28th May 1946
Corbiere’s assistant lighthouse keeper drowns
Corbiere lighthouse is cut off at high tide, and it’s easy to be caught out if you don’t keep watch. That’s what happened to a pair of English visitors on 28 May 1946. One of them made it safely to the shore, but his wife didn’t, and assistant keeper Peter Edwin Larbalestier set out to rescue her.
Despite knowing what the sea can be like there, Larbalestier was washed away, along with the unfortunate woman, and they were both drowned.
A plaque was erected in his honour close to the lighthouse, “In memory of Peter Edwin Larbalestier, assistant keeper at Corbiere Lighthouse who, on 28th May 1946, gave his life in attempting to rescue a visitor cut off by the incoming tide. Take heed all ye who pass by”.
Larbalestier was 34 years old when he died. His grave is in the yard of St Brelade’s parish church.
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Other events that occured in May
The Co-operative movement is born in Jersey
- The Co-operative Society was established after a 23 May meeting at the Oddfellows Hall and opened its office at New Street one month later.
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Jersey’s open-air swimming pool opens
- The Jersey Times described the outdoor swimming pools opening as “one of the most brilliant functions witnessed in our island for some time”.
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A ship’s captain broke the law… or did he?
- When a ship's captain ended up in court for carrying too many passengers he argued that although he set off from Jersey, French law applied.
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Traffic returns to the “right” side of the road
- Throughout the occupation, the Channel Islands moved to German time and traffic switched from the left-hand side of the road to the right.
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