was by Andrew Hunt. Andrew was selected to play his viola in the National Children's Orchestra. Congratulations are certainly due to him. T.D.C.

The College One Night Stand

As the curtain went up, light dawned on the first (and hopefully not last) College Revue. The rehearsals, which had numbered at least two, foretold a dramatic performance, filled with music, humour and basic raw talent.

The one evening performance had attracted an immense crowd which packed the Howard Davis Theatre to bursting point, and the cast were determined to prove their versatility and enthusiasm. Humour, provided mostly by Messrs. Campanini and Sanchez, was raucous and at times below the belt, but enjoyed by all, especially their fourth year counterparts who had overtaken the centre of the audience.

Music came by way of guitars and melodic voices via the nimble fingering and earth shattering singing of John Poole,- Adi Staite, Eric Maclnnes and Kris Henley. College's answer to Swan Lake came just before the interval with Bill Hickling, Dave Thain, Simon Philpot, Michelle Georgelin and Catherine Carnegie's rendition of the infamous 'Fame'. After the well-earned break the audience was treated to the delights of Chris Busel's fourth year band, reliving the days of early “Jam'.

The evening was brought to an outstanding climax with Martin Postlethwaite and his three voluptuous females with their `funky electronic beat, man!'

Then, much to his reluctance, the producer, director and all-round man of substance was given his call up into the limelight. I speak, of course, of "The man", as the old saying goes, without whom none of this night of entertaining eccentricity would have occurred!

The Infiltration of Gender Ideology in Scottish Schools

This is a good summary of how gender ideology infiltrated schools in Scotland.

The Infiltration of Gender Ideology in Scottish Schools
By @boswelltoday

Since 2021, Scottish schools have quietly followed the "Supporting Transgender Pupils" guidance. No vote, no scrutiny—just another silent escalation in policies developed over years, framed as kindness but deeply undermining parental rights and children's welfare.🔽

Primary schools routinely affirm young children's transgender identities. Normal childhood curiosity is quickly labelled transgenderism, opening doors to lifelong consequences. No debate. No questions allowed.

Boys identifying as girls regularly use girls’ toilets and changing rooms. Presented as inclusion, this raises serious safeguarding issues about girls’ privacy and safety. A clear case of policy capture by stealth.

For years, schools have been instructed to keep a child's transgender identity secret from parents upon request. Parental rights have been quietly sidelined, systematically excluding families from critical conversations about their own children's wellbeing.

School records—names, sex markers—have been altered on request alone, without medical advice or legal oversight. Essential safeguards abandoned with administrative ease. Is this genuinely protecting children?

Transgender pupils now compete in sports according to their chosen gender identity, disregarding biological realities. No oversight. No transparency. Competitive fairness and safety quietly sacrificed.

Transgender issues are steadily integrated into classrooms as unquestioned educational fact. This shift is less about education and more about ideological indoctrination—replacing balanced debate with enforced dogma.

Teachers have long been required to automatically affirm pupils’ pronouns and transitions, without exploring underlying psychological issues. Professional caution discarded, and critical questions potentially overlooked. No public discussion—just policy implemented silently.

On school trips, including overnight stays, transgender pupils’ gender preferences regularly override other students' legitimate privacy concerns. Quietly prioritising ideology over comfort, respect, and parental expectation

These radical policies, implemented for years without public consent or meaningful debate, have been ruled unlawful by the UK Supreme Court—but the damage remains. What happens now to a generation immersed in this ideology without consent?

The Silencing of Women by Stealth in Scotland

Extract from "Trans Britain: Our Journey from the Shadows




This is a good summary of how gender ideology infiltrated Scotland by stealth.

The Silencing of Women by Stealth in Scotland
By @boswelltoday

For over a decade, the Scottish Government quietly rewrote the legal meaning of “woman” — not through Parliament, but through policy. No law. No debate. Just guidance, data rules and admin tweaks. This was self-ID by stealth. Here’s how they pulled it off.

In 2014, the prison service let a trans rights lobbyist help draft its transgender prisoner policy. Male offenders could be housed with women. No vote. No scrutiny. Just a quiet shift, dressed as inclusion. A small policy. Huge consequences.

In 2018, the Public Boards Act was redefined to count biological males as women — even without legal transition. It took @ForWomenScot and a court ruling to strike it down. The government had tried to rewrite protected characteristics by sleight of hand.

In 2021, schools were told to let boys identifying as girls use girls’ toilets and changing rooms. The guidance claimed there was no legal obligation for single-sex spaces. No consultation. Just state-sanctioned policy capture.

Then came the data. Public bodies were told to record identity, not biology. Male rapists could now appear as “female” in crime stats — and did. This wasn’t a system error. It was official guidance from the Scottish Government.

Scotland’s 2022 census allowed self-ID on the sex question — regardless of birth certificate or legal status. The rest of the UK refused. Holyrood embedded gender ideology into the national record — and called it progress.

By the time the GRR Bill hit headlines, self-ID had already crept into prisons, schools, the NHS, and official data. The bill failed, but the principles behind it were already policy. Unvoted. Undebated. Unseen.

Then came Isla Bryson. A male double rapist with post-conviction-onset dysphoria, identifying as female, sent to a women’s prison. Ministers acted shocked — but the policy that allowed it had been in place for years. The public just hadn’t been told.

In April 2025, the UK Supreme Court ruled that “sex” in the Equality Act means biological sex. The scaffolding collapsed. Much of Scotland’s guidance — on schools, crime, prisons — was now unlawful. And suddenly, silence.

This wasn’t inclusion. It was deception. Rights were redefined through admin memos. The public was never asked. And now the courts have caught up, the façade is falling. Scotland was ground zero for self-ID by stealth.

Other Comments:

They stealthily changed wording on policies too. They took the word ‘Mother’ out of maternity policy and substituted it with ‘person who gave birth’.

If they had truly wanted inclusivity they would have rewrote it thus:
Mother/person who gave birth.

Why didn’t you?

Additionally, The SNP imposed funding criteria on the VAWG sector which required trans inclusion - insidious. Civil Servants who questioned were bullied into submission. The unions rolled over and acceded to the demands of a cult which required the dismissal of the Equality Act.

You could add that funding for many groups, including those supporting women, included a requirement to have and to submit as part of the funding application, a transgender policy, often without even requiring similar policies for disability and other equalities ...

The fact Sturgeon did all this by stealth implies that she KNEW she had no public support for it. Publicity around trans issues was actively avoided. By the time of the GRR bill most of the electorate were still unaware that many 'transwomen' were fully intact men

The Sunday Archive: Giving and Receiving: Easter - Spring 2005 - Part 2

This was the magazine of St Brelade's Church. This edition dates from 2005. The editor was Elsie M Pryor.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT?

I came across a dachshund out at La Rocque; the couple who owned the dog were quite determined to have the dog put to sleep the next day. I asked why they were taking this action. 'Oh it's always snapping at our ankles' was the reply. I had often been there and the dachshund always ignored me.

'Have you ever tried a mild tranquilliser?"No, no one ever suggested it.' 'Well I think it is worth giving it a try.' Out of my bag I took about 20 mild tablets. 'Make sure your dog has one tablet daily, I'll call in a month and see how he is getting on'.

One month later and I did as promised, to my delight I was greeted by the dachshund, full of life, and happy to see me. The tablets had worked. A very happy ending.

Dr. Douglas Begg.

A QUICK EASTER PUDDING

Upside down Pear Tart.

2 oz butter
2 oz dark brown sugar
4 dessert pears
8 oz self-raising flour 5oz butter
2 oz castor sugar 1 egg
Pinch of ginger.

