17th June 1940
General de Gaulle has lunch in Jersey while fleeing France
French statesman Charles de Gaulle spent the Second World War in Britain, from where he directed resistance fighters in his homeland. Understanding his importance, the RAF evacuated him from France on 17 June 1940, flying via Jersey where they stopped to refuel the de Havilland Dragon Rapide DH.89 that was carrying him. This allowed the General to get out, stretch his legs and eat lunch before continuing to the mainland and putting down at Heston, just outside London.
Other events tagged war
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Other events that occured in June
French fishermen occupy Minquiers
- The arrival of a troupe of French fishermen on Maitresse Ile, the largest of the Minquiers Islands, was hardly a surprise.
- Read more…
Plane catches fire on take-off from Jersey
- G-CEXF, a Fokker F27 plane on its fourth flight of the day, caught fire just 400ft above the runway as it took off from Jersey Airport.
- Read more…
Building work starts on St Aubin on the Hill
- The Bishop of Guildford laid the foundation stone of St Aubin on the Hill, St Brelade’s Anglican church, on 4 June 1889.
- Read more…
Colorado beetle arrives in Jersey
- Colorado beetles invaded the Channel Islands in 1947 and, on a larger scale, in 1963, with many arriving still alive.
- Read more…
