WELCOME to the first instalment of a new series looking back on the goings on from years gone by.
Each Thursday we will feature a handful of the stories which were making the news on that day on a random year from our past.
Today, we start with 17 February 2003 – when the UK was on the brink of war with Iraq, the Swimarathon said goodbye to the Fort and David Beckham was nursing an unfortunate injury…
*The Island’s militia was mobilised for the first time since the Second World War as the likelihood of a military conflict with Iraq grew. Ten members of the Jersey Field Squadron had received their call-up papers by 17 February 2003, and more were expected to be mobilised in the coming weeks.
*The call-up came just days after 500 Islanders protested in town against a war with the Middle Eastern country. The peace rally in the Royal Square was organised by a coalition of groups led by the Quakers. During the event, the Reverend Jeremy Troxler gave an impassioned speech calling for peace. ‘In the coming weeks our nations will face the great temptation of listening to that fear and beginning a war. We will be attempted to use our power as an expression of our narrow self-interests, instead of using it generously to serve all humanity,’ he said.
*Meanwhile, in local matters, vandals jumped on the bonnet of an honorary police car in St John, smashing the windscreen and ripping off the wing mirrors.
*The States police launched an investigation into the attempted abduction of two 14-year-old boys outside Stampers in Queen’s Road. It was claimed that three men in a Vauxhall Astra tried to entice the boys into the car.
*The last Swimarathon to be held at Fort Regent finished, raising a total of £90,000 for charity. The annual event had been held at the Fort for the last three decades.
*Over in the UK, the dreaded London congestion charge was introduced on this day in 2003. According to Mayor Ken Livingston, it went without a hitch.
*And David Beckham was pictured sporting a cut above his left eye following a well-publicised bust up with Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson. The England midfielder needed two stitches after being hit with a boot which his boss had kicked across the room.