1) Melt the butter and dark brown sugar in the bottom of a flan dish until toffee like consistency.
2) Peel, core and halve the pears, lay them on the toffee flat side down.
3) Combine the rest of the ingredients into sweet pastry - chill for 10 minutes.
4) Roll out the pastry to cover the dish thickly, tucking the edges down inside the rim of the flan dish.
5) Bake for approximately 30 minutes at 180°c or until the pastry is golden brown.
6) Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.
7) NOW THIS IS THE TRICKY PART! Run a knife around the edge of the dish; invert a large plate over the top, and in one firm movement, turn it out.
8) Serve with fresh Jersey Cream or Greek Yoghurt.

Enjoy – Terri Bond

WELLS IN DRY PLACES

Is there any hope for the Church?

It's a funny thing, Post-modernity. We are mostly comfortable, awash with information and saturated with spiritual riches yet why are so many of us so sad? Living at the beginning of the 21st Century leaves individuals and communities rootless and restless. For Christian congregations the new situation is perplexing or even terrifying. The collapse of old certainties has called into question our reason for existence. We are thinking the unthinkable -for how many communities is this the last Christian generation? There is a valley of the shadow of death for the Christian church and we are walking through it.

Yet, would we change the times in which we live? The certainty of times past might have a certain nostalgic appeal but for the Inquisition, Bubonic Plague and all that witch burning. However uncomfortable people of faith find secularisation it does deliver us from assuming we can run the world, dashing off to Latin America to civilise the natives or doing Crusader's package tour of the Holy Land - take in a few sights and bash the Moslems. Dark humour aside, Christianity lives with the bitter taste left behind by inhumanity committed in the name of Christ. Whatever we offer to this Post-modern generation we must not yield to the fallacy that all we have to do is simply shout louder and people will take notice. In a setting where most hearers have an antipathy to religious authoritarianism we cannot equate 'revival' or 'renewal' to a simple restoration of the glory days when religious institutions enjoyed their numerical peak. This is not the same thing as saying that God has abandoned us to irrelevance.

Spirituality is an even more complex issue. At its best Christian Tradition is -as Thomas Merton said - 'a living current of uninterrupted vitality'. However, we are all too aware that some of what comes down to us from the past is not invigorating but burdensome. Moreover, although Christians of different Traditions - Methodist, Orthodox, Anglican, Roman Catholic or Anabaptist - are inheritors of a unique spiritual story, they also function within a marketplace spiritualities. The 'average Methodist' (if such a person exists) is as likely to take their spiritual influences from TV Christianity or even the 'Mind, Body and Spirit' shelves in Ottakar's as they are from congregational prayer, the preacher or John Wesley. And that's not all - patterns of church attendance are changing. One week it's Sunday worship and the next it's a walk in the country or a visit to B&Q. It's not that people are any less religious - just that the mood is religion without walls.

The Free Churches in particular are finding the new climate harsh. Church attendance figures for the United Reformed Church and Methodism; for example tell a story of Institutions in apparent freefall. There is a sense of lostness in many Nonconformist churches. We might wonder if dissenters know any longer what they are dissenting from or whether Merton's 'living current' has indeed been interrupted. It is one thing to find wells in dry places -as Jews and Christians have from Abraham to the present day - but quite another to wonder if the wells have run dry.

The relative resilience of Episcopal Traditions in the face of decline and the impressive vigour of many Pentecostal/Charismatic churches should give mainstream Nonconformity pause for thought. Now, there are all kinds of reasons why various Christian Traditions fare differently in the new religious climate. Part of the driving force behind the success of Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity is to do with community coherence and a clear sense of direction. At their best these churches offer members a rich community life and foster a sense of thrilling expectancy - a powerful experience of the presence of God. However, such success is not without its drawbacks. These churches populate their margins with angular and disappointed critics. Furthermore, whilst the appeal of Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity is understandable, for people in our culture most tuned in to the new Post-modern mood the note of dogmatism in such churches is deeply off-putting.

So much for the Pentecostal/Charismatic Tradition, but with regard to the matter of relationships between Nonconformist and Episcopal churches I would like to tell two personal stories. The first belongs to the Easter period in 1986 when my wife Karen and I went to Hazelwood Castle in North Yorkshire, then home for a Roman Catholic, Carmelite monastic community. The Guest Master - a good humoured twinkly-eyed Irishman, found out we were Protestant missionary candidates and promptly sat us next to a statue of St. Jude in the chapel, whom we later discovered was the patron saint of hopeless causes. We couldn't have been made more welcome. Afterwards we noted the reason why our retreat meant so much to us. Here was a community which suggested a seamless connection between spirituality and ordinary life. Here were people for whom becoming more Christian was a matter of becoming more human, not entering into a strange religious twilight zone. Here were Christians who valued simplicity, silence and solitude. I came to the conclusion, years later, that this was the first time we realised the difference between silence and a mere absence of words. Finally, here was a kind of Christianity which had something to say to the same constituency who might frequent New Age bookshops, bemoan the sheer weariness of modern life or yearn for a more integrated, holistic spirituality; in short, many of us. When potential retreatants arrived at the Friary no one asked them for a Statement of Faith. The welcome offered was without preconditions and spoke to the kind of people for whom a more dogmatic Christianity was offensive.

My second story flows from more than twenty years of encounters with Christians of the Anabaptist/Mennonite Tradition. In a nutshell these churches are the descendents of the left wing of the 16th Century Reformation. Pacifist, community-minded and deeply committed to social justice, Anabaptists represent a stream of the Christian Church that was snuffed out in Britain through persecution towards the end of the 16th Century. Normally Anabaptists are regarded as a Nonconformist Protestants but quite a few commentators have pointed out that in many key areas Anabaptist life and theology lies somewhere between Catholic and Protestant practice. Significantly a good number of early Anabaptist leaders were former Benedictine monks. In the rich community life of Mennonite congregations, Amish settlements and Hutterite communities that early monastic influence is evident. When the Hutterites talk about Gelassenheit (submission to the will of God in community) this really is only one short step removed from the monastic obedience. For myself, what I found in Anabaptism was the same integration of spirituality and ordinary life that was typical of monasticism -without the inconvenience of celibacy! Nonconformity can learn a good deal from the way in which Anabaptism has incorporated 'monastic' elements in a broadly Evangelical theology. Not surprisingly, Anabaptist life has its admirers even outside of the Christian constituency, as everyone who has wondered why the Amish abstain from some aspects of modem life can testify.

What are we to make of this experience? It is a desperately unscientific observation but I am left with the impression that many casual visitors to such churches do not come away with a sense of spirituality that is deeply rooted either in an ancient Tradition or in ordinary life. Neither, sometimes, is congregational life encountered as a rich experience of community. Some of the elements that made Wesley's Methodism so potent have been retained but others - such as fully functional Class Meetings - have fallen by the wayside in most places. Additionally, Nonconformists need to ask why they do not conform and whether reasons and whether the reasons for such dissent have any contemporary relevance. Some of these issues are now a matter of historical curiosity but I for one still have significant reservations about the re-unification of the Anglican Communion and Methodism so long as the Church of England is an established church.

Where there are encouraging signs in Methodist congregations usually progress is linked to a rediscovery of the cell group/small group structure that was so typical of early Methodism. However the impression is still given that mainstream Methodism has neither the contemporary appeal of Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity nor the eloquent 'rootedness' typical of many Roman Catholic, Anglican or Orthodox congregations. Of course, Methodists have no monastic orders. The nearest thing I ever saw was Cliff College, a Methodist college in the Peak District, which I recall was nicknamed a 'Methodist monastery'. Here are a few 'desert island' questions for exploration:

1. Is there a way to learn from the strengths of Charismatic/Evangelical churches without carrying over Fundamentalist 'baggage'? If so, how?

