5th March 1907

An auctioneer is killed on his bike

Auctioneer and company valuer Stephen Davies had travelled to Jersey for a well-earned break – which came to an abrupt and unexpected end. He set off on to explore the island by bike, but the Londoner hadn’t realised quite how steep was the hill that he encountered at St Aubin. Unable to either slow the bike or jump off, he crashed into a wall at the foot of the hill where he sustained fatal injuries.

Although the papers of the day don’t make it clear which street he was cycling down, it is likely to have been part of the valley leading to the harbour.

Davies, who lived on London’s Euston Road, had been a candidate for election to the council at Hounslow. His body was returned to the mainland so that a funeral could be held.

 

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Other events that occured in March

  • Jersey’s occupation bailiff is knighted
  • Coincidentally, on the day Lingshaw was sentenced for his treachery, it was announced in the London Gazette that Alexander Coutanche, bailiff throughout the occupation, had been knighted in recognition of his service to the island. Coutanche was again recognised in the 1961 Birthday Honours, when he was made a life peer and given the title […]
  • Read more…