3rd August 1916
Parliament debates Jersey’s treatment of prisoners of war
Conservative MP Ronald McNeill, speaking in the House of Commons, demanded to know from the Secretary of State for War, David Lloyd George, why authorities in Jersey were treating German prisoners of war leniently.
Comparisons to Germany
He asked how their generous ration of food “compares with that given to British prisoners of war in Germany; whether he is aware that the German prisoners in Jersey are given practically no work to do, although there is plenty of work to be done in the island in which they might be employed, and that they spend their time bathing and eating; and, having regard to the slavery to which the German authorities have reduced the prisoners in their hands, whether he will direct that a less luxurious diet be allowed to the German prisoners in Jersey, and that they shall be employed in some useful task, instead of enjoying idleness at the expense of the British taxpayer?”
Hansard, the official record of proceedings in the British Houses of Parliament, doesn’t record whether McNeill was satisfied with the answer he got, which in the event came not from Lloyd George but Henry Forster, financial secretary to the War Office, who explained that the ration “is that authorised for prisoners of war in this country and is, certainly, more generous than that supplied to prisoners of war in Germany”. Moreover, while the Army Council would welcome any opportunity to employ prisoners of war profitably, “they are not aware that opportunities for such employment exist in Jersey. Further inquiry is, however, being made to see whether the conditions in this respect have recently changed”.
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Other events that occured in August
Work begins on St Helier harbour
- Until work began on St Helier Harbour, visitors arriving on the packet steamer had to come ashore in small boats when the tide was out.
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Jersey Bulls FC is formed
- With a home ground at St Helier’s Springfield Stadium, the Bulls signed up 30 players for its first season.
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Nude sunbathers sentenced to eight days’ hard labour
- Two girls were fined £3 and sentenced to eight days' hard labour after they stripped off on a Jersey beach.
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Law Lord who oversaw Channel Island refugees is born
- Herbert du Parcq chaired the Channel Islands Refugees Committee which raised funds for evacuated Channel Islanders.
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