24th December 1927
A motorist is killed on a Jersey level crossing
The bell was sounding, warning oncoming traffic that the barrier was being lowered at the Grève d’Azette station level crossing, but Francis Lecocq thought he could probably squeeze through in time. He was wrong. The barrier came down on the roof of his car and held it firmly in place.
The train was already too close for the driver to stop, and although Lecocq and both of his daughters managed to get out of the car before the inevitable collision, The Times of 28 December 1927 reports that, on that fateful Christmas Eve, “the train crashed into the car, cutting it completely in half, and carrying it some 50 yards up the line”.
It also killed Lecocq.
FREE Jersey history newsletter
Don't miss our weekly update on Jersey's fascinating history. We promise never to sell your data to anyone else, and there's a super-easy unsubscribe link on the bottom of each email so you can leave whenever you want.
Other events that occured in December
ITV broadcasts drama filmed at Hamptonne
- Under the Greenwood Tree, which was filmed at Hamptonne, Jersey, was broadcast on Boxing Day 2005, nationally, on ITV.
- Read more…
Photographer Claude Cahun dies in St Helier
- Claud Cahun was a French photographer and sculptor who settled in Jersey with her step sister, and remained throughout the war.
- Read more…
Jersey Airways is founded
- Jersey Airways flew its first commercial flight between Jersey and Portsmouth on 18 December 1933, just nine days after it was founded.
- Read more…
Lifeboat rescues crew after mine strike
- Jersey lifeboat rescued 11 crew members after their cargo ship ran aground and hit a mine left over from the Second World War.
- Read more…
