AN annual ceremony which commemorates the plight of thousands of forced workers is to be run by Jersey Heritage moving forward.
The Slave Workers’ Ceremony, held each year at the Jersey Crematorium at Westmount on Liberation Day, honours those brought to the Island during the Occupation as part of Organisation Todt.
The event was originally led by Francisco Font, a former forced worker, and after that by his son Gary, who, after 25 years, has passed responsibility to Jersey Heritage.
He said: “On behalf of myself, the founders and families of those who attend the Slave Workers’ Memorial Ceremony each year, it is with great pleasure I pass on the guardianship to the safe hands of Jersey Heritage, who I know with their experience, understanding and empathy will ensure the ceremony always remains a valued part of our Island’s history.”
Informally beginning in the 1960s, the Slave Workers’ Ceremony became an official event in 1971. Over 100 people attend each year and more than 40 wreaths are laid.
This year’s event will take place from 3pm on Saturday 9 May. For the first time, descendants of Spanish enslaved worker Ramon Lluch-Planes, who died in Jersey, will attend the ceremony. Those laying a wreath are advised to arrive at 2.15pm.
Chris Addy, Jersey Heritage’s World War II Fortifications Curator, said: “It is a privilege for Jersey Heritage to be asked to organise this important annual memorial ceremony and we feel honoured that Gary Font has entrusted it to us. He is very modest about his quarter of a century contribution to remembrance and regards himself as a guardian of the Slave Workers’ Memorial Ceremony, like those representing the many nationalities and beliefs who have supported it without question year after year.”
Jersey Heritage has also launched a new cycling route entitled “Forced Labour Camps in Jersey”, linking 13 former camp sites across the Island. Each site is marked with special “vectors of memory” designed by architect Daniel Libeskind. The route is also part of Liberation Route Europe.
This joins two other Jersey trails on the Liberation Route Europe website – the Liberation of St Helier route and the Jersey Stolpersteine Trail, remembering local victims of Nazi persecution.
According to Jersey Heritage, the new route and ceremony aim to “ensure the stories of forced and enslaved workers are never forgotten”.
