The award was made as part of the historic commemorations of what the Bailiff, Sir William Bailhache, described as ‘the third great milestone of the Second World War’, with Dunkirk and Pearl Harbour being the other two.
Around 80 Islanders attended the lunch, including St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft, the ambassador for the Jersey branch of the Normandy Veterans’ Association, Chris Stone, and the all-female, 1940s-themed trio of local singers, the Optimistic Voices.
Harry Fenn, Bill Reynolds, Ernest Thorne and Richard Wraight were presented with their medals by Sir William.
When asked what he recalled from the Allied landings, Mr Reynolds said he had been ‘very lucky’ on the day, when unexploded bombs landed just feet away from him.
‘We didn’t think about what was happening at all at the time – we had a job to do and we just did it,’ he said. ‘I must admit, though, that when we were getting bombed we were very nervous. I’d been through the bombing in London and Liverpool and had been close to bombs before, but the bombings [in Normandy] made me nervous.
‘I knew by the screams of the bombs where they were going to land. About two or three bombs landed about two to four feet away from me in Normandy, and none of them went off. I was very lucky.’
Before presenting the medals, the Bailiff explained their historical significance, adding that they were ‘not often’ awarded.
‘It has on the one side a replica of the mace given to the Bailiff of Jersey in 1663 by King Charles II as a token of appreciation for the Bailiff’s loyalty to the Crown during the time of Cromwell,’ he said. ‘And on the reverse side there is an image of the seal given to the Island by King Edward I in 1279, to be affixed to all official documents thereafter.’
