Lt.-Col. Philip Le Gallais

Lt.-Col. Philip Le Gallais

A Topical series, by Andrew Gilliam, of the distinguished military men and women of the Channel Islands

(Jersey Topic 1967)

IT WAS A WARM DAY in St. Helier on July 19, 1871. A young boy stared at a group of brilliantly dressed officers and men of the Island Militia and in his mind were sown seeds of ambitious military ambitions.

Years pass. The sun slowly sets over the South African town of Pretoria. British troops are dusty and tired but elated. The year is 1900. The men, under the command of Lord Roberts, had taken the undefended town and this had given them a much needed taste of victory and a sense of satisfaction.

In the administrative buildings General Lord Roberts sits at a long table reading reports. He knows that the struggle is far from over. The Boers are the masters of commando warfare and they rarely risk fight¬ing a formal battle. They used their knowledge of the terrain to maintain a supremacy which is causing anxiety and embarrassment not only to Lord Roberts but also to the whole British nation. But the idea of British troops adopting tactics to suit the terrain is still foreign to the High Command.

Some miles from Pretoria a lone figure on horseback, wearing bush clothing and high riding boots, is observing the distant camp fires. Suddenly he hears a crackling amongst the trees some distance behind him. His hands move swiftly to his rifle. After a minute or two he recognises the silhouette of a known messenger. The man advances and salutes. The whispered message is in Afrik-aans .... papers pass between them. The horseman now knows that a force, under the British Commander, Ian Hamilton, is coming to Pretoria.

Lord Roberts was also studying a report which gave him this news. He recognises one name, the name of a man whose sole purpose would be to seek out one Boer general.

The general—the horseman who had earlier been spying on the camp—was Christian de Wet, and his appointed hunter was the Jerseyman, Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Le Gallais.

The wheels of fate had been set in motion and the two men were now set on an inevit-able and fatal course of collision.

De Wet had been harassed for several months by various groups under the command of General Lord Mathueu. But, in the hun¬dreds of square miles of undulating veld, de Wet had managed not only to avoid capture but also to maintain liason with the various groups under his command, and with the ever-moving Boer leaders. He hounded the British over a vast area: an unexpected swoop on a body of Imperial Yeomanry at Lindley, inflicting heavy casualties, cutting lines of communication, destroying railway lines and even ambushing and forcing the surrender of a militia battalion of Derbyshires near the Rhenoster.

Days pass, and soon various detachments of British troops are on their way out into the veld to begin the search for de Wet. Lieutenant-Colonel Le Gallais has decided to search the Valsch River area as intelligence reports have indicated that de Wet might be approaching the area with a view to raids into the Cape Colony area.

With great care, avoiding obvious trails and tracks, Le Gallais heads towards the Valsch River. At night they pass by small camps of Boers and make detours to avoid skirmishes. There are no other British troops in the area, and for once, the element of surprise is with the British. Le Gallais wishes to use this powerful weapon in a most devastating way—if only he can find de Wet.

Next day General de Wet and a detachment of commandos head off toward the Cape Colony. November 5, 1900. The sun has set and de Wet is giving orders for the setting-up of camp not far from Bothaville and within sight of the Valsch river.

There has been a slight skirmish with some British troops earlier in the day. De Wet was sure that they were merely a scouting party

he had had negative reports from his scouts as to the possibility of a large British detach¬ment in the area:The scouting party were seven miles to his rear and in the morning his troops were to split up.

But Le Gallais had patiently waited all day with his unit on hiding, across the river in front of de Wet.

All day the Jerseyman had thought on the situation. To confront de Wet in open battle would be futile as de Wet would merely fan out his troops. The terrain did not even lend itself to an ambush that would work. De Wet's superior weapons and fresh horses gave him too many advantages. Le Gallais could not risk sending a messenger around to the scouting party which did not know of his presence. Capture of the messenger would remove any element of surprise.

So he decided on an early morning attack with his men in fixed positions on either side of the valley. He planned to take enough men across the river and station them on either side of de Wet's camp and to leave a front line of troops in his present position. He hoped to give the impression that the encamp-ment was surrounded and force de Wet to surrender. Le Gallais also hoped that the scouting party at the rear of the enemy would quickly appreciate the situation once the firing broke out and would advance.

Throughout the night the Jerseyman moved his men slowly down the slope, across the river, and up to the positions he had chosen. A hot sticky night with the threat of a storm in the air. With extreme delicacy Le Gallais' men moved amid the constant noise of bush animals and insects. Sweat pours down and soaks the men's tunics .... even the river is lukewarm and unrefreshing. Soon all is ready, Le Gallais is within sight of his finest hour.

There is a deadly hush over the valley. It is a few moments before sunrise and a slight steamy mist rises from the river. And then ... shots ring out. Bullets pour into the Boer camp from 300 paces.

Immediately the Boers are awake and seek-ing shelter as best they can. De Wet has hurriedly dressed and is out trying to organise his men. He fears the worst. He feels caught in a situation in which he himself has caught others. There is chaos everywhere .... men seeking shelter from the deadly rain, others trying to mount horses or trying to reach the heavy Krupp guns. Men fall about him. Bullets tearthrough the undergrowth, ricochet off tree trunks and hit his men with terrifying rapidity.

For five hours the battle rages .... the Boers fighting for their very survival and receiving no quarter from the attacking force. The three-quarter encirclement is slowly closing in on the Boers. Le Gallais is there slowly bringing de Wet closer to capture or a fighting death.

The air is full of smoke and dust, shouts and cries. Then, General de Wet gets a message. There are no British at his rear. There are no troops waiting to advance in on him. The way is clear for retreat. But word spreads fast and within minutes Boers are leaping onto horses and there develops even greater chaos. De Wet tries desperately and unsuccessfully to halt his fleeing men.

Le Gallais, seeing the enemy pulling back, instantly realises that his bluff has been called. The scouting party had long since withdrawn. His horses are across the valley. He now sees that de Wet is slipping away and he must make one last desperate attempt. He advances down the short slope and, in their hundreds, his men follow.

  

De Wet sees this and he himself retreats at a gallop. Le Gallais' men are unable to follow and, in that final charge the Jerseyman is fatally wounded.

Of Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Le Gallais Christian de Wet was later to write "Without doubt one of the bravest English officers I ever met."

Munich Revisited

A very pessimistic poem, contemplating recent world events, and looking back at the past. J.D. Vance in a speech in Munich has just said that "Democracy rests on the sacred principle that the voice of the people matters" in advocating that the strident far right parties in Europe reflect the voice of the people, and this is all that matters. It seems that nowadays, all kinds of hate speech, gross malice and intolerance are justified by freedom of speech.

He seems not to have read John Stuart Mill: “The will of the people, moreover, practically means the will of the most numerous or the most active part of the people; the majority, or those who succeed in making themselves accepted as the majority, consequently, may desire to oppress a part of their number; and precautions are as much needed against this as against any other abuse of power.”

Munich Revisited

Peace in our time, but the price of peace?
Maybe that the fighting will come to cease,
Only because the rise again of dark forces,
As if once more the stars in their courses,
Warned of evil times, of no friendly word:
But only that the politics of hate are heard;
Immigrants looked at with loathing, fear:
Violence erupts to destroy all we hold dear;
The strident tones of past dictator’s ghost,
Raising strange salutes, with a new toast
To a time of chaos. The centre cannot hold,
When the demagogue sounds forth bold,
To tear up the rules of law, and fight,
And like the red weed infested blight,
Spread across the world. Things to come,
Beginning with the beating of the drum,
And then war? Who can tell, who can say?
An avalanche tearing forth without delay,
Destroying all in its wake. Speak out?
Voices drowned with fear and doubt;
And no one to speak truth to power,
But to give obeisance, and just cower;
As into times of chaos we now fall,
Will not one person stand up tall?
The world carved up like a cake
And truth and justice do forsake.

