Minutes of the Meeting held Tuesday May 21st 2002 at 5.15pm
Members' Room

        
1.         Members present :
Jean Arthur, Marie-Louise Backhurst, Mary Billot (Secretary), Mervyn Billot, Gavin Booth, Bertram Brée, John & Pam Denize, Guy Dixon, Frank Falle (Chairman), Douglas Hooke, Nicolas Jouault, Frank Le Blancq, Susanne Le Feuvre, David Le Maistre, Georgia Le Maistre, Bob Le Sueur, Bill Tower.
Apologies :
Yvonne Aston, Francis & Anne Corbet, Roger de Carteret, Derek Gray, Sue Hardy, David Levitt, Alec Podger.

2.        Minutes of the meeting of March 19th 2002, and amendments
These were approved as a correct record.
3.         Matters arising from the minutes not covered by the agenda
3.4.2        The Autumn lunch-time lectures are -
§October 23 - Bob Le Sueur on Icho Tower or Hyge Hoge Tower (with slides)
§October 30 - Marie-Louise Backhurst on Cholera, drains and the ratepayer in 19th century St Helier (with OHPs)
§November 6 - Geraint Jennings on his St Helier pilgrimage in Normandy by bicycle (Powerpoint ?)
§November 13 - Jean Arthur on The heart of the parish
§November 20 - Frank Falle on The lost island of St Catherine's Bay? (with OHPs)
5.6Georgia Le Maistre has asked the Library about searching the Internet for a second hand set of the three-volume history of the Hampshire Regiment published by Gale & Polden in the 1950s.
4.4Jean Arthur says that she knows what she is doing with the Ste Marguerite Chapel, Grouville.
2Frank has had no information yet from Olga Finch.
3Frank said that George Croad's book has information on La Bagatelle.
7Bob Le Sueur has written to Gavin Booth about the Palace Hotel (CIOS bulletins for 1984 and 2001).

4.         Chairman's announcements

1Mont Orgueil Castle
Frank said that the Sections were well represented at the JHT Conservation Plan seminar held on April 24/25th at the Castle. It was a very open meeting and he felt that progress was made, though doubts still remained about the Tudor area. The structure and relative chronology has been determined; the absolute chronology has yet to be established. Frank would wish to see a model of the bow and arrow fort made. He hopes that a high quality build sympathetic to the structure is forthcoming, rather than a re-creation. The next seminar with the same participants is on July 5th to cover the development strategy principles.
Mervyn Billot asked whether there was a record of meeting; Bob Le Sueur said that the JHT would produce a seminar report and transcript of the debate.
Marie-Louise Backhurst hoped that multi-layered interpretation is provided; MOC is not a 'single date' castle.
4.2        Visit to Pirou, Hauteville Museum and La Hambie
Bertram Brée said that Alizès would produce its timetables in July; Emeraude sails to St Malo only, not Granville. The Tancred de Hauteville Museum closes on September 15th 2002 for the rest of the year. The other places to visit are Pirou (Viking site) and La Hambie.
Suggested date : Saturday September 28th - to St Malo and Pirou; night at Coutances or Granville. Visit La Hambie on Sunday and return to Jersey.
3Frank circulated a list of Mormons who left Jersey to go to the USA, 1847-1849; the British Missions of LDS in London drew up the lists.
Mervyn is researching the 'Ellen' and the 'Empress' for an enquirer; Mormons were on one or other of these ships in 1855 and went via Liverpool. Yvonne Aston and Martine Schenk are useful contacts.


4Frank said that the next Variety Club 'Down your way' walk is on June 23rd (Midsummer Day) in St John.
5Frank has received the minutes of the Chairmen and Secretaries meeting of March 5th 2002 - see report in Section minutes of March 19th.

Members' contributions
1David Le Maistre circulated an undated print of Le Hocq Tower with an attached news cutting of June 12th 1935; it is being donated to the SJ. He asked about photographs of the quarry head at La Moye.
David said that he considered the current location of the WW2 memorial stone on the Route du Nord to be wholly inappropriate; it is in the car park opposite Les Fontaines Hotel. It states that the road is dedicated to all the men and women of Jersey who suffered in WW2; the Public Works Dept erected it. David wrote to the JEP about its location, as the 60th anniversary of the Liberation is in 2005. Bob said that the road was the brainchild of Deputy Ed Le Quesne (Dept of Labour) to employ those who lost their jobs as a result of the German Occupation; it started in the east and went west. Guy Dixon reminded members of the war memorial at Noirmont.
David asked for information about the area of the Le Bas Centre being used 'as a circus field' - no further details.
He also speculated whether the Seigneur's black horse buried at St Ouen's Manor was that of the 1470s, or an earlier burial. This provoked discussion as to when the de Carterets acquired the Manor after 933, when seafaring rovers came in to the domain of the Norman lords. Jersey was Celtic at the time with a Viking elite. Frank said that the St Ouen horse is not with human bones. Guy Dixon said that Vikings settled by springs, so St Ouen would be suitable.
2Gavin Booth said that towers were built where there were gun platforms; all towers originally had these platforms though some now have been lost to the sea or built on. He said that the Lookout Tower at MOC was used as a gunpowder magazine.
3 Bob Le Sueur said that Icho Tower had another name - Huge Hoge (high mound). He asked about the Grosnez signboards. John Denize has spoken to Doug Ford who has asked that the French and Jerriais be checked again.
Bob said that an anti-Nazi started the explosion deliberately in the cordite store at the Palace Hotel in 1945.
4Nick Jouault said that Capt. Philip de Saumarez founded the Naval Cadet School in Gorey for 100 boys (90% from the C.I.); it existed from 1860 to 1875.
5 Marie-Louise reported on her various research topics - the Maugers and Durells in Poole; Capt. Louis Ourry (18th cent.) in Hampshire Record Office; the centenary of Claude Debussy's arrival in Jersey in 1904 (Isle joyeuse, La mer); the re-enactment of Victor Hugo's arrival in Jersey on August 5th 2002 (150th anniversary). The SJ discussion forum on its website has a thread about anniversaries for the design of the 2003 Jersey Telecoms phone book cover.
She would like details of funerary rituals for her CIFHS talk Death and your ancestors on June 24th . The latest issue of the Dorset & Somerset FHS journal covers the C.I.
6Susanne Le Feuvre asked for information about Fort William, Grouville - details to her please.
She reminded members about the new law on data protection which will be extended to cover manual records.
7Georgia Le Maistre said that 9 Parade Road is for sale and has a Le Feuvre range (made at 50 Don St) earlier than Grandin. She has spotted a Payn stone at the junction of Green Rd with Plat Douet Rd. She also said that there are changes to birth, marriage and death registrations in the UK with the advent of the new national computer database.
8Jean Arthur said that she has identified brewers' grains in the P/A picture circulated earlier.
9Guy Dixon asked about bomb damage to a hotel at the Weighbridge (?) during the G.O. - it was at the Aberfeldy in Old St John's Rd. He also asked about the battle honour for the 95th Foot (of 1781) at the Battle of Jersey - it was disbanded with no successor.
10Frank said that the Natural History Sections lunch time lectures were ongoing.

Any other business
        There was no other business.
Date of next meeting
Tuesday May 21st 2002, 5.15pm, Members Room if available, otherwise Arthur Mourant Room.


History.doc 07.06.2002