THE CHANNEL ISLANDS

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31304, 25 February 1967, Page 4

THE CHANNEL ISLANDS

The Story of the Channel Islands. By John Uttley.

Faber. 219 pp. Index.

The little outcrop of islands in the English Channel which is as close to the coast of France as Folkestone is to Boulogne has been disputed territory for the greater part of nine centuries. As part of the Duchy of Normandy they were subject to the rule of William the Conquerer when he became King of England and in after years when France and England to whom they now belonged were at war they were a bone of contention between the two countries.

There is plenty of archaeological evidence to show that the islands were inhabited in pre-historic times, and subsequently were invaded by Vikings and other maritime marauders, as well as by Christian missionaries who gave their names to numerous parishes in Jersey and Guern-

sey. With the addition of Alderney and Sark these two islands-—the largest of which, Jersey, is only 44 square miles in extent—comprise the group, together with some tiny, privately owned, islets like Henn and Jethou.

Notwithstanding their restricted size the inhabitants of these islands have always been privileged to formulate and carry out their own laws—based upon the ancient jurisdiction of the Duchy of Normandy, and these have been jealously guarded, from Norman times to the present day, together with an odd French patois which has been retained throughout the ages. Vulnerability to invasion was circumvented by the building of fortified castles in both Guernsey and Jersey against the enemies of England. The government, though largely delegated to responsible local elements, had an English Bailiff,

and later a Governor, whose duty was to command the defences of the islands to which he was appointed. The innumerable religious struggles over the centuries deeply involved the Channel Islanders. Catholicism gave place to Calvinism. Huguenot refugees from France in the 17th century, the Wesleyan movement in the 19th century, and numerous other factors shaped their religious beliefs, though the intense individualism of the Islanders repelled outside interference with whatever form of worship they happened to have adopted at any given time. The Civil War in England did, however, touch them sufficiently to identify themselves with the Royalists, and Charles H visited Jersey, first as a fascinating young man, and then as king after the Restoration.

In the IRth century, when George 111 found himself at war with both France and Spain his Channel Island subjects made good use of their maritime skill by privateering. They waylaid and plundered enemy merchantmen making, in all, the huge sum of £900,000 from their depredations, and by way of diversion occasionally raided the adjacent French coast. On one occasion they landed at Caen an i besides carrying off cattle removed “All the cure’s washing, including the two washerwomen.”

The 19th century saw a step forward in prosperity. Knitting had for many years been celebrated as an Island industry but now the discovery and cultivation of tomatoes and the marketing of early-crop potatoes became sources of great profit. The export of the small rich-milk-yielding cows gave a further fillip to trade, and settlement in the Islands of many new English residents attracted by scenic beauty and a mellow climate encouraged the growth of the tourist industry. “The links with England, social, cultural and economic, were now closer than they had ever been.” The 1914-18 war made no perceptible impact on the Islands, but the German occupation of them in 1940 brought hardship, and sometimes worse. Any attempt to circumvent German orders was met with severe repression, and more than one patriot was sent to a concentration camp in Germany, never to return. Food was 1 acutely short, especially in 1 1944-45, when starvation was ; never far off. Victory brought ’ with it British troops to re- ’ pair damage and clear up the ; debris of the occupation, and ’ the King and Queen visited ■ the Islands .amid scenes of ; great enthusiasm. It did, how- ; ever, take two years to recon- ' struct industry, but with the ; potato and tomato crops in [ full production once more ! Jersey and Guernsey had the ■ added satisfaction of a vast ini crease in the tourist trade.

The author’s quotation from a wartime commentary seems a fitting tailpiece to this story of the smallest of the British Isles: “Loyalty to the Crown, a sturdy independence of character, a strong attachment to self-government, a remarkable capacity for adaptation to changing economic conditions; these great virtues will provide the foundations on which the edifice of future happiness and prosperity of the islands can safely rest”