St Brelade war memorial
St Brelade parish war memorial
The St Brelade memorial is situated at the western end of the bay next to the church and adjoining graveyard.
Other memorials
It is a single column made from Jersey granite and has 48 names inscribed on two sides. Also listed are 11 names from the Second World War, and the name of one solider who died during the troubles in Northern Ireland.
The memorial has on one side of it the inscription “To the memory of the men of St Brelade who gave their lives in the Great War 1914-1918 and that of 1939-1945”. This inscription is repeated on the fourth panel in French. The column is topped by a wreath, and four swords decorate each of the corners.
- Alexandre, J W
- Bisson, P
- Boustouller, E
- Boustouller, Y
- Briard, E F V
- Burton, G C
- Challoner, A H
- Challoner, R H
- Cummings, D
- De La Cote, F A
- De La Haye, J
- Du Tot, J
- Du Val, L W
- Foney, F J
- Foney, M W
- Foney, P E F
- Gavey, A J
- Goddard, D G
- Heath, E G
- Jehan, J
- Jones, R
- Laverty, J W
- Lawford, E N
- Le Cappelain, A H
- Le Gallais, R W
- Le Gros, A R
- Le Montais, De L J R
- Le Rossignol, E L
- Le Rossignol, W T
- Le Sauvage, E D
- Marais, E E
- Marais, W T
- Martin, J W
- Mauger, A F
- Mesny, A J
- Nolais, W J
- Poignand, J F
- Poingdestre, P
- Potier, H W
- Renouf, A J
- Simon, F
- Siouville, J F
- Thiebot, J A
- Thomas, J O
- Turner, F A
- Vibert, J
- Windebank, E W
- Dauny, F J M
Individual stories
Albert Edward Mauger
Albert Edward Mauger was just sixteen when he died. A ‘Boy 1st Class’ on board HMS Vanguard he died in an explosion on the ship and is listed as dying on 9 July 1917. Formerly a porter at Millbrook railway station, he had left Jersey 12 months before his death and is remembered on the Plymouth Naval Memorial. He was the son of Albert Edward and Jane, nee Mauger, of St Brelade.
The St Brelade memorial lists his initials as AF for some unknown reason, maybe a mistake by the inscriber.
Arthur James Mesny
Another name listed on the memorial is that of Arthur James Mesny, son of Alfred James and Mary Louisa, of St Aubin. He was a Private serving with the 1st Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and was killed in action age 20 at ‘Third Ypres’, on 4 October 1917. His body was never identified and his name is inscribed on one of the many panels to the missing at Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium.
Before the war he had worked at De Gruchy and was said to be a promising organist at St Aubin’s Church.
William John Nolais
William John Nolais was a Sergeant with 1st Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. The husband of Gertrude Eileen Nolais, of 20 Wellesley Terrace, Simon Place, St Helier, and son of William and Margaret Nolais of St Aubin, William was described as "a most promising soldier" and had received a commission the day he was wounded when serving out ammunition.
He was sent to a hospital in Rouen, where his arm was amputated. His wife of a few months travelled to Rouen to be with him. As his condition become more serious his parents also decided travel to Rouen to be with him, but he died of his wounds before they arrived. He was 24 and died on 8 December 1914. He is buried in St Sever Cemetery, Rouen.
Before the war he had been a champion swimmer in the St Aubin Swimming Club and went on to be a champion diver at Aldershot after enlisting.
Francis Arthur Turner
A member of the Jersey Overseas Contingent is also listed on the memorial. Francis Arthur Turner, a Sergeant with 7th Battalion Royal Irish Rifles, was 29 when he died. The Evening Post reported his date of death as 14 May 1916 and that he died of his wounds. The 7th RIR war diary notes that three men were wounded and one killed on 13 May 1916. He is buried in Bethune Town Cemetery. He was the son of Charles and Eliza Turner and married to Stella (nee Filliastre), of Hillside, St Brelade's Bay.