2. What is the best way to encourage a deeply rooted spirituality in churches?

3. Is there any potential in the idea of a 'Methodist Monastic Order? If w), what might this 'Order' look like?

4. in what ways might churches engage more effectively with people who are comfortable in the fluidity of the post-modern climate?

Before post-modernity came along spirituality and Institutions went together like fish and chips. God was in his heaven, preachers were nine feet above contradiction and most people played by the rules. Now we must make do with fewer certainties. If the older arrangements were 'solid' and the new situation is 'fluid' then what shall we do? We cannot go back. We must learn to swim!

Philip Wood.

Weather Lore

A lighter note in this poem, which delves into folklore.

Weather Lore

I love weather folklore, old and strange,
That tells the weather is on the change;
So that if there is rain on St Swithin’s day:
Means forty days of rain, or so they say;
And the witches call forth storm so ill,
So no weather is ill if the wind be still;
March comes in like a lion, fierce, strong,
Goes out like a lamb. It can’t be wrong!
And April showers that we have seen,
Mean May flowers, grass so green;
Yet some is local, for Jersey alone,
Or so it is said, just Island grown;
February rain is the lifeblood of soil,
For potato planting, those who toil;
When the cows bellow day and night:
A storm is coming soon, take fright!
When the sky at Noirmont is overcast,
Be sure of the rain before day past;
And shingle sounds at Ouaisné beach,
Mark easterly winds within our reach;
And the lore that I grew up with, true,
Was red sky at night, that sunset view,
Means Guernsey on fire, so they say,
And ferry wars might go that way!

Seat Belts and the Jersey Mensa Debate of 1983

Ken Webb on
Channel Report

Seat Belts and the Jersey Mensa Debate

In 1983, the following subject was lodged "au Greffe": Compulsory wearing of seat belts: preparation of legislation. P.128/83. Legislation was drawn up and a date fixed for debate. However Maurice “Dick” Buesnel opposed this and tried to get it withdrawn or delayed.

The next minutes show that:

THE STATES, having rejected an amendment of Deputy Maurice Clement Buesnel that a date for debate should not be fixed, acceded to the request of the President of the Defence Committee that the Proposition regarding the preparation of legislation to make compulsory the wearing of seat belts (lodged on 27th September, 1983) be considered on 13th December, 1983: Compulsory wearing of seat belts: preparation of legislation.

And in December :

THE STATES, adopting a Proposition of the Defence Committee, charged that Committee to prepare the necessary legislation to provide for the introduction, in Jersey, of the compulsory wearing of seat belts in vehicles.

Members present voted as follows – "Pour" (38)
Senators: Vibert , Le Marquand, Jeune , Averty, Binnington, Sandeman, Horsfall, Ellis, Baal, Rothwell.
Connétables: St. Ouen , St. Mary , St. John , St. Brelade , St. Lawrence , St. Martin , St. Peter , St. Helier 

Deputies: Mourant(H), St. Ouen , Morel (S), Le Maistre(H), Quenault(B), Le Gallais(S), Roche(S), Le Brocq(H), Le Quesne(S), Trinity , St. Martin , Filleul(H), Vandervliet(L), St. Peter , Le Main(H), Le Fondré(L), Rumboll(H), Grouville , Wavell(H), Billot(S).

"Contre" (12)
Senator: Shenton.
Connétables: St. Saviour , Trinity , St. Clement .
Deputies: Perkins(H), Buesnel(H), St. Mary , Beadle(B), Thorne (B), Blampied(H), Norman(C), St. John

(incidentally another example of the lie that the Constables always voted in a block!)

So this duly became law with the Motor Vehicles (Wearing of Seat Belts) (Amendment) (Jersey) Order, 1986.

But as the legislation was being drawn up, there was a lively debate in the pages of “Thinks!”, the magazine for the Channel Island Mensa members. It had recently undergone a revamp under the new editor Ken Webb, and a fervent opponent of seat belts, he launched at attack on the idea of compulsory seat belts in the July 1984 edition. Ken was a friend of mine, but we did disagree on this matter.

THE SMOKE SCREEN
by the Editor.

So someone in the Jersey Evening Post decided it would be a good thing if every motorist in Jersey be forced to wear a seat belt. There followed a highly pressurised campaign all designed to convince people that wearing a seat belt is always a good thing. Of course, under certain circumstances it is good, it can save your life or prevent serious injury. But why has no mention been made of the other side of the coin? That, under different conditions, seat belts can kill you or seriously injure you. The duty of a responsible journal is to inform the public not to attempt to brainwash it. A good journalist reports the news, he does not try and make it.

Now, led by the nose, the Jersey States is to introduce a law forcing each motorist to wear a seat belt - even if it kills him/her! I object to legislation promoted by a newspaper irresponsibly taking advantage of its monopoly position. That there exist in Jersey people who, from their ivory towers of ignorance, have the arrogance to play at being God with your life and with mine - this I find most worrying. 

Only you know the circumstances of your driving - the type of car; its condition; your reflexes; re-action time; alcohol intake; speed of driving, etc. These decide the conditions of the crash. Seat belts play no part in the cause or prevention of crashes - they operate for good or ill only at impact with the windscreen. With a large engine and a heavy chassis in front of me and a petrol tank tucked away in the back, I reasoned that the probability of a ball of fire was not great; the probability of being impaled on the steering wheel was also not great; the probability that I hit the windscreen was greater. Knowing the facts I formulated a judgement - seat belts are fitted and I wear them. But that is my judgement and, I believe, it is an intelligent one.

The second car I drive is a light, rear engined run around. There is nothing in front of me but an empty space and a petrol tank six inches from the front bumper. The probability of a ball of fire is much greater; the probability of being impaled on the steering wheel is also much greater; the probability of contact with the windscreen remains the same. On balance I believe that I am better off not wearing a seat belt in this car and I do not. My judgement -my life - my decision.

Remember, seat belts can be both good and bad. Which ? - no one knows !

The issue is a very simple one:-

WHO DECIDES ?
You after an intelligent appraisal,
or
THE IGNORANT APEING THE ALMIGHTY ?

The Editor requests your views. (He can duck !)

And so in August 1984, this promoted a rejoinder:

SEAT-BELTS - WHO DECIDES?
Contributed by Peter Bryans

I must congratulate the new editor for conceiving a splendid plan to elicit a response from our generally silent readers. By choosing to write a deliberately provocative article, which brilliantly plumbed the pinnacles of banal naivety, he has demonstrated that at least one member of Mensa (me) will respond to an article which is intentionally lacking in objectivity, common sense and academic irrelevances such as facts and proof.

He asks a simple question - WHO DECIDES? On issues which affect all members of a community, single individuals could only be allowed to make their own individual decisiions if we lived in a society of anarchists. Because we live in a democracy the answer had got to be that the government elected by the community decides, after listening to and evaluating all points of view. This decision is then given the force of law to protect the innocent and persuade the ignorant.

A simple fact (which Ken very cleverly omitted so as to generate controversy where there need otherwise be none) is that since the wearing of seat-belts became compulsory in the U.K. the number of road deaths and serious injuries has decreased dramatically (a 31.23% overall decrease and a 28.72% decrease in areas governed by a 30 m.p.h. speed limit) (Jul - Dec 1983). Put another way, at this rate 2500 people are alive in July 1984 who would have died (statistically) had they not been made to wear seat belts in the previous months.