1965 - 60 years ago - February Part 2

1965 - 60 years ago - February Part 2

15.—At a packed meeting at the Town Hall overwhelming opposition was expressed to the proposed yachting marina at Gorey. It was announced today that Her Majesty the Queen, on the recommendation of the Home Secret has approved the appointment of Mr. Herbert Vyvian Benest, Sergent .de Justice of the Royal Court,. to the office of Viscount of that Court.--A cave, hitherto unknown, was discovered by a party of rock climbers at La Belle Hougue, Trinity, yesterday morning, it is 20 ft. above high water mark and goes back into the cliff for 60 ft. ending in a small chamber.

17. In the election for Constable of St. Mary, rendered vacant by the death of Mr. A. G. Dallain, Centenier R. H. Le Cornu was elected by 222 votes to 162 over his opponent, Vingtenier F. J. de Ia Haye.—Annual general meeting of the Battle of Flowers Association, a. loss of £800 being announced for 1964.

19.—The motion “That drink is a curse " carried by small majority at fortnightly discussion by the Jersey Debating Club.

22.—The West German Ambassador to London, Dr. Hasso von Etzdorf, made courtesy calls on His Excellency the Lieut.-Governor and on the Bailiff before leaving the Island at lunch-time.—Thieves who broke into the offices of the Jersey Steel Co. Ltd., at Goose Green arch, Beaumont, over the weekend stole 18 in cash and insurance cards belonging to employees.--The States Fire Service dealt with more than 1.000 calls of all types last year, but fire damage (estimated to have cost £73,000 was 14,000 less than the previous year.

24.—This morning the Full Court ruled that because Mr. J. J. Le Marquand, the former Senator, did not pay the fees until four years after he had successfully petitioned for admission as a member of the Inns of Court, he was not at present qualified to be called to the Jersey Bar.—Rotarians in Jersey today celebrated the 60th anniversary of the founding of the first Rotary Club with anniversary luncheon at the Hotel de France. At an electoral meeting at the Town Hall, Constable's Officer S. Gallichan was returned unopposed to complete the term or office of the late Centenier W. A. Parker

25.—Annual meeting of La Societe Jersiaise, plans being announced for taking over property adjoining the Museum— St. John's parish assembly votes £1,000 for repairs to the Rectory.—At the annual general meeting of the Jersey Hotel and Guest House Association, Mr. B. Binningtor was elected president.

26.—Guest speaker at the meeting of the local branch of the Royal Commonwealth Society was a well-known Island “originaire" Mr C. M Le Quesne, C.M.G., head of the West and Central African Department of the Foreign Office.

27.-----Large crowd at the Opera House see Leonis A.B.C. defeat a British Army team by nine bouts to three.

The Rule of Organic Law

This poem takes its title and some of its theme from Charles Williams "Many Dimension" when Lord Arglay is working on. Organic law is law that constitutes the 'organs' or instruments of governance themselves. This may be stricter or looser, depending on the state of law, and I have chosen to interpret it as the key underpinnings of justice itself, and how the natural environment has its own laws, which we ignore at our peril. We cannot order the earth to "obey", however many executive orders a President may give, and the dangers of climate change are ever present, however much we may wish them away.

The Rule of Organic Law

Deny nature, and pollute the earth,
And an executive order will give birth,
To the coming winds of change,
That sweep across the mountain range,
And right across the fertile plain,
Bringing devastation, loss and pain;
The earth rebels, as if an infection
Needs to be taught by its subjection
To the winds that blow, terrible, strong:
A sign of all that mankind does wrong;
And in their wake the floods and fire,
A melancholy note played on the lyre:
The funeral lament, towards last rites,
For those who dare ascend such heights
Of folly. Pride and avarice bring a curse,
And the angry earth will not disperse;
The dark shadows that will now fall:
Precious resources, a stolen haul,
That cannot be replenished again:
So foolish is the desire of men;
And so once more a wind is rising,
For there is no more disguising,
By clever words, by orders made,
How all will someday be afraid;
Tempests blow down frail house,
Fires burn no rains can douse;
And ice will come, deep snow,
Freezing certainties with woe;
And heat will come, and burn,
Unless we listen and return,
To the rule of organic law:
And close that deadly door.

1965 - 60 years ago - February Part 1

1965 - 60 years ago - February Part 1

1.—At the inquest held on the body of Centenier W, A. Parker, of St Helier, a verdict was returned that he died from injuries received when he was struck on the head by a metal traffic sign after it had been hit by a furniture van as he was walking along the pavement in Lempriere. Street. It was announced by the Motor Taxation Department today that 23,806 tax discs were issued last month ; this is almost 1,500 above the total issued in January last year. A shock for Jersey's business life came today with the announcement that the Jersey Tobacco Company will close at the end of March, the reason being that the factory is too large for its production and can no longer cover its overheads.

2.—At a nomination meeting .held in St. Saviour's Parish Hall, Mr. G. Gallichan, of La Tourelle, was returned unopposed as Centenier, replacing Mr. V. E. Collins (resigned).

3.—At the Royal Court today Mrs. M. O. Ozard_described as a "professional abortionist". was jailed for 18 months ; Alan Edgar Talibard and his wife Linda, who pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy to unlawfully use an instrument to procure a miscarriage, were bound over for three years and ordered to pay costs of £25,—After nearly 40 years as one of the Island's best known laundries, the Lilywhite Laundry Ltd., of Maison Labey, St. Aubin, is to close down for economic reasons.—The most famous of all hockey journalists, Mr. R. L. Hollands, guest of honour at annual dinner of Jersey Hockey Club.

[Before the introduction of the 1997 law, termination of pregnancy in Jersey constituted the crime of murder or manslaughter unless performed “in good faith for the purpose only of preserving the life of the mother” or “when the continuance of the pregnancy would make the woman a physical or mental wreck” The UK law came in 1967.]

5.—Jersey Blind Society's annual ball held at West Park Pavilion.—Jersey Debating Club motion "That all progress depends on the rebel” carried by 28 votes to 18 at usual fortnightly meeting.

9.—Copper piping valued at £580 and weighing more than a ton was stolen between midday Sunday and midday yesterday from a shed on a building site at Les Quennevais, St. Brelade.

10,—Thieves who broke into the warehouse of Burnhams Transport Ltd., Victoria Road, Georgetown, during the night got away with a haul of 150 dozen bottles of lager and a quantity of tinned foodstuffs.—Public meeting at St. Saviour discusses the possible development of Fort Regent and the island site at the Weighbridge by the Burley group of companies, many opinions being expressed.

12.—Annual dinner of local branch of the British Legion, the national chairman, Lord Carew, being guest of honour.

13.-0ver the period of the past three weeks tinned foodstuffs, fish and fruit, valued at more than £300, have been stolen from the store of A. P. Falle and Sons, the merchants of Commercial Street. At the Opera House the celebrated Amadeus String Quartet received a rousing ovation from .an. enthusiastic audience.

Time in Chains: my poetry collection from 2021-2022

 

Time in Chains: my poetry collection from 2021-2022

Copies in Jersey available for £5. (No P&P)

https://www.lulu.com/shop/tony-bellows/time-in-chains/paperback/product-g6kvkr.html

An Irish Imbolc

Imbolc or Imbolg (Irish pronunciation: [ə ˈmˠɔlˠəɡ]), also called Saint Brigid's Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Bríde; Scottish Gaelic: Là Fhèill Brìghde; Manx: Laa'l Breeshey), is a Gaelic traditional festival. It marks the beginning of spring, and for Christians, it is the feast day of Saint Brigid, Ireland's patroness saint. Its traditional date is 1 February, about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.

