27th April 1949
Race car crash kills driver and spectators
A leading light in the world of motor racing was killed when he skidded and crashed his Bugatti into a house at Marquand’s Corner. Kenneth Wilfred Bear had been practicing for the 176-mile Jersey International Road Race at the time. The car collided with six people at the side of the road. A doctor died on the spot and a policeman died the following morning. The other four injured were kept in hospital. Bear’s funeral took place in Jersey.
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Other events that occured in April
The death of a very wealthy shipping baron
- When ship builder Sir Robert P Houston died, he left a £7m fortune and no male heir, which was bad news for his wife.
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The St Saviour wireless case show trial
- By 1943, the war was turning against Germany, and its forces realised they needed to control the flow of information. They banned radios.
- Read more…
Plans revealed for bridge to France
- Plans for a 16-mile bridge linking Jersey to France, which would also carry fibre optic cables and fuel pipes, were revealed in April 2008.
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Man tried on priest porn charges
- When pornographic pictures of a Jersey priest started circulating, a man with whom he'd had a long running feud was the natural suspect.
- Read more…