However, I am sure that investigative reporters angling for a career with the News of the World will eventually demonstrate that someone, somewhere has died because they wore a seat belt - just as instances can be shown of a pilot who was strangled by his own parachute, a Farmer whose skull was fractured by his tractor's safety cab and a hospi41 patient who had died from the side-effects of a "miracle" drug. All of these instances don't mean that we should ban parachutes, safety cabs, life saving drugs or seat belts - just that God sometimes has a sense of humour.

Mensa brains must be shown to be capable of supporting democratic measures (even paternal dictatorships) which demonstrably save large numbers of lives in the community. Membership of Mensa does not allow us to drink and drive, survive car crashes seat-belt less with impunity or walk on water.

Remember the cemeteries are full of people who knew better than to wear seat-belts - although their widows and orphans have now learnt by sad experience, that collective wisdom was better than their loved ones individual decisions. Ask them WHO DECIDES? they never got the chance.

Editor's Note: Upon Peter's views I will not comment. On his attack on my personal integrity I most certainly will. He made an erroneous and unwarranted presumption as to my motives for writing the article. I do not use a subject affecting the lives of my fellow humans for the triviality of eliciting a response from Members. Some years ago my life was saved because I was NOT wearing a seat-belt. I would like everyone -including Peter - to have the same choice. That was my sole motive.

Some comments on Jewish perspectives on Gaza

"IN MEMOMORIUM we are sad to announce the death of respect for the BBC the once great broadcaster of truth. Sadly the BBC truth died on October 7 2023 when this previously trusted News provider decided that it would follow the lies of murderous terrorists and ignored the cold blooded murder of hundreds of Israeli civilian, men, women, children and infants, but instead chose to believe and support the lies of the terrorists."

These are words posted online by a member of a local Jewish congregation - I'm not saying who, and looking over their posts, I can see no condemnation of the policy of blockade of vital food and medicine to Gaza by Israel. 

On the contrary, in their posts or shared posts, Hamas gets all the blame for initiating the conflict. Any news reports which happen to condemn Israel's attacks and blockades on Gaza are biased, and underestimate the existential threat posed by Hamas which has declared it wants to wipe out Israel. Israel has to defend itself, and if Hamas hides among the civilian population, so much the worse for them. The BBC reporting and showing children starving, babies on the point of death, is criticised for providing propaganda for Hamas.

I disagree profoundly. The blocking of aid, the deaths that result, cannot just be laid at the door of Hamas. That is too trite. I think that those in Israel who are deaf to allowing help to get there are guilty of a lack of compassion for our common humanity. They block their eyes, they cover their ears, and children are dying horribly. Of course they have all kinds of excuses, but it is really inexcusable.

And yet I can have some sympathies.

Looking back at in Liberation 80 (our celebration in Jersey of the end of the German Occupation 1940-1945), and back to the war years, things were very different. 

In an interview with Don and Eileen, made some years ago in 2019, they both condemn any women who had anything to do with the German forces. For them, it was black and white: any liaison meant the women would be condemned as "Jerrybags". Now it is true that a number were, and flaunted their extra privileges and supplies, but some were genuine romances. Not all Germans were evil. But to Don and Eileen in war time, they were all "the enemy".

Why is this important? Because we are fortunate to have the passage of time. We look back in horror at some of the bombings of the civilian population of Germany in time of war, but at the time, only a few such as Bishop George Bell, stood up against the flow of public opinion and condemned it in public, probably ruling himself out of the running for Archbishop of Canterbury.

As far as the British people were concerned, they were fighting an enemy which bombed their cities, which hit their civilian population, and anything was right. The justification of “collateral damage” emerged which argued that attacking enemy factories was permissible even if it cost the lives and homes of civilians who were taking no active part in the arena of war.

Against this, Bell spoke out, not against strategic bombing, but against a policy of blanket bombing towns and cities in Germany. And yet he was a well-known opponent, from 1933 onwards, of Hitler and the Nazis.

Bell had tabled a question asking the Government for “a statement as to their policy regarding the bombing of towns in enemy countries, with special reference to the effect of such bombing on civilians as well as objects of non-military and non-Industrial significance in the area attacked”.

Bell concluded his speech in the Lords with these words: “The Allies stand for something greater than power. The chief name inscribed on our banner is ‘Law’. It is of supreme importance that we who, with our Allies, are the liberators of Europe should so use power that it is always under the control of law. It is because the bombing of enemy towns — this area bombing — raises this issue of power unlimited and exclusive that such immense importance is bound to attach to the policy and action of His Majesty’s Government.”

But Bell was speaking against the tide of public opinion. The conflict was too raw, the death toll too high, and the tide of public opinion was against him.

Later, once the war was over, it turned against "Bomber" Harris, and the Lancaster bomber crews got little recognition until the 21st century.

So I can understand my Jewish friend. The events of October 2023 are still so raw, so present, that it is hard for someone who has known family or friends caught up in it to think with any kind of historical perspective. And these are people who have lost family in the Holocaust, which always is a shadow over events.

I don't think they are right in what they are saying, but I can understand it - looking back at 1940-1945 - and looking at the lived experience of those who were there, and their testimony from that time.

Can there ever be peace in the Middle East, and a peaceful settlement between Israel and Gaza? The turmoil and history of the past century has been violent and bloody, and it seems unlikely.

And yet... there is always hope. The conflicts in Ireland went on for centuries, and then after partition and the founding of an independent Irish state, sectarian violence blew up again in Northern Ireland. Death, violence, civilians caught up in years of horror. I grew up with news stories breaking of brutal and savage violence and killings.

But there was a Good Friday agreement reached eventually, and it was a sign that peace is possible. It is difficult, it involves compromises which at present no one may be prepared to make, but that path is always within the realms of possibility. It is not just a matter of agreements on paper, hearts and minds must change as well.

Looking back at the war years in Jersey, Charles Mauleverer, the writer of the song "Faithful and Free" concluded by looking at how history can change perspectives:

"We would play around and explore the abandoned concrete German bunkers and fortifications. And my childhood dreams were often filled with nightmares of Nazis occupying the island. I now feel extremely lucky to have had the chance to study in Germany and to count a number of Germans among my very closest friends. But 75 years ago, saying such a thing, especially here in Jersey, would have been altogether a different matter."

The Sunday Archive: Giving and Receiving: Easter - Spring 2005 - Part 1

This was the magazine of St Brelade's Church. This edition dates from 2005.

Giving and Receiving

They call it Global Warming - But I've been very cold. Perhaps someone will explain it - Or is it because I'm old? -- Anon

EASTER MESSAGE 2005

New Year 2005 saw the whole world moved to offer aid to those areas hit by the Boxing Day Tsunami. During the last few weeks we have been hearing about the rebuilding work undertaken by people who probably felt that they had nothing left to live for. It is heartening to see people who had their whole world literally swept away in an instant starting again. However, some of the resorts which were destroyed in Thailand were fairly unsavoury centres of "sexual tourism" and the Thai government have declared a firm intention not to let these sorts of places develop again. So, even out of unbelievable destruction, new resolutions to build a better society have come.

Although I trust none of us will ever experience the terrifying force of a tsunami, we all, at some stage in our lives, feel as though our lives have been turned upside down - maybe through bereavement, loss of a job, or illness, or failed relationships. We feel as though there is nothing to look forward to and it's just not worth starting again. But we can use these devastating events to get rid of some of the negative things we cling to, that stop us from rebuilding with the optimism of the Tsunami victims, determined to make a better future.

This, of course, is the heart of the Easter message that we hear every year. During Lent we identify with Christ and his followers as their hopes and dreams turn into disillusionment and suffering, culminating in the hideous torture and death of Jesus. What a tsunami of desolation must have washed over Mary, the disciples and followers of Jesus on that first Good Friday.