An Irish Imbolc

I weave crosses for Saint Brigid's Day
Hand over the windows and the door
Protection of the goddess they say
And healing for the sick and sore

The Mound on the Hill of Tara today
Where the rising sun at the entrance
Is a shining beam down passage way
Onto the chamber wall, to entrance

The fire at Kildare still shines bright
Abbey ruins come alive once more
Shadows of the past come into sight
Blessings of the goddess we adore

Now the lambs frolic and prance
And we join in the Imbolc dance

Victor Hugo by H. T. Porter

 

Victor Hugo by H. T. Porter
From Jersey Life, 1966

VICTOR HUGO, the celebrated French V writer, was born at Besancon, Doubs, on February 26th, 1802, and, comparatively early in life, achieved great success, his genius as a novelist, poet and playwright ' being widely acknowledged.

As a politician, however, although he became a Peer of France and a Republican Deputy, he was a failure.

After the French Coup d'Etat of December 2nd, 1851, Louis-Napoleon assumed dictorial powers. He thus in-curred the intense hostility of Victor Hugo, who, passionately devoted to the cause of freedom, took refuge in Brussels, having fled from France with a forged passport and disguised as a workman. Whilst there he wrote Histoire d'un Crime, a reference to the Coup d'Etat.

The Belgian Government, fearing the effect that the possible publication of another of his works, Napoleon-le-Petit, might have on its relations with France, requested him to leave the country. This he did, from Antwerp, on August 1st, 1852, and made his way, via London, to Jersey, where he arrived on August 5th of the same year.

Within a short time he succeeded in renting a furnished house in Marine Terrace by the sea at St. Luke's in the Parish of St. Clement. This Terrace was, at that time, detached, and from 1852¬1855, in No. 3, the house now known as the Maison ;Victor Hugo Hotel, he lived with his family and Auguste Vacquerie, a relative. Here Victor Hugo wrote, among other works, Les Chatiments and part of Les Contemplations.

Other French exiles in the Island printed a paper called L'Homme, Organe de la Democratie Universelle. On October 10th, 1855, it reproduced a violent and disrespectful letter addressed to Queen Victoria (Lettre a la Reine d' Angleterre), which had been read in London at a meeting organized by the Comite Inter-national et de la Commune revolution¬naire. The letter was written by a French exile Felix Pyat who had sought sanctuary in London and who was enraged by the Queen's recent official visit to Napoleon III—L'Homme du Deux-Decembre.

For reproducing this letter, a document which caused great indignation in Jersey, the proprietor, the editor and the distributor of L'Homme were expelled from the Island by the Lieutenant Governor.

Victor Hugo thereupon wrote and signed a Declaration in protest, as a result of which he and the thirty-five other signatories thereof were also expelled.

 

On October 31st, 1855, he arrived in Guernsey where he, his family and Auguste Vacquerie resided at Hauteville House which he, Victor Hugo, had bought and in which he lived from 1856-1870. It is now a museum devoted to him and his possessions, many of these being of great interest and value. It is in St. Peter Port and belongs to the City of Paris. After 1870 he paid three visits to Guernsey—in 1872 (nearly a year), in 1875 (a week) and in 1878 (four months). In spite of his long residence in the Chan nel Islands, he made no attempt to learn English and used to say `Quand l'Angle-terre voudra causer avec moi, elle apprendra ma langue'. ('When England wishes to talk with me, she will learn my language').

 

He had five children, Leopolkbharles, Francois-Victor, Leopoldine and‘ Adele. All but the latter, who lost her reason, died during his lifetime. In 1843 his eldest daughter Leopoldine, aged nine¬teen, to whom he was devoted, was drowned in the Seine with her husband Charles Vacquerie, brother of Auguste Vacquerie, poet, journalist and author, who shared the Hugos' home.

Victor Hugo, whose father was a general, died in Paris on May 22nd, 1885, and was buried in the Pantheon. His wife, Adele, died on August 27th, 1868—she being about a year younger than he.

At the base of his statue in Candie Gardens, Guernsey, is the following inscription, part of the dedication of The Toilers of the Sea, his great novel written at Hauteville House.

`Au rocher d'hospitalite et de liberte ce coin de vieille tarre normande ou vit le noble petit peuple de la mer a l'ile Guernsey, severe et douce'.

 The Roches des Proscrits, a large rock not far from the Maison Victor Hugo Hotel, was, at that time, a meeting place for many exiles; living on the Island.

 His son, Francois-Victor, translated in masterly fashion, the entire works of Shakespeare into French. He also wrote La Normandie Inconnue (another way of saying the Channel Islands), in which he describes his own and his father's de-parture from Jersey .. .

 `It was the 31st of October, 1855. It was, six in the morning. In spite of light rain, fine and penetrating, my father wished to proceed on foot along the road which leads from Marine Terrace to the Victoria Pier where we were to embark. This road is certainly charming, it avoids the town, which is an advantage; it also skirts the coast, passes through a fisherman's hamlet called Havre des Pas and is lost to sight under the trees of a steep hill. And many memories of the road drew us towards it. My father chose it because he preferred it and because he felt grateful. I walked with him, an arm on his, and in the hand of the other I carried a small suit-case containing various items which would be needed on the journey. My mother, sister and brother and the tireless friend, whom I likewise call my brother, were to rejoin us two days later. Having lived for three years in Jersey, we were leaving it forever'.

 But it was not to be forever, for in 1860 he returned to the Island and, in support of Garibaldi, made an impressive speech before a huge crowd. Later, at a banquet, in reply to a toast, he praised the Island and its people, giving various reasons why he had become attached to them, 'We all like Jersey'.

 

Touch

One from the archive today, from 21 February 2005.

One of the striking things about feminist theology, such as that of Moltmann-Wendel, is the rediscovery of the way in which the taboos about touch and being unclean are broken, particularly in the gospel of Mark; they are notably toned down or removed in Matthew. This poem is a reflection of my reading on this subject.

Touch

The woman came, bleeding, touched
The hem of his robe, and he stopped
Asked of the crowd, who just did so
Fearful, she came, trembling, in woe
Lest she be punished, unclean woman

Yet he reached forth, with an abandon
Held her hands, eyes locked together
For a moment; gently, he now tells her
That her faith has cured her, reach out
Touch, and be healed, and never doubt
That none will be excluded, and hands
Reach even over death, promised lands
In which we will know, touch, embrace
Pure, living, personal, loving grace.

Legends of St Marculf and the Seas

St Marculf is associated in later legends with St Helier, although that only comes into the much later Life of Helier which dates from the 10th century, around 400 years after the time of St Helier, and has scant historical merit.

Legends of St Marculf and the Seas
By Philip Ahier

"While St. Marculf stayed in Jersey there was a devastating raid upon it by the Northmen, which produced dire terror upon the few inhabitants thereof. Owing to the absence of any semblance of resistance, the greater part of the population hid themselves in grottos and caves.

"The chroniclers (i.e. the writers of the lives of the Saints) related that one set of raiders consisted of no less than 3,000 men, but in all probability there were fewer. Be that as it may, St. Marculf prevented a party of Islanders from fleeing; mustering a little army, he put himself at their head; astonished at his insuperable valour, they followed him. His courage, and his energy gave them new life, and marching with them, he cheered them on to win a glorious victory against their oppressors.

" 'Arm yourselves, keep more closely together, stand firm, and Heaven will come to your aid,' said the intrepid monk to them. `Remember how Pharaoh's great army was engulfed in the Red Sea while pursuing the Israelites, then you will behold your redoubtable enemies, scattered and annihilated.' "

"Hurling themselves with all their strength upon the pirates, they routed and overthrew them, because, being taken unawares of an unforseen attack, the latter hurriedly betook themselves to their boats at the moment when, it is said, a furious tempest arose and burst upon them, scattered their ships, flung them upon the rocks and swamped them."

