WW1 and life in Jersey – 3 Island life
Life in Jersey
during the Great War:
Island life
Potato exports continued throughout the war and growers prospered as prices rose on UK markets with the high demand for the crop to feed the Army
This is one of a series of articles on various aspects of life in Jersey during the 1914-1918 war which is based on newspaper reports and archived documents. We acknowledge the valuable resource of a weekly series of articles by historian Ian Ronayne which was published on the Jersey Heritage website from 2014 to 2018 to mark the centenary of the conflict
Although the impact on the life of islanders of the Great War was infinitesimal compared with what would happen during Jersey's occupation by the Germans in the Second World War, it was nevertheless significant.
Newspaper reports
Aside from some attacks of shipping in the Channel by German submarines, the theatre of war never came close to the Channel Islands, but there were almost daily reminders of what was happening hundreds of miles away through newspaper reports on the wounding and deaths of islanders in the Armed Forces.
Because there was no occupying power to censor the news, Jersey knew much more of how the war was progressing than it would do in the conflict 25 years later, and for most of the time between August 1914 and late 1918, Britain's war was going badly.
Aside from considerations of who should go to fight in the war and who should remain to keep the island's reduced economy ticking over – war had brought tourism to a standstill, although the demand for food in the island and beyond meant that agriculture continued to thrive – other activites were constrained as if the front line were much closer than it was.
The minute the Battle of Flowers, scheduled for later in August, was cancelled within hours of war being declared, Islanders knew that life was not going to be quite what they had been used to in the relatively prosperous Edwardian years and the first four years of the reign of George V.
Cinemas
The States decided to close all cinemas, but soon relented when it was argued that there was a need for distractions from the worries of war. Nevertheless, they were required to close earlier and reduce the number of performances.
This was but a foretaste of what would become an underlying theme throughout the war: should islanders deprive themselves of what were seen as harmless pleasures or make sacrifices as some form of recognition than others were enduring much greater deprivations?
In October 1914 the States agreed to restrict pub opening hours, not so much as a sacrifice on the part of islanders, but an attempt to prevent soldiers of theSouth Staffordshire Regiment drinking too much. But publicans argued that it was beneficial for locals to relax over a drink, and offered not to serve men in uniform. The States, however, were in the mood to impose a restrictions they believed to be compatible with a state of warfare; everyone had to make sacrifices.
Despite restrictions on showing lights after dark, bonfire night was allowed to go ahead on 5 November but without bonfires, and firework displays had to end by 8 pm and notinclude rockets, roman candles, star shells or aerial bombs. That's what the War Office had decreed, and those were the instructions passed to the police by the Lieut-Governor.
Meanwhile the cinemas, as thanks for being allowed to continue to operate, showed a succession of patriotic films designed to help engage islanders in the war effort. But this did little to appease some politicians and church leaders who were opposed to people who had remained at home enjoying themselves while their friends and family members were fighting and dying.
Christmas
Christmas could hardly be cancelled, however, and was celebrated much as it had been before, with no shortage of things to buy in shops, and musicians out in the streets to entertain shoppers, someof whom were subsequently bemused to discover that they had bought items marked 'made in Germany'.
Into 1915, and the church continued to try to influence the behaviour of islanders. The Dean made a speech calling on islanders to follow the example of the King and give up alcohol for the duration of the war. The Very Reverend Samuel Falle questioned whether it is right that Islanders should be indulging at a time of great national struggle.
But the licensed victuallers raised a petition calling for longer opening hours. They were struggling following the advancement of pub closing time to 9pm, and then 8pm, and they could not look forward to an influx of summer visitors to boost their businesses. The Lieut-Governor had the final say, and he decided against any relaxation of his rules.
The Bailiff, Sir William Vernon, seemed more responsive to public opinion and as 1915 drew to a close, relaxed the restrictions he had imposed on cinemas. Again the arguments were familiar: Given the suffering and sacrifices of our soldiers and sailors, was there not something immoral about people in Jersey enjoying themselves in picture houses; or, as the newspapers trumpeted, did ordinary people not need the entertainment offered by picture houses as escapism from wartime stresses.
Sir William's answer was a compromise: the Opera House and Wests were permitted to stage matinee performances, but the Alhambra remained closed, on the basis that more than two picture houses in St Helier seemed to him to be unnecessary.
In May 1917, although the threat of any attack on the island must have been minimal, new regulations, matching those in the UK, were issued by the Lieut-Governor preventing any form of public lighting after dusk and requiring householders to have shutters, blinds or curtains to prevent light leaking outside.
This was a further example of what had been the practice since the outbreak of war: Restrictions were imposed on islanders, not because they were deemed to be necessary, but because the Lieut-Governor followed whatever was the practice in the United Kindgom.
