6th November 1933
Men on trial for Jersey Airways scam
Three men appeared in court, accused of setting up a company designed to confuse investors who thought they were buying into Jersey Airways. Captain Charles Gervais had been arrested in Guernsey while boarding the Jersey-bound mail boat and charged with making false pretences. He had been trying to set up an inter-island air service, had established London Guernsey Jersey Airways and was fraudulently selling shares for £10. He wasn’t the only one suspected of wrongdoing: two other men were sought for their parts in the scheme.
A few days later, aeronautical engineer Joseph Novarro faced similar charges and, by 6 November, Arthur Rogers was in custody. The case could go ahead.
The initial hearing happened in camera, so proceedings couldn’t be reported, and took eight days to complete, at the end of which Gervais additionally stood charged of having fraudulently offered to a Mr Grey the contract to supply 162 gallons of fuel and 48 gallons of oil a day, in return, Grey would buy £200 worth of shares.
The full trial lasted less than a week, with the split jury deciding by a majority that there was no proven case to be answered. The men had pleaded not guilty.
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Other events that occured in November
Jersey and Guernsey decide to merge lotteries
- Jersey and Guernsey had been running separate lotteries before the decision to merge them was taken in 1972.
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Navy gunship is grounded off Jersey coast
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Agent ZigZag is born
- Spy Eddie Chapman double-crossed the Germans during World War Two, earning himself the name Agent ZigZag.
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Men receive five-year sentence for stealing apples and jam
- Three men were sentenced to five years in prison for stealing apples and jam from a house in St Helier.
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