The above has been freely translated from Mr. J. Le Bas' account given in the "Almanach de la Chronique de Jersey" for 1888 (pp. 162-163). He says his authorities were G. Dupont and Mons. L'Abbe Le Canu. This legend also appears in the "Acta Sanctorum" compiled by the Bollandists, and in Pigeon's "Saints ,du Diocese de Coutances," quoted by the Rev. G. R. Balleine in his "Biographical Dictionary of Jersey." (pp. 638-644).

Mr. Le Bas seems to have combined all the possible versions into one compact whole. From Pigeon's "Saints" we learn that "the Lord of the Island when he heard of the great victory of the Islanders over the pirates, gave the Saint half of the Island and here he built a monastery, in which he placed monks to form a Household of God." (B.D.J., p.. 638).

Mr. Balleine comments on this legend as follows:—

"The Pirate story is practically the same as the one told of St. Magloire in Sark. He too encouraged the natives to resist. He too received from the Lord of the Island half the land as a gift. He too built there (in Sark) a monastery. The legends of the two saints with somewhat similar names, have clearly become entangled. So the whole incident (of the Pirates) may belong to Sark." (B.D.J., p. 639).

The Biography of St. Marculf is given by Mr. Balleine in B.D.J., pp. 643-646.

A second legend relates of St. Marculf, which I have not seen elsewhere, is given by Mr. Le Bas in the same "Almanach," (p. 163):—

"One day as St. Marculf was seated on the seashore, in deep meditation, a woman of ravishing beauty appeared to him as she, siren-like, leapt out of the sea-water; her long tresses fluttering at the whim of zephyrs, her clothes streaming with the ocean spray, her eyes sparkling and beaming with impassioned and seductive love. In a voice throbbing, plaintive, tender, and sorrow¬ful, she asked for aid.

"Said she to him tearfully: 'I am a poor shipwrecked woman, have compassion on my misfortune, the relentless sea has flung me upon your hospitable Island; grant me hospitality by giving me nourishment to appease my ravenous appetite and some water to quench my insatiable thirst.'

"Without saying a word, St. Marculf turned towards the entrance of his humble cottage and consecrating some bread with the Sign of the Cross, held it towards the pretended shipwrecked woman and said: 'If you are what you appear to be, take the bread which I have blessed in the name of Jesus Christ.'

"On hearing the Honoured Name, a transformation occurred in her figure; her features became hideous and livid, her form became converted into a phantom which vanished, while the Saint heard in the sea, a great noise as if a burning fire had been plunged therein."

“St. Marculf returned to the Monastery to celebrate Easter week and related the above story to his fellow-monks.”

Firestorm

The wild fires in Los Angeles were very much in my mind when I wrote this poem.

Firestorm

Flames lick, hungry tongues of fire
Burning trees, the forest is ablaze
Made easier as land grows drier
Smoking timbers message raise

Houses burn, wood cries in pain
And all it takes is just one spark
The endless sun, no sign of rain
Glowing embers leave a mark

Families flee, homes are lost
Their past has gone up in flame
Later count such dreadful cost
Climate change: we are to blame

The firestorm warns us: take care
Or Prometheus will bring fear

La Fontaine de Mirtre

La Fontaine de Mirtre
by Philip Ahier

Early Guide Book compilers dwelt upon the magical and medicinal properties of this Spring, which is also known as La Belle Hougue Spring and La Fontaine des Mittes.

The Spring itself is on the promontory of La Belle Hougue at the North of the parish of Trinity.

Two Guide Books of the Forties of the last century expatiated at considerable length upon it.

The anonymous compiler of "A Week's Visit to Jersey," compiled after 1844, wrote concerning La Fontaine de Mirtre (p. 162):—

"At the foot of Belle Hougue point, we are told by one authority, there is a miraculous spring, which has the power of loosening the tongue, nay, even of giving speech to the dumb, provided that the draught be taken before sunrise.

"It is a mineral spring, of a ferruginous quality, called 'La Fontaine de Mirtre,' to which some few resort; but being in a part little frequented, and at some distance from any house, it is not so much sought after as if it were placed in a more favourable situation, added to which it is but little known, except to those who reside in the neighbourhood

"Its waters are said to be also a beneficial for sore eyes. The whereabouts of this tongue-loosening spring, my dear sister, your not being with us, we did not take the pains to verify. In our case, its virtues would, of course, have been superflous."(!)

The above account of "La Fontaine de Mirtre" or "Fontaine des Mittes," appeared in many Guide Books after 1844, and, in 1856, our old friend, Mr. Octavius Rooke, in his "Channel Islands" (pp. 65) "dedicated the following legend" to it:—

"In ages gone by, when yet the world was young, two fairies dwelt there, together they lived, enjoying all that was glad and beauteous upon God's earth. There was then no sin to mar, no crime that could pollute earth, heaven, sea, air and sky; all sang the Almighty's praise; sweet sounds of music rolled from sphere to sphere, and bright glad spirits wandered where now man slaves to gain his daily bread by the hard labour of his toil-worn hands.

"Down mid the ever-blooming flowers, these fairies sat-Arna and Auirna were their names—together they had lived and loved for many an age, but now their state was soon to change, for they had passed the time allotted to them on earth, and soon their God would place them in a still higher sphere of joy.

"Together, hand in hand, they sat, and while they gazed, an angel's form swept down, and thus he spoke:-

" 'Arm and Aiurna, I come to take thee to a new bright home beyond the Stars, there wilt thou be nearer placed to the Almighty throne.'

"Joy flowed through all their veins, they raised their hymn of praise, aloft they rose, led by the angel, up to where their seats in heaven should be for ever fixed among the blest.

"But, ere they went, the recollection of their long loved ones came o'er them, and from each sinless eye, one pearly drop fell down, pure as themselves, . . . these tears were earthly, so to earth they fell. But springing from those who so immortal were, they could not die; so up again from earth they sprang, and the twin fountain flows for ever, fraught with twin blessings to mankind."

This, as can be suspected, is a fabricated or made-up legend; it in nowise bears any resemblance to the native types. It was "dedicated" as Mr. Rooke put it, to the guardian fairies of "La Fontaine des Mittes," at Trinity.

Its subsequent history is interesting; in spite of its being an "imported" legend, it was translated into French by Mr. J. Le Bas, and the French version appeared in the "Almanach of the Chronique de Jersey" for 1891. It was re-translated and adapted by Major L'Amy in 1927 in his "Jersey Folk Lore," (pp. 63-66).

The water from this spring is still used for bathing sore eyes. Chemical analysis has revealed that it contains a mixture of Sodium, Calcium, Magnesium, Chlorine besides small quantities of Sulphuric Acid and Carbonic Acid.

Memories

I really like this quote from Milan Kundera: "The brain appears to possess a special area which we might call poetic memory and which records everything that charms or touches us, that makes our lives beautiful." That inspired this poem.

Memories

Small times of joy, like crazy paving
Zig zag across the humdrum life
Times of happiness worth saving
In this world of fear and strife

Long summer holidays off school
Spaces and buckets on the beach
Fishing with nets in a rock pool
The past alive with strong reach

Joy of love, kissing, bed and hugs
Hand in hand, along country lane
Eating sandwiches on picnic rugs
Small memories, but so much gain

When dark futures seem tomorrow
Memories can help lighten sorrow

1965 - 60 years ago - January Part 2

1965 - 60 years ago - January Part 2

15.—A 34-year-old Scot with a long criminal record but who had once been in trouble for five years was sentenced to two months imprisonment and disqualification for three years by the Royal Court on charges of car " borrowing, he was Arthur Weatherall, alias Nell Rostron

18.—The week-end weather, gale force winds accompanied by terrific gusts and squalls of hail and sleet, brought more trouble to the Telephone Department with lines down ; both the Jersey and Guernsey life-boats were called out to the aid of a Liberian coaster in difficulties south of Sark and a Norwegian ship which later radioed that they were out of trouble.

