8th May 1947
Jersey hosts UK’s first post-war Grand Prix
British driver Reg Parnell won the 1947 Jersey International Road Race, considered to be the first Grand Prix race held in the United Kingdom following the Second World War. Like the second-placed driver, Frenchman Louis Chiron, he was driving a Maserati. There had been much speculation in the weeks leading up to the event that it would prove to be the fastest road race in Europe, with cars reaching 150mph on the straights – in particular the A2 running along St Aubin’s Bay.
The race, which covered 160 miles and had a £1000 prize fund, saw only 13 of the original 25 entrants cross the finish line. Prince Birabongse Bhanudej, better known as Prince Bira of Siam, had also entered, again in a Maserati, but dropped out at the halfway point.
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Other events that occured in May
Measles outbreak at the boys’ home
- Measles infected 35 residents of the Jersey home for boys in what came to be described variously as an “epidemic” or “plague”.
- Read more…
The Queen gives Jersey ownership of its beaches
- It took until 2015 for the queen to hand over Jersey’s beaches and the 12 miles of seabed stretching away from them.
- Read more…
Superman is born in Jersey
- Actor Henry Cavill, who went on to play Superman in various film adaptations, was born in Jersey on 5 May 1983.
- Read more…
The Channel Islands are liberated
- The Channel Islands were liberated on 9 May 1945 after several attempts at negotiating the German army's surrender.
- Read more…