But we know that that was not the end of the story. Easter Sunday was the triumphant beginning of the tidal wave of Christian hope and love which we seek to share with the world. So wherever there is hope, love and faith, there is God leading his people from despair to a better future. And it does not matter whether they work under the Red Cross, the Red Crescent or wear silly Red Noses, it's the desire to make a difference for the Global Family that matters, for we are all children of God however we choose to acknowledge (or ignore) Him.

So I hope that this Lent you have tried to shed some of your prejudices and misconceptions, maybe patched up a relationship, or taken a small step to change the world - even if only by buying some fairly traded goods! Then, you will be truly ready to celebrate the New Life with Jesus on Easter Day.

Have a very Happy Easter, Mark.

NEWS FROM ST. AUBIN-ON-THE-HILL: From Christopher Davey

As Editor of The Clarion, I am writing this quarter's contribution. This is because Denise Waller's husband Rodney, who is also our outgoing Church Warden - in post for some fourteen years now - is undergoing very serious heart surgery even as I write. We wish him and Denise the greatest good fortune in recovering from this operation, and bear both in our prayers. 

One of those volunteering to take over from Rodney - we really do need three Church Wardens - is Iris Fritz from Hanover. Having holidayed in Jersey over many years and attended our Church whenever she was over here, she became so enchanted with the Island that she decided to uproot herself from Germany, and take up an IT project post with the Royal Bank of Canada. She is now loving her time here, and, as a committed Christian, has offered to bring some youthful feminine blood into our Church, having already helped Kay Pirouet with the Sunday Kid's Club.

In the latter context Kay's venture with the children has proved so successful that early in 2004, it had become increasingly clear that the space afforded by the Vestry was inadequate. So we applied for, and finally, after much delay, received all the necessary permissions to erect an, albeit temporary, chalet in the northeast corner of the Churchyard opposite the Vestry external door. This has involved the excavation of the earth-mound in that corner, which was dug out by Community workers under the auspices of La Moye prison. 

The foundations of sand and blocks have been laid, and even now the Chalet is being erected, and we have every hope that, notwithstanding Rodney's unfortunate absence, it will have been wired up, furnished and ready for opening by Easter. Planning have insisted that, to conform with the build-date of the Church (1880), it must be decorated with 'Colonial era' friezes, and that the paint-work of the structure must be of a dull purplish grey, with the window sashes in white and the doors in red, with royal blue frames. it will not be visible from the main road, but the end result shduld therefore be, not only functional, but quite interesting. With time and weathering, of course, these rather garish colours will surely tone down.

Back in January Kay Pirouet, Kitty and Jessie Blampied joined with members of The Bay to visit Joel and Manjula in South India where they were celebrating their Bicentennial. We shall all be hearing about this trip on 'India Sunday' (3rd April at 10.30am). In the meantime we have been praying for their granddaughter Mini, who has been struck down with Typhoid Fever: she is now recovering, but is still very weak. Another miracle is that Bill Morrice, our long standing and beloved organist, has finally fought off and been reported clear of MRSA.

On the afternoon of Saturday 2nd April at 2.30pm, again with the Wailers out of commission, Christopher and Debbie Davey will be organising the first of the now famous twice-yearly Jumble-Sales in the Parish Hall. If you get there late, you will miss all the best things! (By the way, Jumble may be left at the back of the Church from Monday 28th March).

A symbol of hope in jail.

When Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942, Ethel Mulvaney, a Canadian, was working there for the Red Cross.

Along with more than 4,000 internees, she was locked in Changi Jail, which had been built to accommodate just 400 prisoners. They suffered four years of crowding and hunger, flies and filth, with loneliness and isolation and no news of family at home. Sometimes it seemed that even God had forsaken them.

As the first Easter approached, this brave Red Cross worker went on behalf of the others to ask the officer in charge of the prison if they might sing hymns in the courtyard on Easter morning. "Why?" he asked. "Because Christ rose from the dead on Easter morning," she replied. "No," he barked. "Return to the compound."

Twelve times this strange little drama of request and refusal was repeated, then to their astonishment came the order: "Women prisoners may sing for five minutes in courtyard number 1, Changi Jail, at dawn on Easter morning." In the presence of one guard they sang for five minutes, in which they praised God for Christ's resurrection, the only hope to which they could cling.

Silently they marched back, and as Mrs. Mulvaney entered the passageway, the guard stepped up, reached under his brown shirt and drew out a tiny orchid. Placing it in her hand he said very softly: "Yes, Christ did rise. I know it's true just as you do." And with that he turned and was gone.

Mrs. Mulvaney stood there, her eyes brimming with tears, knowing that she and the others need never again feel completely forsaken in Changi jail. Someone else shared with them the Easter faith.

"About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them." (Acts 16:25)

Joy Hedges.

Editor's note:

I am most grateful to the editor of the "Eastleigh News Extra" Mary Payne, and to Joy Hedges, for allowing me to publish this very moving story. -- Elsie M Pryor

The Stone

'I am Lord Arglay,' he said. 'I wonder, Hajji, if you could spare me ten minutes. 'What is it in itself, I mean?' he urged. 'Yes, Miss Burnett told me its history—but what is it? Is it a new element?'
'I think it is the First Matter,' the Hajji told him, 'from which all things are made—spirits and material things.'
'Spirits?' Arglay said. 'But this is matter;' he pressed a finger on the Stone.
'Matter to matter,' Ibrahim answered, 'but perhaps mind to mind, and soul to soul. That is why it will do anything you ask it—with all your heart. But you must will truly and sincerely.'
-- Charles Williams, Many Dimensions

One from the back catalogue for a change, from 1st March 2005. Inspired by "Many Dimensions" by Charles Williams (one of the Inklings), this is one of my more mystical poems.

The Stone

The white stone was without blemish:
Mystics spun within, whirling dervish;
Inset once in the Crown of Solomon:
Whispers in the dark of Zoroastrian;
Worn by Magi upon a sacred quest,
A glowing repository of final rest;
Then it vanished from history until
A new Empire rises, it is there still;
Charlemagne wore it as centre piece
Of his Crown, and it brought peace,
But it was lost, after his death, when
Divided, his Empire fell, stone lost;
Sought by the alchemists at any cost:
The One Type, from which all came,
A Seeing Stone, reveals Earthly frame;
Afterwards only lesser Types appear:
The Crystal used by the Scrying Seer,
Mirror of Dark glass, and each reflects
Only in part, as the Type within effects
Fragments of sight, not full as the Stone
That once adorned all Wisdom’s Throne.

Subud

A Topical Look at Religion: Molly Leach and David Jones highlight lesser known 'other denominations' which have followers in the Channel Islands

(Jersey Topic 1967)

Subud

In both Jersey and Guernsey there are thriving Subud groups. The teaching of this cult is best illustrated by the events which happened in the life of the well-known film star, Eva Bartok.

Ten years ago she was seriously ill in Holly-wood and was told by doctors that she might not survive the birth of her baby. She was advised to have a serious operation and she came to England for it.

Miss Bartok telephoned from Hollywood to a friend in England and said she would like to talk to him about preparing herself for death.

The friend, Mr. John G. Bennett, scientist and writer was, at that time organising the visit to the United Kingdom of a Javanese Guru, or teacher, of a new religious cult called Subud.

The Guru, Muhammad Subuh, was teaching a new way of worshipping God. He claimed that in 1925 when he was a 24-year-old local government official at Semerang, a town in Middle Java, he was walking under the open sky one night when he saw high above his head a ball of brilliant light. It descended and entered his body through his head. The vibrations produced in his body by this experience were the first indications of the working of a cosmic power which he later passed on to his followers. He claims tkat the ball of light was seen for miles around and was not a subjective hallucination.

