Jersey declares State of Emergency
Severe drought forced Jersey to declare a state of emergency this week in 1976, and both bread and water were rationed within three days. Jersey had been able to put off rationing far longer than its neighbour, Guernsey, thanks to the island's desalination plant. However, this was producing just 1.5 million gallons of fresh water a day, which was only about half of what was needed to keep up with the 22 million gallons being consumed every week.
Read more about the State of Emergency
Jersey fugitive kills a man
A Jersey fugitive killed a man this week in 1849. Marie Manning was having an affair with Patrick O’Connor and planning to double-cross her husband, Frederick. But Frederick was planning to double-cross her, too. Their plots may have had contrasting intended resolutions, but they each started with inviting O’Connor to dinner at their home in Bermondsey, London.
O’Connor accepted their invitation, arriving at their rented home at the appointed hour, but never leaving. Frederick and Marie killed their guest and buried him under the kitchen floor. Frederick fled to Jersey, where he was soon arrested and sent for trial...
Jersey-set The Others hits cinemas
Jersey-set film The Others was released in cinemas this week in 2001. The film is set in a remote farmhouse, just after the occupation, in which Kidman’s character, Grace Stewart, lives with her photosensitive son and daughter. Their condition means they can be disfigured by exposure to bright light and sunlight, which naturally means there are opportunities for gloomy scenes aplenty, which climax with a shocking twist.
Island at War ends on ITV
ITV broadcast the last episode of its Channel Islands-set drama Island at War this week in 2004. It took inspiration from real-life events but, rather than setting them in either Jersey or Guernsey, the action took place on a fictional stand-in, St Gregory. It was filmed on the Isle of Man. ITV didn’t commission a second series despite national feedback having been favourable.
St Helier harbour bombs moved
Royal Navy divers moved 70 primed bombs this week in 1969. They'd been discovered in a sunken German freighter just outside the shipping lane into St Helier harbour. The bombs, which were set to explode, were unstable after so long in the water, and the careful work to remove them was projected to take weeks. Once they had been taken out of the ship, they were carried further out to sea and detonated.
Jersey dolmen discovered
The dolmen was discovered at Le Mont de la Vielle this week in 1785. It would never have been known about if the site wasn't being cleared to make room for a Fort Regent parade ground. Although it’s still possible to visit the stones, you’ll have to travel from Jersey to Henley-on-Thames to do so and be invited to visit the private estate where they’re now sited. Upon its discovery, the dolmen was presented to the governor, field-marshal Henry Seymour Conway, who had it dug up in 1788 and transported to his Oxfordshire estate.
Jersey painter Millais dies
Jersey painter John Everett Millais died this week in 1896. He was accepted to study at the Royal Academy aged just 11, and from there his reputation only grew – as did his body of work. His paintings are now exhibited in museums and galleries including Tate Britain and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
Read more about John Everett Millais