Dear B.G.S.,
Just a few lines to tell you about this island and school. In the first place it is very hard to locate oneself here. One is not in France nor in England, neither on the Continent nor in the British Isles. Lecturers come over here from England and talk glibly away till they want to say something such as " Here in England we . . . ", and then they stick. Being neither fish, food nor good red herring has, however, its advantages. We have no receipt tax, income tax nor stamps on cheques, etc. Neither is there an Insurance Act nor rates. Several languages are spoken here. English is by far the most important, then comes the Jersey Patois, then what Jersey-men consider to be French, and finally Parisian. The difference between the last three is illustrated by the number 91, which in Jersey is nonante tchun, in the local French nonante et un and in Parisian French—but I suppose you'll be able to get that for yourselves by this time. The Breton language (like Welsh) is also to be heard.
Jersey has an area of 45 sq. miles at high water and 60 at low tide, and a more interesting 60 sq. miles I've never seen. The sea-coast is about 40 miles long, mostly jagged masses of granite with hundreds of rocks scattered about and more or less hidden according to the tide. As there are also currents up to seven miles an hour, boating except in the bays, is not popular. Normandy and the other Channel Isles (rarely Alderney) are usually visible. Inland Jersey is like a huge park with delightful valleys and charming lanes, the hedges of which are often twelve to twenty feet high and over-arch to form avenues.
The climate is actually better than that of Batley. At the end of October I've seen wild roses, honeysuckles and strawberries in flower, whilst figs, walnuts, chestnuts and tomatoes ripen in the open air.
There is only one town, known all over the island as " town ", which is about 2/3 the size of Batley, but has more and better shops than Dewsbury. It has two railway lines which one may conveniently call the Great Western and the Great Eastern. The Great Western, like its English namesake, is the longer and its trains go nearly as quickly as the Batley trams. There is never any danger of a collision, because one never by any chance sees two trains. The Great Eastern, like its English prototype, runs trains to the port of embarcation for the Continent (Gorey Pier). Consequently its notices are printed in French as well as English. Incidentally, it is the main line for gay Paree.
Having only one town is a great advantage with regard to mileposts. You meet one and see on it just a big figure, say 5, and at once you know where you are. The great event of the Jersey day is the arrival of the English steamer. This is a most uncertain event, especially when there are rumours of a submarine. Once there was no boat for a week. Two hours after its arrival the postman brings the letters, and a little later you can buy the "Daily Mail" of a day or two back.
There are a number of schools in Jersey, but Victoria College is, so to speak, the Jersey Eton. It is the pet of the States (Jersey Parliament) who provide the needful lucre. The school building is probably the finest in the island and is placed on a hill in a park commanding magnificent views. The science department needn't fear comparison even with Batley. We have no motor-generator but employ a gas-engine and dynamo instead. We have a Geryk pump, a furnace and other implements for the acquisition of knowledge. There are 160 boys, of whom 107 belong to the O.T.C. The great matches of the year are played against Elizabeth Grammar School Guernsey. We had one a few weeks ago and our boys went to Guernsey on Friday afternoon and returned on Sunday morning. It costs each about 15s for steamer and hotel. Many of the boys here go in for Sandhurst and Woolwich after leaving school, and eventually become officers. We have lost about seventy Old Boys in the war.
The beautiful aneroid barometer you gave me last July has been up to 1,500 feet in the Pennines. It has also been over the Cotswolds, the Mendips and the Dorset Downs. At present it has to content itself with more humble heights. To-day it dropped down to 28.7.
Good luck to you all,
A. J. ROBINSON.