Waiters threatened with sack over Militia service
Waiters threatened with sack
for attending Militia duties
The collection of records from the Bailiff's Chambers now held by Jersey Heritage contains some fascinating stories, such as this tale of two waiters who were threatened with the sack if they continued to absent themselves for compulsory Militia service
The story of two unnamed waiters at Bree's Royal Hotel starts with a letter on 4 September 1907 from the officer commanding the South Battalion of the Royal Militia Island of Jersey to the Lieut-Governor, Major-General Sir Hugh Sutely Gough, advising him that the men had been absent from compulsory Militia duty recently, claiming that they had been threatened with the sack if they took time off for these duties.
This had been confirmed by their commanding officer, who wrote that 'the management do not mind because they can employ aliens who are not liable to Militia duty'. He expressed the hope that His Excellency 'might be made aware of the great hardship to men under these conditions'.
A clash between civil and military matters was not something the Lieut-Governor wished to become involved in, so he wrote to the Bailiff, William Venables Vernon, forwarding the letter and requesting to be informed 'what steps can be taken to avoid such hardship being brought on men who have to perform Militia service.'
The problem was beyond the remit of the Bailiff, who asked the Greffier, Ernest Le Sueur, to refer the matter to the Defence Committee. They discussed the issue and replied that they did not think it was their role to become involved in what they considered to be a military matter.
Further correspondence with the management of the hotel indicated that they were not minded to change their view and if the waiters continued to take time off for Military duties, they would be dismissed and replaced.
And that's where the correspondence rested, with no indication whether the men continued to avoid Militia duties, and were prosecuted for doing so, or lost their jobs.
