Author and JEP contributor Ian Ronayne was largely responsible for highlighting the story of local soldiers, who fought on the Western Front, in his book Ours: The Jersey Pals in the First World War. It tells the tale of the Jersey Contingent – the only officially formed Island unit sent to fight overseas.
He hopes that once travel to France and social gatherings are permitted, the Island will continue re-establishing its links with Soyécourt and Guillemont, where the Pals fought in a fierce battle in 1916.
Mr Ronayne said: ‘I hope that once the pandemic is behind us we can renew these relationships again. The First World War centenaries may have come and gone, but experiences and relationships from those four special years are still fresh. I hope they will be cherished and nurtured.
‘I still hear from some of those I had the pleasure of guiding around the old battlefields during that time, including several of the school pupils that came on government-sponsored visits. They shared how important the experience was by reconnecting with personal and Island history through treading in the footsteps of Islanders who went before and may have never come back.’
Mr Ronayne’s call for people to consider visiting these areas coincides with the centenary of a donation Jersey made to help rebuild a village in the Somme.
In March 1921, the States agreed to contribute more than £1,000 – around £42,000 today – towards the reconstruction of Soyécourt as part of a nationwide appeal to help France rebuild hundreds of communities destroyed in the Great War.
The Bailiff at the time, Sir William Vernon, described Soyécourt as the Island’s ‘adopted daughter’ but over the years the link was lost and largely forgotten.
It was revived in 2018 when former Bailiff Sir William Bailhache led a delegation to Guillemont and Soyécourt as part of Jersey’s centenary commemorations of the First World War.
Steve Cartwright, chief officer at the Bailiff’s Chambers, said a visit to the Somme by a Jersey delegation was due to take place later this year.
‘In the wake of the Great War centenary events held in Jersey and in France between 2014 and 2018, the Island has committed to maintaining our historic links with the townships of Guillemont and Soyécourt due to the relevance of the deployment of the Jersey Pals in these regions.’
News Focus: Page 8 of Friday’s (2 April) JEP.