19.—At a meeting at Trinity Parish Hall, Mr. J. Le S. Gallichan was elected unopposed as Deputy for the parish to finish the term of office of Mr. G, A. Vautier, deceased.

20.—This morning's high tide, combined with a near-record lieu barometric pressure, caused flooding at Beaumont and more coastal erosion at Le Bourg, a 25-yard sea wall being washed away.

22.—The motion " Parents with problem children have only them-selves to blame " carried by a substantial majority at Debating Club meeting at the Pomme d'Or Hotel.

23.—.During the night about £200 in cash and cheques were stolen from the safe at R. Le Bail and Co. Ltd., in Grenville Street.—The Bailiff opens Channel Islands & Aero Club's new premises on the Airport Road..

25,--Scottish Society of Jersey celebrate annual Burns' Night dinner at Hotel de France.

26.—At the annual general meeting of the Jersey Eisteddfod it was announced that for the first time in ten years a profit had been math amounting to £320.

27.—Before the Full Court a fine of £100 or three months' imprisonment was imposed on Brian Henry de la Mare for assault, the Assize case concerning accused having been adjourned for sentence, also before the Court was Edward Ernest Rampton, who was jailed for nine months and £75 costs awarded against him for indecent assault, this case also having been adjourned for sentence by the Assize Court. " Killer " dogs active in Trinity, where on Monday six hens were slaughtered at Coutanche Farm, and at two farms last night where 13 rabbits were killed.

28—Island service in memory of Sir Winston Churchill held at St Helier's Parish Church, His Excellency the Lt.-Governor, the Bailiff, Jurats. Crown Officers and States members leading the procession to the church.

29.—A Muirhead tractor-dumper valued at £7,000 badly damaged when it went out of control and crashed over the breakwater at the new power station site at La Collette this afternoon.

30.—Break-In during the night at Carter's, newsagents in Colomberie: confectionary, cigarettes, lighters and other items valued at £40 being taken.

31.—Memorial and thanksgiving services for the life and. work of Sir Winston Churchill held in Churches of all denominations through-out the Island. The rainfall for this month, 6.41 ins., was three inches above the average.

The New Face of Janus

As we start the new year, I see a darkening world ahead - America, the great democracy, poised on the brink of dictatorship, war in Ukraine, or a bad peace. The deaths in Gaza continuing to rise. The rise of the far right across Europe and even in Britain. And over it all, the existential threat of climate change. So this is a sombre, melancholy poem to reflect that mood. There's a slight note of optimism. Originally the final verse of each stanza was a rather pessimistic statement, but I changed it to a question in each case..

The New Face of Janus

It is the turning of the year
The old time passed away
Now comes a dawn of fear
Has Democracy had its day?

It is the turning of the year
Poised between light and dark
Danger present, ever near
Will the future be so very stark?

It is the turning of the year
Dark times are hard to cope
Threaten all we hold so dear
And where will we find hope?

Janus turns a dark face this way
And all we can do is hope and pray

1965 - 60 years ago - January Part 1

1965 - 60 years ago - January Part 1

1—Jour de l'An reception held at the Pomme d'Or, given by the French Consul, M. Alain Radenac. Jersey Drag Hunt and Chase Club hold annual races at Grosnez.

2—At the Royal Court today the Bailiff unveiled a portrait of the late Bailiff, Mr. C. S. Harrison. C.M.G., O.B.E., painted by the late Sir James Arran and which was the gift of the Harrison family.

3.—Two men who pleaded guilty to stealing postal packets from a mailbag on a postman’s bicycle at Springrove, St. Lawrence, Ronald Sutton and Terence Jennings, were jailed for six and nine months respective by the Royal Court—Verdict of accidental death recorded at inquest held on the body of Mr. Thomas McCarthy, found gassed in his home at 9 Savile Street.

4—A fine of £20 was substituted for a month's prison sentence on Stanley Philip Reynolds at the Royal Court today when he appealed against the sentence, which was imposed at the Police Court regarding the larceny of a motor tyre.

5.—ln the early hours of this morning fire gutted a two-storey building used as a loft and stables at Beauverd, St. John; a. timely warning to be alert. A passing policeman enabled the cattle to be released from the building.-

6.—The motion “That one Jerseyman is worth two Englishmen " was carried by 65 votes to 48 at Debating Club meeting.

9.—Verdict of accidental death recorded in the case of Miss E. B. Le Liévre, who was knocked down by a car on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve and subsequently died from her injuries. January Assizes: the first case to come before the Court was that of Edward Ernest Rampton (43), who pleaded not guilty to indecently assaulting a 13-year-old in Woolworth's on October 24th, the case being adjourned. At the end of last year a record number of 30,530 vehicles of all types, including cars and hire cars, were licensed for the Island’s roads.

10..—Continuation of the indecent assault case before the Assizes, the hearing being further adjourned.

12—Assizes: Edward Ernest Rampton was found guilty of indecent assault and was remanded in custody for a psychiatric report to be prepared. The second and final case, that of 26-year-old Jersey-born Henry de la Mare, charged with having assaulted Mr. A. Raine at Cathay Chinese Restaurant on October 31st last year, then commenced, the hearing being adjourned. .

14.—Assizes .- Brian Henry de la Mare was found guilty of assault with mitigating circumstances and a remand was ordered for a psychiatric report to be prepared. A case which was originally listed for the Assizes but was remitted to the Full Court owing to a. change of plea to guilty was that of Graham Edward Wynn and John McMarm, charged with maliciously setting fire to a load of hay and with assault; Wynn sentenced to two months' imprisonment and McMann to three months.

A Truce at Christmas

My final poem of the year looks back to when war broke out. Those lines in Steven Moffat's brilliant Doctor who episode still haunt me: "for one day, one Christmas, a very long time ago, everyone just put down their weapons, and started to sing. Everybody just stopped. Everyone was just kind.". 

Astute readers may spot a well know carol was the basis for the rhyming form.

A Truce at Christmas

No rest in trenches, army men
These days make us dismay
There is no end, no saviour
The fighting night and day
To save us all from German power
Where shells fall down astray
All fighting now to destroy, now to destroy!
All fighting now to destroy!

In Flanders field, in wartime hell
A war time truce was born
Amidst the endless danger
Upon this blessed morn
A chance for men to bury
A brief pause now to mourn
Across trenches, a cheerful ahoy, a cheerful ahoy!
Across trenches, a cheerful ahoy!

Then with a ringing of church bell
Men singing Silent Night
And listening to their Saviour
A coming of the light
To sing with joy an ancient hymn
And break war till the night
O, tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy!
O, tidings of comfort and joy!

Julius Caesar and Jersey

Julius Caesar and Jersey
By Philip Ahier

Former Historians of Jersey commenced their narratives by reproducing the several traditions handed down respecting the conqueror of the Gauls, but could Julius Caesar truly say regarding Jersey:—" Veni, Vidi, Vici ?"

The Rev. Philippe Falle, writing his "History of Jersey" (pp. 1 & 2 of the 1732 edition), said:—

"Caesar himself relates how he brought under subjection the Unelli, the Lexobii and other nations adjoining the maritime tract (De Bello Gallico, Lib. iii & vii). And accordingly we want not proofs of the Romans if not Caesar himself, coming amongst us?"

The Reverend gentlemen advanced several reasons why the Romans had occupied Jersey, but left the question of a personal visit by Julius Caesar to the Island severely alone.

