HRH the Duke of Kent attended a dinner in his honour at Highlands College on Tuesday night after visiting the Jersey Scout Centre and the RNLI headquarters at the Albert Pier. In his speech, Sir Philip Bailhache said: ‘We are particularly grateful, sir, that you have chosen to visit Jersey at a time of great significance in our national calendar when we remember the restoration of freedom in 1945 and celebrate our achievements since emerging from the nightmare of occupation.’ The Duke is president of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and the Bailiff said that the wreath-laying at the Slaveworkers Memorial Cemetery yesterday, which was attended by the Duke, would have had particular significance for him. ‘For many years the slave and forced workers of several different nationalities, who were brought to the islands to create the massive fortifications of Hitler’s Atlantic wall, were the forgotten victims of the Occupation,’ he said. Now, due honour is paid to their memory not only during the ceremony at Westmount but also in a number of sculptures and monuments elsewhere.’
Jersey Evening Post
