30th May 1975
The Queen Mother names a new lifeboat
Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, visited Jersey to officially name the island’s new lifeboat Thomas James King. King had been a coxswain of the lifeboats and been awarded a gold medal in 1949 for his bravery as part of a crew that rescued the yacht Maurice Georges.
King and his crew had just returned to port, late at night on 13 September 1949 after a fruitless eight-hour search for a crashed Wellington aircraft that had come down on a flight between Cherbourg and Boulogne. As they pulled in, someone spotted a distress signal, and the crew quickly turned the boat, the Hearts of Oak, and set off to investigate. When they found the source of the signal, they discovered the Maurice Georges, a 10-ton yacht that had drifted among the treacherous rocks of La Sambue Reef. The lifeboat took off three of the passengers, leaving one aboard to make sure everything was alright as they towed it into port.
Sadly, news for the men on the downed aircraft was not so positive. Three survivors of the military team flying it were picked up near Chausey, but the other six crew members perished.
An award for bravery
In December 1949, King was awarded the RNLI gold medal for the bravery he showed in piloting his boat into the middle of the rocks where the rough seas could easily have smashed it. A gold medal is only ever given for gallantry. The other seven men on the lifeboat were awarded bronze medals and the crew as a whole was given £58 to be shared between them.
Thomas King retired from the lifeboat service after a career spanning 20 years, including the period of occupation, in February 1950, by which point he had saved more than 50 lives.
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 May
Disco doorman is sentenced to death for murder
- The Royal Court sentenced a 23-year-old man to hang for the murder of Judith Harris, who had been found battered in an alley.
- Read more…
Plane scrapes the runway at Jersey Airport
- A DC-8 flying into Jersey came in with its nose too high and its tail too low. The tail struck the runway and scraped along it.
- Read more…
Jersey’s last ever death sentence is passed
- The last man sentenced to death on Jersey had his sentence commuted to life in prison, as had become customary, in 1984.
- Read more…
The Occupation Tapestry is completed
- The Occupation Tapestry celebrates the 50th anniversary of Jersey’s liberation at the end of the Second World War.
- Read more…