John Patriarche Ahier, writing in 1852, commences his "Tableaux Historiques de Jersey," thus:—

"Jusqu'a ce jour tous les auteurs qui ont ecrit sur Jersey ne sont fort peu preoccupes de savoir quels etaient les premiers habitants de l'isle. Une legende qui ne repose sur aucune preuve historique est le point de depart que chacun adopte, mais pour un travail serieux it faut des bases plus solides."

["Until this day, all the authors who have written about Jersey have been very little concerned with knowing who the first inhabitants of the island were. A legend that is based on no historical evidence is the starting point that everyone adopts, but for serious work, more solid foundations are needed."]  

However, J. P. Ahier related the legend in the footnote:—"A lieutenant of Julius Caesar was supposed to have conquered Jersey in an osier boat lined with copper."

Then, on page 10, J. P. Ahier, when talking about the migration of the Gauls, says:—

"Animated by this instinct which always attracted them to the west, and continually seeing our Island before them, from the top of their neighbouring cliffs, it is quite possible that they crossed over in their rickety skiffs to spy out the land."

"The legend of the willow boat in which Caesar's lieutenant came to occupy the Island might very well be true and the tradition is not nullified except on a matter of dates."

But, as J. P. Ahier himself, in a footnote says, there were authorities, who, in 1852, maintained that Jersey, at the time of Caesar's conquest of Gaul, up till the eighth century, was part and parcel of the Continent!

Major J. H. L'Amy, in his "Folklore of Jersey," (p. 60), said that:—

"The Roman occupation was only temporary and the story told by ancient chroniclers that Caesar gave the Island to twelve of his Generals who divided it into the same number of curiae or parishes is nothing more than interesting legend."

“The story of Caesar's visit to Jersey is absolute legend, he himself gives an account of his campaigns against the Gauls in those four books so well known to schoolboys in classical forms, but there is no mention whatever therein that he came to the Island.”

“Former writers and chroniclers liked to think that Julius Caesar had visited Jersey, basing, as Falle did, their statement upon the existence of place-names containing Caesar or Cesaree.”

The story of the division of the Island into twelve parishes as originating from Caesar's General is, as Major L'Amy says, "an interesting legend."

Advent Journey’s End

My final advent poem looks at the conclusion of a journey, an old story, and yet a story re-enacted in part by all displaced peoples, whether by reason of war or conquest or for political ends.

Advent Journey’s End

When will a journey reach an end?
The departure, forced by the state
An unmarried mother, with a friend
And the hour is already far too late

Dusty roads, so many come and tread
Displaced people, leaving behind home
What of the future: a sense of dread
As onwards, on the move they roam

Arrival: it is packed like a shanty town
Knock on doors, so weary and no bed
Along narrow streets, along and down
Where can the mother lay her head?

This is a lesson all about her survival
A stable found for the child’s arrival

The Legend of the Plank

Two commentaries on "The Legend of the Plank", one by Philip Ahier, followed by a second by myself which looks at the possible purpose of the story as a form of propaganda.

The Legend of the Plank
By Philip Ahier

This is one of the oldest traditions which has been handed down through the centuries.

We first meet it in Jean Poingdestre's "Caesarea" (1682, p. 75) in which he scouts the whole idea of Jersey's ever having been linked to the Continent:—

"Neither will I mention another yet more fabulous tale of the conjunction of Jersey to Normandy by a Plank or by a Bridge, which never was, unless it was before the Flood."

Then came Plees, in his "Account of Jersey," (1817, pp. 8-10), who wrote:—

"There is a legendary tradition that this Island was once so contiguous to France that persons passed over on a plank or bridge, paying a small toll to the Abbey of Coutances . . . it must have been at a remote period, as no historical account whatever records or alludes to it."

The story of the fiction was further elaborated in 1829 by M. l'Abbe Manet of St. Malo, who, in a work entitled "De l'Etat Ancien et l'Etat Actuel de la Baie du Mont St. Michel et de Cancales," wrote:—

"There is a belief founded on the most trustworthy authorities that long before the ocean encroached upon the Coast of France in the month of March, 701, Jersey, Guernsey and all the Islands of the Norman Archipelago were part of the Continent.

"There is even a tradition in Jersey—a tradition corroborated by a very old MS. (which we have read) that during the lifetime of St. Lo, who died on the 21st of September, 565, Jersey was separated only from its ecclesiastical diocese of Coutances by a small stream over which the inhabitants were bound to provide a plank for the Archdeacon of the Mother Church whenever he paid the Islanders a visit.

"But even though History remains silent on this point, the overwhelming belt of rocks which surround this Island and the others and which shelve more or less gradually towards the coast of France, would suffice alone to prove what we have put forward, for it is a fact, which can be verified every day by taking soundings, that if the whole of the English Channel were to become entirely dried up from Calais to Havre, only the abatement of the waters would leave equally dry the area between Batz and Ushant in such a way that the Archipelago would revert to what it was in the beginning—an integral part of Lower Normandy." (De La Croix in his "History of Jersey," Vol. 1, p. 4).

"To round off the argument which we have adduced, it is but necessary to glance at the English map of the Channel, published in 1794 by Thomas Geffereys, and better still, that of Mons. Buache, shewing the base of the Canal, inserted in the Journal of the Academy of Science, 1752."

It will be seen that the learned Abbot does not give the source and date of the very old MS. which he had had the privilege of reading. According to this ecclesiastic, the date of this cataclysm occurred in A.D. 701. It will be subsequently seen that various dates from A.D. 701-709 are given.

In 1834, William Inglis wrote his "Channel Islands", (Vol. 1, p. 77), and on the subject of the Plank, said:—

"There are traditions, not only that the chain of rocks formed, in remote times, a part of the Island, but that it was connected by a bridge with France.

"That the former may have some foundation is probable . . but that Jersey ever approached at any period, the shores of the Continent, is an assertion too ridiculous to merit examination. Marvels are always popular, and the people of Jersey are not less credulous than their neighbours."(!)

Both Inglis and Plees, who had probably not read Manet's treatise, were severely criticised by De La Croix for doubting the Legend of the Plank.

In 1835, the Rev. Edward Durell, in his Annotations to Falle's "History of Jersey," refers several times to the inundation or catastrophe:—

"Tradition and the local appearance of Elizabeth Castle confirm the supposition that all betwixt the Castle and the Town was once dry land," but he added, "at what period that precisely happened, it is now impossible to ascertain." (p. 289).

However, on turning to page 377, Mr. Durell makes a reference to M. l'Abbe Manet's hypothesis:—

"According to M. Manet, the great inundation of the sea which formed the Bay of St. Michel in France, happened in 708, long after the arrival of St. Magloire, and the death of St. Helier . . . But, . . . though the fact of those inroads of the sea is unquestionable, the date which we can reason from probabilities, must ever remain uncertain." (loc. cit. p. 377).

Then, when describing The Hermitage on page 433, Durell gave the date of the inundation as A.D. 704.

The next author to tackle the Legend of the Plank was Jean Patriarche Ahier in 1852, in his "Tableaux Historiques de Jersey." He was much influenced by M. l'Abbe Manet's hypothesis:—

"This tradition seems to me to have a sufficiently historical genuineness to mention it in a serious work. I refer to the Plank from which the Bishop or the Archdeacon of Coutances walked from France to Jersey previous to 709. Notwithstanding the fact that the story is similarly reported in Jersey and on the Continent, there is not agreement as to the site where the bridge stood. In Jersey, it is believed that it stood on the East coast at Rozel, at St. Catherine's, or at Mont Orgueil; but in the Cotentin the peasants maintain that it stood in the front of Regneville, at the bottom of the River Coutances.

"This tradition, by reason of its having been transmitted orally, has become distorted in time, but it seems to me easy to give its primitive character and to reconcile oral tradition with written ones." (loc. cit. p. 103).

Jean Patriarche Ahier did quote three authorities for his statements:—

(1) "The History of the Monks of St. Michel and of the Order of St. Benedict," where there is a reference to the right claimed by the Bishop of Coutances to use this bridge.

