For the second year running, the wreath-laying ceremony that has traditionally taken place at Westmount crematorium on the afternoon of 9 May has been cancelled because of restrictions on public gatherings. However, the event’s organiser, Gary Font, hopes that the experience of those who suffered will still be remembered that day.
He said: ‘As other Liberation Day ceremonies are being scaled back, and as public health and safety are paramount, it would not be advisable to hold the annual commemoration, which is usually attended by more than 150 people.
‘However, anyone who wishes to pay their respects and lay a wreath as they normally would is invited to do so throughout the day. We ask that they observe social-distancing guidelines and respect others.’
The Lieutenant-Governor, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, Bailiff Timothy Le Cocq and Chief Minister John Le Fondré are expected to lay wreaths, along with the Island’s Jewish congregation, and families of forced and slave workers.
Mr Font’s father, the late Francisco Font, was one of the forced workers brought to the Island after fleeing Spain in the aftermath of the country’s civil war, electing to build a new life in Jersey after the Occupation.
Last year was the first time in over six decades that a ceremony was not held in the grounds of the crematorium at Westmount to remember those who suffered at the hands of the occupiers in Jersey and the other islands during the Occupation.
