ISLANDERS gathered in St Helier at the weekend to acknowledge the contribution of some of the unsung heroes of the Second World War.
The British 14th Army became known as the Forgotten Army, as its forces were still fighting in horrendous conditions after Europe had been liberated.
The annual service took place on Sunday at the site of the memorial that was erected in 2015 after a campaign by Islander Jean McLaughlin, whose father, Lance Corporal John Edward Quénault, served in the Dorset Regiment of the 14th Army.
Names of 52 Islanders who fought in the Forgotten Army are listed on the memorial plaque.
Mrs McLaughlin said the event had featured the laying of wreaths, wartime music from Vera Lynn and a speech by Matthew Price, of BBC Jersey. At the conclusion of the service, members of the Jersey Military Vehicle Group staged a “drive-past” tribute. Several of those who attended later enjoyed a lunch together at the Radisson Blu Waterfront hotel.
“It was a lovely day, really emotional, and we were very lucky with the weather,” she said.
The 14th Army was made up of 15 Divisions – two British, three African and ten Indian – numbering almost one million men who spoke around 100 languages between them.
It held the longest battle line of any army during the war, stretching from the Bay of Bengal to the borders of China, and it also fought in some of the most arduous theatres of war, from Manipur to Rangoon.
