15th December 1953
Lifeboat rescues crew after mine strike
When the 662-ton Brockley Combe ran aground on Minquiers in the middle of December 1953, the captain thought he’d struck a mine left over from the Second World War. The hull was holed and started taking in water, and a tug with a pump had to be brought across from Cherbourg as the Jersey lifeboat raced to its aid.
There was some hope that the ship might be towed to St Helier if she remained seaworthy, but it quickly became clear she was a wreck, with the lifeboat crew reporting that, having more or less broken in half, the Brockley Combe was a total loss.
The lifeboat took ten of the eleven crew members to shore, leaving only the captain on the stricken ship to supervise the attempt to pump out the water that was flooding its engine room. When it became clear that the attempt was fruitless he, too, left his broken ship.
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Other events that occured in December
Jersey holds its first election by secret ballot
- In 1891 Jersey held its first. Centenier election in which elector’s votes were private. The law introducing secret ballots was passed ten months earlier
- Read more…
John Pinel stands trial for abduction
- John Pinel was tried for abduction after taking Susan Malzard into his home and threatening to shoot anyone who approached.
- Read more…
Jersey Airways is founded
- Jersey Airways flew its first commercial flight between Jersey and Portsmouth on 18 December 1933, just nine days after it was founded.
- Read more…
Poet and jurat Augustus Asplet Le Gros dies
- Augustus Le Gros was a poet who wrote in Norman French. At the age of 33 he was elected a constable of St Peter, Jersey.
- Read more…
