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.
FREE Jersey history newsletter
Don't miss our weekly update on Jersey's fascinating history. We promise never to sell your data to anyone else, and there's a super-easy unsubscribe link on the bottom of each email so you can leave whenever you want.
Other events that occured in April
Jersey tries to abolish church pews sale
- Your seat in church once said a great deal about your social standing, so many wanted to bequeath their pews to offspring when they died.
- Read more…
Draft law introduced to give women the vote
- The fight for Jersey women's right to vote began in October 1918, when Caroline Trachy called for women's involvement in running the island.
- Read more…
Channel Islanders liberated from prisons across Germany
- Channel Islanders who had been sent to prisons in Germany during the Occupation were liberated in April 1945.
- Read more…
Jersey benefactor Thomas Davis is born
- Thomas Benjamin Frederick Davis was born in St Helier, and died, aged 75, in Durban, South Africa. He left behind a considerable fortune and a yacht once owned by the Kaiser.
- Read more…