Tribute to a brave soldier

That pub is, of course, The Peirson, named after the 24-year-old Major Francis Peirson, the principal hero of the Battle of Jersey, that brief but bloody engagement which saw the Island Militia and British redcoats defeat Baron de Rullecourt’s French invaders in 1781.

The esteem in which the young major has been held ever since his role in rallying the troops and his refusal to capitulate became known is not in doubt. In addition to the popular immortality conferred by a prominent pub sign, he has a St Helier road named after him, a memorial in the Town Church, his last resting place, and a central place in Copley’s great painting of what is often described as the last battle fought on British soil.

Understandably, however, a significant number of people are asking if this is enough for a man whose initiative prevented the Island from falling into French hands, altering its history for ever. As a result, St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft is about to launch the Peirson Art Appeal, which will invite Islanders to contribute to a project designed to recognise the vital act of gallantry which ensured that the Jersey that we know today could emerge.

Generously, lawyers Le Gallais and Luce have set the ball rolling with a donation of £1,000. Even in these difficult times, more will undoubtedly follow – enough, it is to be hoped, to create and site a piece of art worthy of Peirson’s sacrifice.

Although the Island’s collection of public art has been enriched in recent years by notable pieces such as the ‘freedom’ group in Liberation Square, the Charing Cross crapaud, West’s Centre’s cattle and modernist examples on the Waterfront, our streets are anything but packed with statuary. A fine study of Jersey’s military saviour, in classical style or in a more modern idiom, would be difficult to better as a complement to those sculptures which already enhance the townscape.