8th December 1948
Jersey elects first woman to States Assembly
The election of 1948 was a momentous occasion for two reasons. Principally, it was the first election to take place after the Occupation. However, it was also the first at which a woman was elected to sit in the Chamber. The successful candidate was Ivy Forster.
The first woman to attempt to stand for election as a Deputy was Caroline Trachy, who was proposed and seconded for a seat for St Helier in December 1922, only to be disqualified purely on account of her gender. Thus, it was Ivy Forster, a quarter of a century later, who became the island’s first female deputy.
A long wait
Indeed, Forster had been encouraged to stand by the Bailiff after a successful spell as a public speaker in the aftermath of the occupation. She stood for election a further two times – in 1951 and 1954 – but, although she successfully defended her seat at the first of those, it was third time unlucky in 1954.
However, 1954 wasn’t entirely bad news for Jersey’s female representatives as Gwyneth Huelin was elected a Senator in St Brelade.
Ivy Forster will be remembered as more than just Jersey’s first female Deputy, though. During the occupation she and her sister Louisa Gould sheltered escaped Russian forced labourers. When Louisa was betrayed by a neighbour, Ivy took in Feodor Buryi, whom Gould had been sheltering, even though Ivy and her husband were already accommodating Grigori Koslov in their attic. Ivy, Louisa, and their brother, Harold Druillenac, all stood trial for having sheltered the escaped workers, and Louisa and Harold were both sent to concentration camps in mainland Europe. Ivy whom a doctor testified was suffering from tuberculosis at the time of her conviction, was allowed to serve her sentence in Jersey.
FREE Jersey history newsletter
Don't miss our weekly update on Jersey's fascinating history. We promise never to sell your data to anyone else, and there's a super-easy unsubscribe link on the bottom of each email so you can leave whenever you want.
Other events that occured in December
Author and Chinese army chief William Mesny dies
- William Mesney was born in the Channel Islands and became a distinguished officer in the Chinese army.
- Read more…
Channel Island cargo ships collide
- Two British Transport Commission cargo ships serving the channel islands collided in December 1955 resulting in significant damage.
- Read more…
Photographer Claude Cahun dies in St Helier
- Claud Cahun was a French photographer and sculptor who settled in Jersey with her step sister, and remained throughout the war.
- Read more…
Jersey’s German post delivered 71 years late
- Ninety letters written by German soldiers stationed in Jersey during the Second World War took 71 years to be delivered.
- Read more…