For three years Subuh (called Bapak-Father by his followers) experienced a similar occurrence—witnessed by other members of his family.

On a night in June, 1933, Subuh underwent an experience which his followers say it would be wrong to even attempt to describe. Through this he knew he must pass on the contact which he had with Higher Forces and he began to teach and travel.

In 1957 he was to visit Coombe Springs, a house in Kingston-on-Thames, bought by his English disciples.

Eva Bartok came to England and two surgeons urged her to have an operation without delay or there may be fatal complica¬tions. If she did have it she would lose her baby and all possibility of motherhood. Arrangements were made for her to go into a London hospital.

However, she first went to see Mr. Bennett at Coombe Springs and he urged Pak Subuh to see her.

Subuh taught that after his followers had been psychically "opened" by him they would be able to do an exercise called the "Latihan" during which great forces would pour through them. It could drive out mental, physical and spiritual evils. He could delegate the power of "opening" to some of his helpers. Women must open women and men open men, and the exercise of the Latihan is always practised with the sexes segregated.

Pak Subuh's wife, Ibu, "opened" Eva Bartok. Then the following day as Miss Bartok lay on her bed in great pain, Subuh, his wife, Mr. Bennett and a few friends entered her bedroom. Mr. Bennett says "The bedroom was charged with tremendous energy—we all felt the pain and the fear of the sick woman, as though it were part of ourselves. After 40 minutes Subuh left without speaking. Eva Bartok was in great pain all that day, but Bapak said "The crisis is over, she will not need the operation." On the following day Eva Bartok began to improve. She recovered completely and had a healthy baby girl, Deanna, four months later".

Today Miss Bartok is one of Subuh's most loyal followers.

Both Jersey and Guernsey have Subud Groups.

Followers of the cult say that when the Latihan is practised, men sometimes howl like wolves; run on all fours growling, howl and shriek. Sometimes they prey, chant in strange languages, sing or weep.

Pak Subuh says that when the Holy Ghost descended, in the form of tongues of flame, on Christ's disciples, they shouted and howled so that the inkeeper said of them "These men are mad".

Liberation: The Aftermath – Part 3

Liberation: The Aftermath – Part 3

Clearing Up

While Force 135 may have departed, the task of clearing-up and making safe continued until June 1946. British troops dumped or destroyed over 26,000 tons of ammunition and thousands of weapons during that time. Until completed, the threat to Islanders remained graphicagly clear.

As early as Liberation Day, one young Islander had been seriously injured playing with abandoned ammunition on the New North Quay. Sadly, further injuries and even loss of young lives would occur over the months and years to follow.

Concrete fortifications proved more problematic to remove. A few inconveniently placed specimens faced destruction, but the effort involved usually outweighed benefits. Stripped of metalwork during post-war scrap drives, most bunkers were landscaped over or blocked up. It was time to, bury the starkest evidence of occupation and move on.

Truly moving on meant addressing one uncomfortable but lingering question. How had Islanders behaved under the duress of enemy occupation?

Following liberation, there had been swift justice for a few blatant collaborators, with arrests and deportations. Yet some British politicians seemed determined to find evidence of widespread support for the occupying forces. Had Jersey too swiftly surrendered its 'Britishness', they surmised, too fully cooperated with the enemy.

Rightly, more level-headed investigators found no case to answer . Left to-fend for themselves in 1940, Islanders and their leadership had pragmatically adapted to survive the trials of occupation. There had been cooperation, when the interests of Islanders were at stake, but not collaboration.  In 1946, Alexander Coutanche received a much-deserved knighthood in recognition of his wartime achievements.

[Personal note: In my opinion, Aliens Officer Clifford Orange crossed the line in his zeal to record Jews for the Germans, a judgement also made by historian Paul Sanders in "The British Channel Islands Under German Occupation 1940-1945"]

There was further recognition, however, of a need for change in this post-liberation world. The war had not just physically altered Jersey, but greatly affected its people's outlook and expectations.

A 1946 Privy Council Committee recommended the radical overhaul of Island government. Non-elected States Members, the Jurats and Rectors, must give way to newly created Senators and more Deputies, especially representing urban populations.

In 1948, the first election took place under the new system. Among those joining the States was its first female politician, Deputy Ivy Forster who had been incarcerated by the Germans in 1944 for aiding escaped slave workers.

By the time of that election, Jersey had marked three anniversaries of liberation. There were parades, services, ceremonies and celebrations. The tradition understandably took hold, especially after 1952 when 9 May became a public holiday.

Among most significant was the 50th anniversary in 1995. That year saw Liberation Square opened in front of the Pomme d'Or Hotel and unveiling of a bronze Philip Jackson sculpture commemorating the joyous moment of freedom. Its events, which included a re-enactment of the troops landing and flag-raising, have helped shape Liberation Day traditions and ceremonies ever since.

Long may they continue!

Liberation: The Aftermath – Part 2

Liberation: The Aftermath – Part 2

13th May and beyond

Under the inquisitive gaze of Islanders, St Aubin's Bay became a hive of military activity during the days following 12 May 1945.

Most captivating were four voluminous Landing Ship Tank, or LSTs, who arrived on 13 May to beach on the sands. Crewed by British and American sailors and stuffed full of vehicles and equipment, they welcomed visitors onboard to enjoy gladly accepted jam sandwiches.

The LSTs also provided transport for the departing German garrison, which numbered over 11,000 at liberation. Disarmed, marshalled and lined-up, most left from St Aubin's Bay between 13 and 20 May 1945 bound for UK POW camps.

A small number of retained Germans worked alongside Force 135, restoring the harbour and airport and busily clearing weapons, mines and other munitions. British troops would remain until clean-up and restoration was complete, visiting Home Secretary Herbert Morrison announced on 15 May. But a return to civilian control was planned as soon as practically possible.

A sign of returning normality was Jersey's first post-war mailboat from England. Symbolically, the 'Isle of Guernsey' mailboat carried more than just letters and parcels on 26 June 1945. Among her officially welcomed passengers were the first returning Islanders displaced by war.

Most evacuees departing so hurriedly in June 1940 had arrived in England with little idea of what would become them. Lacking family or friends there, the British Government settled them across the north of England. Now, with Jersey's liberation, most were ready to come home.

Just a few arrived on that first boat, thousands more followed over the weeks and months to come. While grateful to be back, there was a challenging reintegration ahead. Two Island communities sundered by war faced getting to know each other again.

That first boat also brought the first returned internees. Their moment of liberation had come as victorious Allied forces overran southern Germany at the end of April 1945. With the region in turmoil, however, a frustrating delay awaiting travel documents and transport ensued.

There was further frustration once in the UK, awaiting permission to come home. It was not until August 1945 that most internees returned to joyous reunions with friends and family last seen nearly three years earlier.

By that time, the Island was ready for one final part in its liberation story. Having completed their allotted tasks, the troops of Force 135 prepared to leave. On 23 August, the States Assembly held a special sitting to bid farewell to their commanding officer, who was departing the next day.

Coming to Jersey was a delight for all the liberating forces, Brigadier Snow told an appreciative chamber, but for him it was, 'the greatest experience he had known.' Yet time had come, in accordance with promises made, for the Island's handover to its normal system of government on 24 August.

For Jersey's liberators it was also time to say farewell, Snow concluded with a flourish, "A helot - goodbye."

