Guernsey buys Herm
PLUS: Guernsey murderer sentenced in three hours flat + Val des Terres first opens to traffic
The Val des Terres was opened to traffic for the first time ever this week in 1935. The work, which had kicked off four years earlier, had been carried out by Guernsey’s long-term unemployed, and the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII, came to cut the ribbon. The whole road was decorated for the event and seemingly everyone in Guernsey turned out to cheer the royal along the route.
Herm hasn't always belonged to Guernsey: Guernsey bought it from the mainland this week in 1946. Unfortunately, the island was in a terrible condition after five years of Occupation, which perhaps explains the bargain price: £15,000. It's been let out to a series of tenants ever since, on the condition that they keep it open for the public to visit and enjoy.
A murderer was sentenced to death in three hours flat this week in 1947 after he’d been convicted of shooting his housekeeper. Once the sentence had been carried out, his worldly belongings were auctioned to raise money for his children. They didn't raise much.
The BBC made its first ever broadcast live from Sark this week in 1956. It was a hugely ambitious programme that included Richard Dimbleby interviewing Sibyl Hathaway, and it followed hot on the heels of a successful broadcast from Herm. It had to be bounced from the island, via Paris and back to London before it could reach UK sets.
Guernsey was gifted the Braye du Valle by the crown this week in 1640. It was drained to join the northern parishes to the rest of the island, and the reclaimed land sold off to fund an ambitious programme of building roads and defences.
The first radio connection between Guernsey and Alderney went live this week in 1927, making communication between the islands far easier. This was important, as Alderney’s large harbour arm was considered an important structure in the defence of Britain and its territories against possible attack from mainland Europe.
Albert Lamy was appointed Guernsey's Chief Police Officer this week in 1942 when every member of the Guernsey Police Service had been arrested on suspicion of theft. The existing chief officer was removed and Albert Lamy was appointed in his place. Ultimately, only 18 officers were convicted of theft, but Lamy still had a difficult job on his hands, balancing the needs of the people of Guernsey with the orders of the German occupiers.