8th August 1942
Dennis Leister is deported from Jersey
Dennis Leister, known as John, arrived in Jersey less than six months before the occupation, but didn’t return to the mainland in advance of the Germans’ arrival, having apparently been so intoxicated at the time of the evacuation that he ended up in hospital and missed the boats. His father was German and his mother English.
He was arrested and convicted of theft, and sentenced to six months’ jail, to be served in Europe. After various escape attempts, of varying degrees of success, he joined the German army, married, and fled to Italy as the final battle for Berlin was getting underway. There, he was arrested, taken back to Britain to stand trial and sentenced to three years for assisting the enemy.
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Other events that occured in August
Jersey’s military government is dissolved
- The Channel Islands’ political recovery from the Occupation of the Second World War was swift, even if the physical scars remain.
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The telephone line between Jersey and the mainland is inaugurated
- Jersey's phones were connected by a direct line to the mainland in August 1939 via a coaxial cable that landed near Dartmouth.
- Read more…
The first Battle of Flowers takes place
- Jersey staged its first ever Battle of Flowers in 1902, to celebrate the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandria.
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Napoleon lays into Jersey in the French press
- Napoleon accused Jersey of granting asylum to criminals condemned to death, then sending them on raiding missions back into France.
- Read more…