Graham Beillard has been to India multiple times and has previously raised money to build an orphanage there.
However, when he discovered that Jersey was starting to close its borders – potentially leaving him stranded in Asia – he made a desperate scramble from Chennai to Delhi and then to Rishikesh, before flying home.
But it was a less than simple journey that, at one point, saw him dressing as a native to be allowed through Rishikesh.
He finally arrived back in Jersey this week and is now in quarantine at the Hotel de Normandie.
The 71-year-old, whose mother has been at home throughout the lockdown, explained: ‘I was in India and we were due to fly and get home on 30 March, but we heard Jersey was closing up before that and we were beginning to worry a bit.
‘We managed to get to Delhi earlier and we stayed there, but that was when India began to go into lockdown.
‘We then had to get to Rishikesh, but they were turning people from Delhi away and weren’t letting people who weren’t local into the area.
‘Luckily the taxi we were in had plates from there, and so we sat in the back and got through by disguising ourselves.
‘As there was no one around I managed to stay in a hotel, where I spent 36 days in total.
‘Myself and my son were trying to get hold of the British Embassy to get us on a flight. They rang a couple of times and we kept waiting for another call. Then one day the call came and they were able
to get us on a flight out of there and back to the UK. So it was a long journey in total.’
On his arrival in England, Mr Beillard stayed in Coventry while he worked to secure a seat on one of the lifeline flights from Southampton to Jersey.
Speaking about his marathon journey, he added: ‘I didn’t expect it to be like it was but I’m just pleased to be back now.’
