Guernsey focus of murder inquiry
A Scottish murder inquiry ended with suicide in Guernsey. Mr and Mrs Hutchinson had organised a dinner at their home to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary. After the dinner, the guests, except for three who hadn't consumed the coffee served after the meal, fell ill, and two individuals died due to arsenic poisoning.
The investigation led to the issue of an arrest warrant for 24-year-old John Hutchinson, who had been having financial problems and was linked to the arsenic. When the police closed in on him in Guernsey, he committed suicide by drinking enough prussic acid to kill 16 people. His funeral took place in Guernsey this week in 1911.
St Sampson power station plans approved
Plans for the power station at St Sampson in Guernsey were approved this week in 1903. It would become the island's second generating facility. The need for the new station arose due to Guernsey’s rising demand for electricity, which had outstripped the supply from the first power station built at Les Amballes in St Peter Port in 1900.
The St Sampson power station was essential to supplement the existing facility and cope with the growing need for electricity. After its completion, it supplemented the Les Amballes site, and the two stations were linked by cable, allowing the generators to be switched off three days a week without subscribers losing power.
In 1938, the States bought the power stations as an island resource, leading to the closure of the Les Amballes site and the extension and upgrade of the St Sampson site. The operating capacity of the St Sampson power station has since grown with the addition of new generators and a new hall to house them.
It is now supplemented by undersea cables between Guernsey and Jersey, known as the Channel Islands Electricity Grid, which link to France and provide the majority of the electricity that Guernsey needs day to day.
Occupation resister Marie Ozanne remembered
Marie Ozanne, who bravely resisted the occupation, was born in Guernsey in 1906. She was a member of the Salvation Army and returned to Guernsey in 1940, where she stayed despite the German invasion. She preached, spoke out against the German treatment of locals and labourers, and led protests, even after her uniform was confiscated.
She was arrested in 1942 but continued her campaign while imprisoned, despite falling ill. Marie Ozanne died of peritonitis this week in 1943 at the age of 37. She was posthumously awarded the Order of the Founder, the Salvation Army’s highest honour, in 1947. A blue plaque in her honour was unveiled at her former home in the Vale, close to St Sampson, on 23rd February 2013. She was the first woman and first non-artist to be awarded a plaque in Guernsey.
Death of Guernsey’s first banker
Thomas Priaulx, Guernsey's first banker, died this week in 1844, at the age of 82. He was born in 1762 and is credited with bringing much of Guernsey's wealth by establishing the first bank in the island. Priaulx, along with his brother, owned a small fleet of merchant vessels, which allowed them to carry on the family privateering business. This was successful enough to finance the £40,000 founding of Priaulx, Le Marchant, Rougier & Co., which later became Guernsey's first bank.
The bank was known as the Guernsey Banking Company and later became the Guernsey Old Bank. Over the years, it expanded and opened branches in different locations, and in 1924, it was acquired by the National Provincial and Union Bank of England, which later became part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. Thus, there is a direct link from Guernsey's first bank to the multinational banking organisation that is NatWest today.
Guernsey priest freed from jail
Reverend Harry Samuel was released from prison this week in 1895 after performing an illegal marriage. He had married a 56-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman in his living room, without a registrar or witness present. The couple was already related, and there were questions about the man's marital status.
Reverend Samuel found out the truth the following day, reported himself to church authorities, and was subsequently arrested. After a trial, he was sentenced to six months in prison. However, due to political intervention, he was released on the recommendation of the Home Secretary, Herbert Asquith, and he won his freedom this week in 1895.
Guernsey architect’s Indian impact
Thomas Fiott de Havilland was an engineer, architect, and politician who was born on April 10, 1775. He constructed several notable buildings in Madras, including the Scottish National Church and the Madras Bulwark, and also had a significant impact on the defence and infrastructure of the city.
After spending 30 years in India and three years in the forces, he retired at the age of 50 and later became a political representative in Guernsey. He died this week in 1866.