History Meeting Minutes - February 2009

Minutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday 17th February 2009 at 5.15pm,
Members’ Room, Société JersiaisePresent:
Frank Falle (Chairman), Yvonne Aston, Marie-Louise Backhurst, Mary Billot, Mervyn Billot, Bertram Brée, Roy Dobin, Mary Gibb, Sue Groves, Christopher Harris, Anne Herrod, Nicolas Jouault, Peter King, Sally Knight, George Langlois, Frank Le Blancq, Suzanne Le Feuvre, Georgia Le Maistre, Bob Le Sueur, Mike Lees, David Levitt, Pat Maindonald, Ian Ronayne, Adrian Walton.
 
1. Apologies for absence:
Ian Machin, Alec Podger, Linda Romeril, Doreen Schofield-Fost, Danny White.

2. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of January 20th 2009, and amendments
5.3 Suzanne Le Feuvre said that the subject of her Autumn lunch time lecture is the 90th anniversary of the Jersey Farmers’ Union.  The minutes were then approved as a correct record.
 
3. Matters arising from the minutes not covered by the agenda
 There were no matters arising from the minutes.

4. Chairman’s communications
4.1 Brittany study tour cancellation – Frank Falle said that the optimum number of 30 for the trip had not been reached. If the arrangements continued and then proved not to be economical, Go France would charge a 75% cancellation fee. The costs rose for five days and there was no consensus on a four or five day tour. However a good route had been planned which can be re-examined for 2011 (target date for names November 2010). Marie-Louise Backhurst said that the planning required one person’s attention and suggested that there was a need to join forces with the National Trust for Jersey, to which Christopher Harris gave his support. Bob Le Sueur agreed and said that the NT for J has an efficient mailing system. Frank suggested that perhaps there should be a trip to France (2011) and one to England (2012).
Bob Le Sueur said that the CI Occupation Society is organising a 2009 trip for three nights to visit World War II GO and Resistance sites in the vicinity of Nantes. Please contact Paul Burnal in St Peter (482894) if you are interested.
4.2 Frank said that some of the 2008 summer series of walks were not very successful as SJ members do not support them. Marie-Louise Backhurst said that the St Aubin weekend is to be repeated in the last week of September 2009. Yvonne Aston commented that the visits to houses in the past were very successful.
4.3 Frank will give a talk on his visit to Nepal as an evening meeting in 2009.
4.4 The Jersey Archive will be open on the third Saturday of each month starting on February 21st to 19th December 2009, 9am to 1pm. sponsored by Appleby. There will also be a series of six talks starting on February 21st, as featured in the JEP.
4.5 Sarah Jordan has kindly volunteered to take the minutes at the meeting on March 17th, as Mary Billot is not available.

5. Military History Group
5.1 Mike Lees said that Planning has agreed to the development of Le Couperon Barracks into ten flats, as reported in the JEP. Marie-Louise Backhurst said that the developers had to commission a report from the Museum of London Archaeological Service (MOLAS). This is a ‘desk-top’ assessment of 30 pages, which is not freely available; MOLAS has copyright. She hopes to publish other MOLAS reports in the SJ Bulletin.

6. Members’ contributions
6.1 Christopher Harris ( This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it 481814) asked for assistance on behalf of his daughter who is researching her dissertation. She is concentrating on 1945-46 and wishes to construct a narrative of the German Occupation based on hidden non-establishment voices and opinions (ordinary people, black marketers, slave workers, diaries of those married to Germans, fraternizers). Please contact Christopher if you can help.
 Mary Gibb suggested contacting Mrs Bellamy, Guy Dixon’s aunt (formerly of Noirmont Manor).
6.2 Ian Ronayne announced that his book would be published on August 1st 2009. The title is Ours : the Jersey Pals in the First World War, published by the History Press.
6.3 Marie-Louise Backhurst made several points –
• She is going to the Society of Genealogists ‘Who do you think you are?’ Fair at Olympia on the weekend of February 27th, and will be at the S of G stand
• Planning’s website has loaded a paper by Kate Clark Valuing the heritage of the CI, cf. her talk given to the National Trust for Jersey in 2008
• She is researching schools in St Helier and wants information on St James’ Collegiate School. [AJ Parfitt was the principal in the 1890s; it taught the syllabus for the College of Preceptor exams]. Bob le Sueur said that two Le Sauteur ladies ran a school in St Helier
• She has been checking through Robin Cox’s notes at the Archive for references to St Helier in the Royal Court records
• She has checked the death certificate of Lay Otway’s second husband; Col. Leatham died unexpectedly of a stroke whilst getting ready to go to Church
• A walk around Tunnell Street is planned in June. She has a lecture prepared on St Helier that lasts about an hour and was first given to the University of the Third Age – she does not consider it suitable for a short talk.
6.4 Mary Gibb spoke on the following -
• The Vernacular Architecture Group spring conference takes place from April 15th to 17th 2009; the 68 delegates stay at the West Hill Country Hotel, St Helier. There are at least 13 visits to local houses each day. There may be space on the minibuses for locals. Mary Billot has a copy of the itineraries for the three days. Please contact the local organiser (in Guernsey) if you are interested in joining in for some or all of the days; he needs to know people’s names for insurance purposes – John McCormack FSA, 01481-720303  < This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it >
• Mary circulated photographs of TJ and JE Le Huquet, who built ships in St Martin, 1848-79
• Neil Molyneux came across a book published by the St Malo Historical Association that listed stone lines used for fish traps, which may have some relevance to the stone circle at Scez Harbour. Dates not known. Bob Le Sueur suggested that they might have been used for seaweed storage.
6.5 Bob Le Sueur make the following points-
• The model of the Mont de la Ville dolmen donated to Marshal Conway (grade 2 listed building now at Park Place, near Henley on Thames) is at La Hougue Bie. The Society of Antiquaries refused to visit Park Place to show its disapproval of the monument’s removal from St Helier
• La Rocco Tower was not damaged by German firepower. A full account will appear in the SJ Bulletin
• The JEP has recently published a letter from Bob about the Jews in Jersey during the GO
• Two walks were made to Icho Tower in 2008. The National Trust for Jersey is organising another one, followed by a cream tea – date to be announced.
6.6 Nick Jouault said that Joseph Sinel corresponded with Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace.    There was a namesake in New Zealand, a designer in the 1930s.
6.7 Bertram Brée said that there is a reconstruction of the ‘Hermione’, a frigate built by General Lafayette and sent to the USA in 1780 to support American independence. <www.hermione.com>. The Brée family is sorting through family photographs kept at La Sente Farm, Grouville.
6.8 Frank Falle said that Edward III regulated the flow of wool from England. From 1330 to 1370, 3,300 tods of wool were allocated to the CI for the knitting of stockings.
6.9 George Langlois is a member of the British Society of Dowsing, which is 75 years old. A recent article in its journal featured an interview with Aaron Bray (Cornwall), a professional dowser. He has visited Jersey and talked of his gratitude to George for his guidance.
George said that a large pump is needed for the empty arch on the road to the St Helier Yacht Club; the well is below the road.

7. Date of next meeting
Tuesday 17th March 2009, at 5.15pm in the Members’ Room if available, otherwise in the Arthur Mourant Room. Sarah Jordan will take the minutes.