The Royal British Legion has commissioned a film about the Jersey Contingent of the 7th Irish Rifles, who served with distinction in such notable battles as Mons, Messines and Paschendaele – but most notably Guillemont on the Somme in September 1916. They also helped to suppress the Easter Rising in Dublin in April 1916.
The Contingent comprised 326 volunteers of the Island’s ancient defence force, the Jersey Royal Militia, who left Jersey in March 1915. They were affectionately known simply as ‘Ours’ to the loved ones and friends they left behind. Of the 326 members, 80 were killed and a similar number seriously wounded.
The Legion appealed for their descendants to come forward earlier this year so their special memories could be recorded for posterity.
‘We have been overwhelmed by the response,’ the services charity’s chairman Tim Daniels said. ‘It is so important for us to remember those brave souls who fought for Jersey in the Great War but through this process we’ve discovered that their stories are gradually being forgotten.
‘Our aim is to remember them, particularly this year on the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. There are a number of events being planned and we have commissioned Freedom Media to produce a film to ensure some of those Jersey Contingent stories are remembered.’
The film will highlight the role the Contingent played in the Great War by uncovering the stories passed down to generations of surviving family members. Many Islanders have contacted the company and a number have been selected to appear in the film.
‘The aim of the film is to tell the story of the Jersey Contingent through the personal perspective of their surviving relatives, all of whom have a significant missing link to what they know of their brave family members,’ Phil Slatter from Freedom Media said.
‘This film will be poignant and emotional, but it is such an important story to tell and crucial for all of us to remember, especially in the centenary year of the end of the First World War.’
A book about the Contingent, Ours: The Jersey Pals in the First World War by historian Ian Ronayne, has been serialised in the JEP over the past three years.
In 2016, memorials to the local soldiers were unveiled at the Weighbridge, and in the northern French village of Guillemont to mark the centenary of the battle where 20 members of the Contingent were killed.
A granite core hewn from the centre of the Guillemont Memorial will be unveiled in the Royal Square in November as part of the Island’s commemorations of the end of the First World War.