(2) Hermant, in his "Biography of the Bishops of Bayeux," speaks of the same bridge.

(3) Le Canu, in his "History of the Bishopric of Coutances," refers to the bridge. "There is an unshakeable tradition that Jersey was situated not far distant from the Continent by the length of a plank; this tradition is more widespread than the Diocese of Coutances." (also quoted by De La Croix "Jersey" Vol, 1. p. 5).

During the whole course of his "Tableaux Historiques," which he described as a "serious work," he only mentions three Legends, viz., The Plank, Caesar in Jersey, and La Hougue Bie, and with regard to the Legend of the Plank, he was compelled to admit that there was not agreement as to where the Plank (or Bridge) actually stood.

The next writer, who discussed at considerable length the "Legend of the Plank," and one who strongly argued in its favour, was De La Croix, in his "Jersey, ses Institutions, etc." (1858), (Vol. 1, p. 4.) He attacked Plees and Inglis. :—

"Si les auteurs ci-dessus avaient consulte de M. l'Abbe Manet, ils n'eussent assurement point ecrit d'une maniere aussi absolue et aussi tranchante sur un sujet qu'ils ne sent point donnes la peine d'approfondir. 

De La Croix gave a very graphic account of the cataclysm:—

"In 709 there occurred a violent invasion (encroachment) by the sea of the forest which bounded the area of the Diocese of Coutances.

"A south-westerly wind, which blew incessantly for three months with great violence, overturned the trees in the direction of the wind and gathered together the waters from the Ocean in such quantities from our coasts that the March tide-s overstepped their ordinary limits and overwhelmed a large stretch of country. "Nevertheless, it was only in 860, that all the forest was completely submerged and then the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney found themselves further away from the Continent than hitherto." (loc. cit. Vol. 1, p. 4).

Mr. Joseph Sinel, in his monograph on "The Relative Ages of the Channel Islands", (B.S.J. Vol. VI, pp. 431-2), discusses the Legend of the Plank in two paragraphs:—

"This stream is supposed to have existed where there is now a depression of sea bottom, between the Bank known as "Les Boeufs" and the gently sloping shore of La Rocque at a distance of 9 miles from either shore as the land now stands.

"It was doubtless knowledge of the existence of this depression (it is 3 feet deep) which has given rise to the legend; an attempt to clothe old ideas in modern dress."

There is no doubt whatever that Jersey was at one time joined to the mainland of France, but the precise date when the separation took place is not definitely known; the matter comes within the purview of geology and pre-history rather than that of chronological history.

But whether a plank or bridge joined the Island to France is a moot point and until the original MS. referred to by M. l'Abbe Manet is unearthed, I prefer to suspend judgement thereon.

"In attempting to lift the veil between the historic and the prehistoric, a mass of conjecture, much of it of a controversial nature, is inevitable. There are many theories, one is that the Island was separated from France by a narrow stream spanned by a plank 2,000 years ago, and another that the inundation of the post-glacial forest of Scissy was cataclysmic in origin, the legendary lore of Brittany refers to the great upheaval of the 8th century, whilst others maintain that the process of land subsidence was gradual. Suffice it to say that where geological experts disagree, it is not within the province of the folklorist to arbitrate."

(J. Sinel, "Pre-historic Times and Men of the Channel Islands," p. 17)

The Legend of the Plank

By Tony Bellows

"They say," said Win, "that the space between the castle and the town was once a meadow. For that matter, they also say that the whole channel between here and France was once so narrow that the Bishop of Coutances used to cross to Jersey on a plank." ("The Spanish Chest" by Edna A. Brown)

The story of the plank first appears in Jean Poingdestre’s "Caesarea" of 1682, in which he mentions a "fabulous tale of the conjunction of Jersey to Normandy by a Plank or by a Bridge". This is elaborated by Plees in his 1817 "Account of Jersey" to mention that persons passing over the plank or bridge paid a toll "to the Abbey of Coutances"; Plees also notes that there is no historical records he can find for this.

The story has undergone variant forms since this, one in 1829 by l’Abbe Manet of St Malo in which the plank was laid down for the Archdeacon of Coutances when he visited. This is attributed to the lifetime of St Lo, around 500 AD, according to an old manuscript which Manet cites as having read, but singularly fails to mention where this could be found.

The evidence of geology is for the split from France taking place many years before historical times, yet there still persist people today who take this story, or its variants, as proof that the separation from France occurred in historical times, possible around 400 AD. But apart from this story, one has to ask what other evidence there is for such a theory. 

The cave at Belle Hougue is of singular importance for prehistoric times because it supplies evidence (in deer bones) which corroborates the geological record for Jersey being separated from France by a high sea level. One would expect similar evidence in support of this theory, and even better evidence in the form of historical documentation of some description, but none is forthcoming. There is no mention of churches or centres of population in the vast area presumed to have been swept away by the tides. The burden of proof must be on those who would overturn the geological record in favour of one story with poor documentation.

In fact, I see the treatment of the story here very much like that of the Creationists who take the book of Genesis as depicting literal historical events; there is an inability to understand what the story is really about.

The form of the plank story is clearly that of folklore rather than history. The story lacks any historical underpinning, and in its variant forms shifts forward and backwards quite easily, being set at the time of St Lo, around 500 AD, and at later times mentioned in connection with a catastrophic inundation around AD 700. The location of the plank is not mentioned on either side of the divide, but also shifts about. But the key to the story does exist, and it lies in one of the authorities mentioned by later writers - "The History of the Monks of Mont St Michael and of the Order of St Benedict", which contains a reference to a right by the Bishop of Coutance to use the plank or bridge.

Form criticism is the method of examining stories, in which we consider why a story was told in its original setting, and what purpose it had in the community in which it arose, and how the form developed. In stories like the plank, as with stories in which dragons feature, the story is told in a coded form akin to allegory. Symbols are representatives of something else, but this makes the story accessible to everyone, and so it is successfully communicated widely.

If we look at the legend of the plank from this context, we see that above all else it is an argument for the authority of the diocese of Coutance over the Jersey. It is saying that Coutance has religious authority and ties over Jersey, and the people of Jersey must pay respect to this authority. It is a story told when such authority might be a matter of dispute, when the Island might be becoming too independent in religious affairs, and it is set in the distant past precisely to give it the weight of authority; it says that this was the case in the distant past, before the present situation. This also explains the strange connection of the plank with the Bishop (or Archdeacon) of Coutances. Why else tell a story about the connection with France, and just mention a Bishop crossing?

Having said that, when do we date the story, and what communities do we place it in? The fact that one of the authorities ties back to Mont St Michel suggests that it is placed between 1000 AD and 1100 AD, when (according to Balleine) the continental Church was taking significant control over the Jersey Churches. If we place the writing of the Life of St Helier around this time, then we have two stories written to make differing claims.

The Life of Helier was clearly written to establish the independence of the Priory of St Helier from Coutances, while the Story of the Plank does the exact opposite. Notice how the Life of Helier talks of Helier as a hermit on an Island, which could only be reached by boats. The Plank says that this is untrue, around this time Jersey was almost part of France, an Island in name alone, and the Bishop used to visit regularly. It is the answer to the Life of Helier - the counter claim! The medieval map which once existed in Mont St Michel which showed an enlarged Jersey and a small channel between Jersey and France, is the geographical support for the same claim.

This was a time when the practice of forged documents purporting to have ancient provenance was rife. It must not be forgotten that with religious control came economic dues from the area under control, and so considerable wealth was involved; it was not just a religious matter, but one which also involved considerable financial gain!

Of course, the original context became lost in time, and like so many folk and fairy tales, it probably survived largely as an oral tradition, and was in time mistaken for history. People realised that Jersey was once part of France, but were not being able to date this scientifically; in this context, the story was retained as a "just so" story, and with the story of a great inundation around 700 AD, it changed its function.