Liberation: The Aftermath – Part 1

Liberation: The Aftermath – Part 1

12 May 1945: The main liberation force arrives

As promised by Lieutenant Colonel Robinson, the small British force landing on 9 May was just the vanguard of those allotted the task of taking Jersey back from Nazi control.

While Islanders welcomed their first liberators, the remaining 6,000 members of Force 135 diligently prepared to board the assembled fleet of vessels bound for the Channel Islands. Those destined for Jersey were due to arrive on 12 May 1945.

From early that morning, excited Islanders again gathered in St Helier and thronged the seafront ready to witness and welcome the promised incoming troops. The Bailiff had declared 12 May an impromptu public holiday, allowing everyone that had endured th'e toils of occupation to fully enjoy the triumph of liberation.

They didn't have long to wait. Clearing mists revealed a flotilla of grey Royal Navy vessels quietly anchored in St Aubin's Bay, or busily churning towards the shore.

After securing Elizabeth Castle at 8.30am, a first group of small landing craft entered St Helier Harbour. With police struggling to hold back a huge enthusiastic crowd of onlookers, the leading craft dropped its ramp to ground on the lifeboat ramp near the base of Victoria Pier.

Others swiftly followed, disgorging their complement of fully armed troops to the welcoming shouts of those watching. A group of remarkable vehicles followed, amphibious DUKWs that to the surprise of local onlookers roared out of the water and onto land.

Later, at around 10.30am, three larger landing craft entered the harbourbringing hundreds more troops to swell liberating ranks. Accompanied by welcoming thanks and cheers, they fanned out to secure the Island.

Those troops remaining in St Helier provided an honour guard for a special event planned that evening. At 6.00pm, Islanders gathered in the Royal Square once more, this time to witness a stirring Proclamation Ceremony. From a hastily erected stage, the commanding officer of liberating forces, Brigadier Snow, read out a message from George VI.

`To my most loyal people in the Channel Islands, I send you my heartfelt greetings; the King wrote,
"...with all my peoples, I cordially welcome you on your restoration to freedom and to your rightful place with the free nations of the world."

Sunday Reflections: Liberation Day

There is something very special about a day celebrating freedom, even if many Islanders now had no ancestors who were hear during the dark days of World War II. But that is something about freedom, that after a war in which people were divided they come together. 

There were divisions: Jersey folk here from their kindred who had evacuated from the Island, those deported to Bad Wurzach, Biberach and Laufen, those brought over from Spain as enslaved prisoners of war, or from Russia and Poland as slave workers, and also Germans, torn from their families back home, many just ordinary young men.

Liberation day is a celebration of freedom, and also looks to reconciliation, and that is why it is important for those who have made Jersey their home since the war. It is a national day to come together and celebrate freedom, and of healing divisions.

As Martin Luther King said: "Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred."

Bailiff Tim Le Cocq said this year:


"As we mark this 80th anniversary, let us all stand together as members of our island community, who are all, whether born here of not, inheritors of a legacy, a legacy of endurance, of hope, and of liberation.


And I finish with the words of Trevor Green (from 2020)

"Liberation Day should be celebrated in as many ways as possible involving all who live here, regardless of colour, race, or creed."

"We live in a paradise and enjoy two of the most precious things, freedom and peace."

"Unfortunately, these are not enjoyed by many others the world."

"For those islanders who endured the Occupation years, they paid a heavy price for today's freedom and peace."

The Scapegoats

I saw this child in the news this week. We cannot give help, because aid is blocked. It just made me so angry that there are politicians who condone this blockade, who pursue this war and cannot see how much the innocent suffer. It is perhaps not on the statute books as a form of murder, but when I look at the pain and suffering of this child, I think that those who are deaf to allowing help to get there are as guilty of murder as if they had committed it. They block their eyes, they cover their ears, and children are dying horribly. Of course they have all kinds of excuses, but it is really inexcusable.

This poem is a very angry poem. Look at that child and you will understand why.

The Scapegoats

I turned on the news, just by chance,
Not really watching, taking a glance,
As one does. And then she was there:
Just caught up in a war, suffering, fear;
A small child, I will not forget that face,
Lying in that bed, a wretched place;
Sickly, gasping, starving, needing aid:
But there is no help, hopes just fade;
Aid is blocked by Israel, in this war:
Unfeeling politicians close the door;
And as surely as if murder of a child,
Their foul politics have been defiled;
Isaiah would have words to say today:
Harsh words to those who go this way,
On the boots of the invading troops,
On Hamas, Hezbollah and such groups,
Of shirts soaked with innocent blood,
And lands reduced to rubble and mud;
Abuse of oppressors, tyrants cruelty,
Because they cannot face or see
That child’s face, one of so many,
And nothing will their war deter.
Abandoned, with no regard for her:
The massacre of the innocent I say,
By Herods on their thrones today;
Graves are assigned by wicked men,
So deaf to pleas, again and again,

Who make scapegoats in this way,

Of children, dying day by day,

Through lack of aid, an evil choice:

For the innocent child has no voice;
She has no stately form or majesty,
That we would look on her and see:
But in sickness, a child of great pain,
Whose suffering seems in vain;
But one day a judgement will come,
To mighty men, who beat the drum,
Of war, and order launching shell,
And they will very surely go to hell.

1965 - 60 years ago - May Part 2

1965 - 60 years ago - May Part 2

18.—The Bailiff of Jersey, Mr. R. H. Le Masurier, D.S,C. officially opened the 54th conference of the British Waterworks Association at West Park Pavilion. 600 delegates and their wives attending.

19.—Richard Harding Murray Stableford, who was recently sentenced death by the Full Court for the murder by shooting of Patrick Wilkinson on December 11, has been reprieved and the sentence commuted to life imprisonment.

20.—After a man had been seen in the staff flats at Noel and Porter in King Street. early this morning the entire block of flats was investigated by the police: four holdalls packed with men’s clothing valued at £400 were found ready to take away and three men were later arrested. R.J.A. and HS. Spring Cattle Show held at Springfield. First meeting on the season staged by the Jersey Motor Cycle and Light Club at St. Ouen’s Bay.

21.—Appeals were entered at the Royal Court by three betting offices in two amusement premises against recent decisions by the Gambling licensing Authority. At the Royal Court the residue of the personal estate of a hotelier’s widow who died in squalor amounting to £3,000 as authorized to be divided between three cousins.

22—Party of 23 French dignitaries arrive in the Island as guests of Condor Ltd. and a reception and lunch was given by the Tourism committee. Following the findings of a number of dead Colorado beetles on beaches in the north and east of the Island, spraying precautions were ordered to be taken.—-Twenty-seven Channel Islands take part in the Jersey—Guernsey race for the Piccadilly Trophy, the winner being the Jersey boat Arrow. owned by Mr. G. Godfray.

25.—The spacious new departure lounge at the Airport, costing £81,600, came into use for the first time today. On the La Moye course today, Mrs A. Lindsay (Guernsey), the reigning title-holder retained the CI. Ladies Amateur Golf Championship by defeating the Jersey champion Mrs S. Leapingwell, by 9 and 7.

26.—At a sitting of the Full Court today, Deputy F. E. Luce. of St. John, took the oath of office as a Jurat of the Royal Court (vacancy being caused by the retirement of Jurat C. Orange). At a St Ouen parish assembly it was decided to vote a sum not exceeding £30 for the purposes of commemorating Sark's colonization 400 years by natives of the parish.

