4th April 1771
Major Moses Corbet is appointed Lieutenant Governor of Jersey
Corbet served the army in Menorca and Gibraltar before retiring to Jersey on the grounds of ill-health. He was appointed the island’s Lieutenant Governor in 1771 and, eight years later, led a team of men who repelled an attempted French-Dutch invasion at St Ouen’s.
The French were not easily deterred however, and in 1781 they staged a second invasion, this time enjoying a far greater degree of success. They captured Corbet and forced him to surrender the island. However, British army officer Francis Peirson refused to accept Corbet’s surrender to the French, and he attacked the French forces, succeeding in driving them back and, in the process, killing the French forces’ leader, Philippe de Rullecourt. Peirson was also killed in the attack.
Corbet was disgraced and, as a result of his actions – or lack thereof – tried by court-martial and found guilty. He was dismissed as Lieutenant-Governor.
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Other events that occured in April
States votes to buy land to build Jersey Airport
- Prior to the opening of Jersey Airport, all aircraft serving the island took off from and landed on the beach.
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The St Saviour wireless case show trial
- By 1943, the war was turning against Germany, and its forces realised they needed to control the flow of information. They banned radios.
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Race car crash kills driver and spectators
- A leading light in the world of motor racing was killed when he skidded and crashed his Bugatti into a house at Jersey's Marquand’s Corner.
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Jersey Electricity Company is established
- Jersey Electricity was founded as the Jersey Electricity Company on 5 April 1924. It is the sole supplier of electricity to the island.
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