There may well have been great inroads into the Jersey coast around 700 AD, but linked to the story of the plank, and with the need to separate Jersey geographically by the time of the Norman rulers, what was probably a purely local affair becomes a grand catastrophe, and a new ending to the story of the plank. Now it is Jersey’s own version of a Flood myth, or a Lost Continent (like the myth of Atlantis), where a vast tract of land is wiped out in a deluge, and is lost beneath the waves.

Postscript:

My piece was referenced in "Semantics of the Sea – Stories and Science along the Celtic Seaboard."
K. E. Kavanagh and M. R. Bates, School of Archaeology, History and Anthropology, University of Wales.

The part of the text referencing it is as follows:

Let us sail out from the British coast for a moment to the skirts of Jersey, where we can consider the Bishop of Coutances and his Plank. Whilst this story is a familiar one to Jersey islanders it is not so to other shores. In 1682 the historian Jean Poingdestre writes of a “fabulous tale of the conjunction of Jersey to Normandy” (Poingdestre, 1889) wherein the Bishop would cross back and forth by manner of a plank, or bridge. He maintains that the locals affirm the crossings to have occurred in the sixth century, which he queries. His queries are met with assertions explaining that until the eighth century the boundary was still shallow but a storm was caused by a priest in La Rocque profaning on hallowed soil, causing divine retribution in the form of a storm which swallowed the marshy plain beneath an engulfing sea. Variant forms of the alleged legend exist, setting it sometimes during a cataclysmic inundation in 700 AD and sometimes two hundred years earlier in the time of St Lo and some four hundred years later amongst the Monks of Mont St. Michel.  

The local historian Tony Bellows (Bellows, 2014) has taken a different slant to the interpretation, proposing the flood to be no more than a symbol of independence, the traversed plank to be a political allegory for Norman religious authority over Jersey.  Geologically we can be confident that the creation of a seaway between Jersey and France was created between 6500 and 7000 BP (Sturt et al., 2013) and despite the presence of significant stretches of terrain in the vicinity of the Ecrehous it would have been impossible to cross without sea-going craft from at least the Neolithic period thereby perhaps lending credence to Bellows hypothesis.

Advent Signs

Continuing my sequence of advent poems, this is the penultimate one.

Advent Signs

Stars align, shift, in the night sky
Balaam’s star in the winter night
Wisdom found in heavens high
For those that read signs aright

Jupiter and Regulus dance above
The sign is presenting of a king
Venus shining bestowing love
In Gloria, the heavens sing

Journey across the desert sand
Following the pattern drawn
Writ large as if by cosmic hand
Travel by night until each dawn

This is a lesson to seek on high
The coming glory to espy

1974 - 50 Years Ago - December Part 2

1974 - 50 Years Ago - December Part 2

16.-The problem of under-age drinking -has, led the licensing Bench to issue stern warnings to applicants for the liquor licences from January 1,. when. the new Licensing Law comes into operation.

17.-The Elfine Hotel, on Gorey Pier, which had, its licence revoked in June after complaints from neighbours of noise and disorderly behaviour, will be allowed to reopen its doors in the New Year.

18.-The 50p gallon of petrol has arrived in Jersey. Following yesterday's announcement by the UK' Government that wholesale prices could be raised, Island rates on all grades of petrol were increased by9p today-and further increases may well be in the offing.

19.-An application for an entertainments licence for the Demi des Pas Hotel, where the disco is run, was refused today. by the Licensing Assembly who said that the Premise's were not right far late-night entertainment

20.-In one of his last engagements befere retiring at the.end of the year, the Bailiff, Sir Robert Le Masurier, presented the Imperial Service Medal to the former States Offices telephonist, Mrs; Irene Devonia de la Cour.

21.-Police are investigating the death of a man found critically injured on the pavement at the rear of Sand Street multi-storey ear park shortly before L30 this morning. It appears that he may have fallen from the top.

23.-It seems unlikely that the illuminated Christmas cross- will appear on Fort Regent this year. The cross is obtained by /erecting  lights on the mast at the Signals Station, but high winds over the past few days have forced the men of the Harbour Works Department to postpone their plans.

24.-Proposals to allow 16-year-olds, to ride autocycles and farmers' sons to drive tractors on Jersey's roada are to be discussed in the near future by the States Defence Committee. There will also be talks about possibly extending the "life" of a driving licence  to three years. All 53 people, including two babies, on board a British Island Airways Dart Herald, miraculously escaped unhurt when the plane crash-landed at Jersey Airport at 7.20  p.m.

25.-Sandrine Riou was Jersey's only Christmas Day baby-weighing in at 7 lb. 13 ozs. Her mother, Mrs. Marie Riou. is the wife of a French farmworker. The couple have three other children.

26.-The Green Room Club pantomime, "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" opened at the. Opera House this afternoon.

28.-The Gas Company 'announced that the price of gas is to go up by an average of 51- per cent from April 1.

30.-The investigation into Jersey's Christmas Eve air crash' has been completed by the two inspectors from-. the UK Department of Trade's Accident Investigation Branch. They flew out of the Island this morning, leaving behind permission for the aircraft to be moved.

31.-Electricity charges are to go up by an average of 24 per cent from tomorrow.

Advent Fears

A look at Advent from the perspective of the strong tyrant... and indeed strong tyrants everywhere. That kind of ruler is always looking at potential threats, secure because they eliminate possible rivals, and never sleeping that easily in their bed, however much they enjoy the trappings of wealth.

Advent Fears

The mighty scorn the humble peasant
And tread the poor beneath their feet
They live in finest luxury so pleasant
And yet fear a shadow of defeat

The cold wind blows on the hillside
Whistles through the Palace ground
Baleful stars starring down one-eyed
A threat to the king now crowned

Prophecy speaks of a danger here
For another king is coming soon
The King is sleepless by his fear
Cold wind brings a mournful tune

This is a lesson to show the King
Fearing light as heavens sing.

1974 - 50 Years Ago - December Part 1

1974 - 50 Years Ago - December Part 1

2.-PAC to consider new States Committee on Energy. Housing Committe lift ban on pets on estates.

3.--Jersey is not affected by the bakery workers' strike on the mainland, and there is no question of there being any bread shortage in the Island.

4.-Heads of• Roman Catholic schools' on the Island were surprised to .hear that Education Committee president Senator Reg Jeune, had revealed the existence of a confidential working party looking. into States aid to private schools.

5.-The anti-terrorism Order in Council was formally registered in the Royal CoUrt this afternoon.

6.-Jersey is likely to introduce voluntary restrictions on lighting, heating and motoring in order to reduce .winter oil consumption. But no decisions will be taken until controls are imposed in the UK-probably next week.

7.-Capt. Francis Ahier, a Jurat of the Royal Court and former Merchant Navy Captain who saw service at sea during two world, wars, died at a local nursing home. He was 86.

9.-About .600 local teachers should be getting a £100 bonus in time for Christmas. The Burnham Committee decided at the end of last week to award a lump sum payment of £100 as an interim award, pending the full report and recommendations, later this month,' of the Houghton Committee on teachers' pay.

10.-The Barrett Plan is not to be updated by an outside adviser. The States decided this today by a substantial majority, after a: long debate, on Senator John Le Marquand's proposal.

12.-Senator Wilfred Krichetski died this morning when his car crashed into a lorry near the Airport. He was 58. •

13.-Hotel charges in Jersey will be up by an average of 30 per cent next year, and some establishments have reserved the right to put oiv a further increase of between five 'and 20 per cent from July 1.

15.-The funeral of Senator Wilfred Krichefski . took place at the Jewish Synagogue at Tabor, St. Brelade.