13th July 1970
Emergency supplies are sea-lifted to Jersey
With the general strike finally resolved, mainland dockers worked through the night to load cargo ships with supplies for Jersey in advance of the start of their own industrial action. With nothing moving through Jersey’s own ports for a week, the island’s food supplies were starting to run out.
As The Mirror reported, “the holiday isle is still desperately short of food – particularly butter, bacon and fresh meat. There are no reserves left.”
Starvation threat
Five ships headed off from three ports – Southampton, Weymouth and Portsmouth – each with 200 tons of refrigerated fresh food onboard. If they hadn’t managed to get them off in time, Jersey might soon have found itself starving, even though its own port was once again open for business.
One other boat, which had been waiting at sea, arrived in St Helier within an hour of the strike coming to an end, but this was not enough to see the state of emergency that had been imposed lifted right away: it would remain in force until sufficient supplies had arrived to feed the whole population. Four other ships were close by, but had been waiting to dock for several days and it wasn’t known whether the food they contained would still be fit for human consumption or require disposal as soon as it was unloaded.
At the same time, the airport was reopening for business and refuse workers were starting to collect rubbish, which had either been taken to the tip by householders or left to build up during the dispute.
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Other events that occured in July
Jersey Royal potatoes are trademarked
- The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries applied to the UK patent office to register the terms Jersey Royal and Jersey Royals.
- Read more…
The British government offers St Catherine’s Breakwater to Jersey
- The States of Jersey officially accepted a ‘gift’ of St Catherine’s Breakwater from the British government in 1875.
- Read more…
A boy is killed on the Jersey Railway
- An unnamed boy was killed on the Jersey Railway at Bel Royal when he was crossing the track from the beach to retrieve his towel.
- Read more…
The Prince of Wales visits Jersey to open Howard Hall
- The Prince of Wales came to Jersey by boat so he could open the recently finished Howard Hall at Victoria College.
- Read more…