3rd April 1934
States votes to buy land to build Jersey Airport
Prior to the opening of Jersey Airport, all aircraft serving the island took off from and landed on the beach. Initially they had called only at Portsmouth on the mainland, but by the time the States moved to buy the airport site, they were also operating out of Southampton, with Portsmouth still used to pick up local passengers and as a customs hub.
The airport site in St Peter’s had been approved by the Air Ministry and it cost the States £20,000 to acquire. This was in addition to the projected construction costs but would make Jersey the hub of a network that would see aircraft setting off from London, calling at the west of England, heading south to Jersey, and from there continuing to France, with stops on the way.
Part of the land, which lay beside St Peter’s Barracks, was owned by the War Department. The rest comprised 70 fields totalling 71 acres.
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Other events that occured in April
Stranded fishermen are found on Minquiers
- Five fishermen went messing in March 1934 and were found early the following month sheltering on Les Minquiers.
- Read more…
Bullet dug out of barman after shooting
- A picnic turned to disaster when a barman was shot twice in the face at Jersey's St Brelade's, resulting in a court case.
- Read more…
Corbière lighthouse is lit for the first time
- Corbiere’s 19m-tall lighthouse sits on a tidal island, which lifts the light a further 17m above the high tide mark. It was first lit in 1874.
- Read more…
First Jersey Royals are exported to London
- Jersey new potatoes only found fame on the mainland after the first shipment went on sale in Covent Garden on 16 April 1859.
- Read more…
