7th April 1934
An attempted elopement fails
In the 1930s, it simply wasn’t done to get married without first obtaining your father’s permission. Ada Maud West learned that the hard way when, in 1934, she was intercepted by police upon arrival in Jersey.
The 19-year-old had fallen in love with 25-year-old Edward Fray, a colleague at the cinema where they both worked. When he got a job in Jersey and announced that he was leaving, the two made the decision to elope. They bought tickets for the midnight sailing of the Southern Railway Company’s steamer, Isle of Sark, and she hid in a cabin until they were underway.
The police were waiting
However, someone at the cinema had let slip, and her father, discovering what they were up to, had hurried to Southampton docks to retrieve her. Unable to find her onboard, he had no choice but to disembark before it set sail, so called ahead to Jersey so that police could be standing by when the steamer arrived.
They intercepted the pair, split them up and took the girl directly to the airport. She was put on the next flight to Southampton Municipal Aerodrome to be met by both of her parents. Whether the pair were ever reunited is not recorded in the papers of the time. Neither was Ada West’s reaction when she was greeted by her mother and father and escorted to their waiting car.
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Other events that occured in April
The States starts dismantling Jersey Railway
- After a fire, and facing stiff competition from road transport, Jersey Railway was sold to the States, which began demolishing the track.
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Jersey votes to retain the death penalty
- The States of Jersey votes 22 to 28 in favour of retaining the death penalty when it debated the matter in April 1972.
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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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Pilot helps yacht in distress
- When a pilot spotted a yacht in distress while flying his aircraft from Jersey to Heston Airport, he dropped down low to see if he could help.
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