Maybugs
A cruel pastime is banned.
United All England Eleven versus the Twenty-two of the Channel Islands: May 1866
Double your cricket numbers with England's finest (or second finest) at the Fort Ground. The newspaper notes: 'Although the Twenty-two are said to be of the Channel Islands, three only are natives, the remainder being officers of the garrison or other temporary English residents.' From the Star, March 31st, 1866.
Jordan de la Chapelle, 1235
A petition from the time of Henry III. Robert de la Rosière, Jordan and his wife are wrongly accused. The King gets angry with Dreux de Barentin, who had recently been appointed Warden of the Isles, and who became notorious through his subsequent oppressive behaviour.
Gaol returns 1880
From the Star of January 4, 1881. The following is the list of convicted prisoners from the 1st January to the 31st December 1880:
January 1816: Order-in-Council of February 1660
From the Gazette de Guernesey, January 6, 1816, respecting 'strangers' abusing their position by selling goods retail rather than wholesale and thus undermining the local economy. The 1660 letter from the Privy Council is in its original English: the Gazette provided a translation into French for the benefit of the malefactors, perhaps!
An appeal from Flanders: a Guernseyman to Guernseymen, July 1916
'You're very young and very small you boys, but your hearts are big.' His Excellency the General Officer Commanding has authorised in the public interest the publication of the following extracts from a letter received from a non-commissioned officer at the front, and the statement that every consideration will be given to the promotion of those men who have passed through the fiery furnace of this war. H St Leger Wood, Colonel, AA and QMG, August 8th, 1916.
Captain Knapp and the Mayflower, February 1762
From The London Chronicle.
Bicycle and Tricycle Club, February 1889
From the Star of February 2nd, 1889; the history of the Club. The cyclist in the photograph is the great champion, Jack Le Tocq, from the Library collection.
The fur trade in 1761
From the London Chronicle , Vol. 9. Guernsey and Jersey are accused of helping the French to put British fur traders in Canada out of business; the claim is denied.
Not dead yet: the curious case of the Speedwell, on the hunt for Americans, March 1812
A report from New York, March 31, 1812, published in Niles' Weekly Register, March-September 1812, Vol. II.
Witchcraft: Les Sorcelleries, March 1787
From the Library's Gazette de L'Ile de Jersey, 10 March 1787. If you're a Jersey person and you think you're cursed, you can call on the local white witch to save you.
The loss of the Hibernia, April 1833
From a letter in the Star, May 2, 1833. The Hibernia, Captain Brend, left Liverpool 6 December 1832, and sank on February 4, NW of Acension island, 1100 miles from Brazil. There were 79 males, 80 females, and 50 children as passengers; 4 of the crew were boy apprentices. 150 died. There were insufficient lifeboats, and they were very poorly maintained. The survivors were rescued by the Guernsey vessel, Isabella.