26th February 1951
Gerald Durrell marries the woman who will help him found his zoo
Jacquie Wolfenden was a trained opera singer, and the daughter of a Manchester hotel owner, in whose establishment Durrell stayed at the end of an expedition. It was there that they met and started a relationship that culminated in marriage on 26 February 1951
They founded Jersey Zoo together and, with Durrell’s author brother, Lawrence, she encouraged him to write the series of world-famous books that detailed his adventures collecting animals. However, the stress of both his alcoholism and his increasing workload eventually drove them apart. They divorced in 1979, and Gerald married Lee Wilson later the same year.
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Other events that occured in February
Plane gets lost coming out of Jersey
- A Jersey Airways flight from Jersey to Portsmouth got lost in the English Channel as the fog brought visibility down to less than 20 feet.
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The Channel Islands are cut off from the outside world
- The only communications link between Jersey and the mainland was severed, leaving the island isolated from the outside world.
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The States votes to flood Queen’s Valley
- The States of Jersey votes in favour of flooding Queen's Valley to create a new reservoir to meet the island's needs.
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Channel 4’s Treasure Hunt comes from Jersey
- Channel 4 gameshow Treasure Hunt came to Jersey in its fifth season, having visited Guernsey several years earlier.
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