27.—Inquest held on the body of 16-year-old Malcolm Emile Falle, who died following injuries received when the bicycle he was riding in collision with a. minibus on Grouville Coast Road on the evening of May 9, a verdict of accidental death being returned ; a second inquest was held on the body of Francois Taillabnesse, a 59—year-old kitchen porter, whose body was found lying at the foot of a disused quarry at the back of Westmount Works, a verdict of accidental death being recorded. In an official statement today Channel Television announced that it is to sell a controlling interest (51 per cent) of its shares to the Associated British Picture Corporation Ltd. Residents at Les Pouquelaye area hold protest meeting at Town Hall against the deal by the Island Development Committee to re-zone the area for industrial purposes. 

28. —The sentencing of three of four 13-year old boys who pleaded by at the Royal Court to stealing from and causing damage in churches was deferred for six weeks today ; the fourth was placed probation for two years. Antl-fluoridation meeting held by the Jersey Anti-fluoridation Association—At a meeting of the Jersey Drag Hunt and Chase Club in was stated that, a profit of £1,500 had been made on the year.

May 8th: Churchill's Speech and May 9th: Liberation Day

Force 135 arriving

May 8th: Churchill's Speech and May 9th: Liberation Day

From the 75th Anniversary Booklet

Force 135

Britain had been considering plans to take back the Channel Islands since 1942. A military attack was soon ruled out however. The strength of German defence and inevitable heavy loss of life — among both attackers and civilians - made such an option unpalatable.

Instead, from late 1943 preparations began for a peaceful reoccupation following either German evacuation or surrender. Under the command of Brigadier Alfred Snow, Task Force 135 formed to plan and execute the operation

Through 1944 and into 1945, Snow's command assembled in the Plymouth area, training intensively in preparation for their liberating duties. None more so than the scattering of Jersey soldiers within its ranks. For them, the upcoming operation would be a deeply personal undertaking.

At the start of May 1945, as the war in Europe ended, they and the 6,000 other men of Force 135 were ready and waiting for Operation Nestegg to begin

The day of liberation, while not quite yet arrived, was at hand.

That drama had been most acutely felt during the final desperate winter of occupation. While SS Vega's precious arrival may have eased the threat of starvation, Islanders remained isolated and anxious over their unpredictable future. Especially unsettling was Hitler's appointment of a new German commander for the Channel Islands. Committed Nazi Vice Admiral Huffmeier ominously promised to, 'hold out...until final victory'.

Islanders could only hope it would be an Allied victory, to bring about a change in mind.

And on May 8th, hope was realised with the erection of loudspeakers permitted, to publicly broadcast Churchill's forthcoming victory speech.

Alongside that broadcast on 8 May, the Bailiff announced an agreed release of local political prisoners and Allied POWs. And there is no longer any restriction on di listening to radios, Coutanche told Islanders in emotional tones before leading the crowd in singing the National Anthem openly for the first time in nearly five years.

“And now our dear Channel Islands are also to be free...”

Prime Minister Winston Churchill's stirring words, publicly broadcast across St Helier, released a great outpouring of clapping and cheers. '...When "Winnie's" voice came over everyone was sure it was no dream,' recorded the Evening Post, 'all they had waited for had come true'

Cheers were loudest in St Helier's Royal Square where Jersey's Bailiff addressed excited crowds struggling to take everything in. There was a historic poignancy between that moment, Alexander Coutanche reflected, and one occurring in the same place nearly five years earlier. In 1940, a sombre, anxious crowd watched while workman painted a huge white cross on the square's historic paving stones

Churchill's speech and the Bailiff's words resulted in a boisterous evening of celebration across the Island and raised feverish anticipation for the following day.

Liberation: 9 May 1945

From early morning on 9 May, crowds began gathering in St Helier, unsure but eager to see what would happen. At just after 10 o'clock a huge cheer went up. A first British warship had been sighted rounding Noirmont Point and entering St Aubin's Bay. The liberators were finally in sight.

Ships bearing Force 135's advance guard had set-off from Plymouth on the previous day, bound first for Guernsey. Following a tense standoff, Brigadier Snow secured Elliffmeier's unconditional agreement. At 7.15am on 9 May, the German surrender was duly signed on the quarterdeck of HMS Bulldog, anchored off St Peter Port.

Transferring to HMS Beagle, Brigadier Snow then departed for Jersey. Signalling ahead, he ordered German representatives to a rendezvous off Elizabeth Castle, there to confirm acceptance of the surrender terms.

To the bemusement of Islanders, however, a frustrating delay ensued while the matter of just who should go to the Beagle played out. At last, just after midday, a small launch bearing the German fortress commander set off from the Albert Pier. Alongside the humbled Major General Wulf stood the jubilant, waving figure of Bailiff Alexander Coutanche, intent on witnessing the official end to German occupation.

Onboard HMS Beagle, Wulf confirmed his intention to obey the surrender order. In preparation for liberation, he furthermore agreed to remove all German forces from St Helier and begin disarming the garrison. Satisfied with progress, the Bailiff asked permission to send signals to the Prime Minister and King assuring the “...devotion of the Islanders”

By then, the first liberators were already on Jersey and being cheered themselves.

As the launch bearing Wulf and Coutanche had departed, another bringing a small reconnaissance party from HMS Beagle came alongside the Albert Pier. Mobbed by ecstatic crowds, Surgeon-Lieutenant Ronald McDonald and Sub-Lieutenant David Milln were carried on shoulders to reach the Harbour Office opposite Pomme d'Or Hotel.

From the office's first floor, Surgeon-Lieutenant McDonald briefly addressed the crowd outside. He offered profuse thanks for the warmth of reception, before, to great cheers from below, unfurling a huge British Union Flag from the window.

With that he gave signal for Jersey's Harbourmaster, Captain Harry Richmond, to raise the Union Flag, to the crowd's enormous delight. Wild cheering broke out, followed by lusty singing of the National Anthem.

Among a day of momentous events, they had just witnessed perhaps the most significant of all. With this first official flag-raising, Jersey had formerly transitioned from Nazi control back to British rule.
That day's events were far from over however. Soon after the Pomme d'Or flag raising, Bailiff Coutanche returned from HMS Beagle, to the elation of grateful Islanders who gathered to greet him.

With Allied aircraft roaring low overhead, a curious period of uncertainty followed. Had liberation happened? Was there more to come? To everyone's delight, at 2.30pm that afternoon a second British vessel nosed into the harbour and came alongside the New North Quay. Jersey's 'formal' liberation was about to begin.

Having gained German compliance, and the reconnaissance party's assurance, Lieutenant Colonel William Robinson, the appointed Island commander, brought his 23-strong force ashore. They were greeted by a sea of cheering Islanders, eager to see, and touch, these smiling 'Tommies'.

Robinson's intended destination was the Pomme d'Or Hotel, earmarked for his headquarters. Struggling to make headway through a mass of handshakes, hugs, slaps on the back and kisses, however, Robinson led his men into Ordinance Yard instead climbing the steps to Pier Road. Among his party was Captain Hugh Le Brocq, who had left with the Jersey Militia in 1940, and who now proudly had orders to takeover Fort Regent from German control.

Leaving Captain Le Brocq to secure the Fort and take down the Nazi flag flying over its ramparts, Robinson managed to commandeer a lorry which drove him slowly through besieging crowds to finally reach the Pomme d'Or. As German Naval Headquarters, the hotel still flew a huge swastika flag from its balcony, which Robinson ordered removed. Noticing Surgeon-Lieutenant McDonald's Union Flag hanging from the Harbour Office's window, he ordered this brought across to the, hotel.

Around 3.40pm, Lieutenant Colonel Robinson came out onto the hotel balcony to address the gathered crowds below. The ordeal of occupation was truly over, he emotionally announced, more troops will soon arrive to complete liberation, and the Germans taken away

From surrender to liberation: Jersey had come through one of the most dramatic periods in its history.