Countryman's Diary: Loyalty pays off for islanders

During the very pleasant time we spent exploring its delights, it was very difficult to realise this was not part of France - with most of the roads and streets bearing French names, and with French being the language of ceremony and tradition, I found it hard to believe we were touring part of the British Isles.

Even though Jersey is part of the British Isles, however, it is not part of the United Kingdom. It is a self-governing state with its own parliament of 53 independent members, but there are no political parties on the island and the parliament is chaired by the bailiff.

The UK government handles only the island's defence and foreign relations and especially important is the fact that Jersey sets its own taxation, which is very low indeed.

Although tourism is a major source of income, Jersey's largest business is within the financial and banking industry. That world role has made it a very wealthy place, and this is evident in the quality of its buildings, food, shops and overall atmosphere.

I was reminded of its excellence when I went into a shop to buy some postcards and stamps. I asked for a dozen second-class stamps, but the shopkeeper told me there is no second-class postage in Jersey.

"Everything on the island is first-class," he reminded me.

The explanation for Jersey's unique role dates from 1066 and the Norman Conquest. William, Duke of Normandy, who is known to us as William the Conqueror, invaded our islands, but at the time the Channel Islands were part of his Duchy of Normandy in France. Many of the islanders fought for him in his campaign to become king of England but when William became King William I of England neither the Channel Islands nor Normandy became part of his new kingdom. It meant that English law did not apply either to the Channel Islands or, of course, to Normandy.

Later, in the 13th century, William's descendant, King John, lost his Normandy lands to the French king and by 1204, the people of Jersey found themselves having to make a choice - they could either become part of the French kingdom, or remain loyal to England, the kingdom of their duke, i.e. the king of England.

The people of Jersey remained loyal to their duke (who is now the Queen) and have since remained part of England, even regarding France as the enemy from 1204 until the 19th century. The French did invade Jersey in the 14th century and again in 1781, but the worst invasion came in 1940 when the Channel Islands were occupied by Nazi forces.

For five years, the islanders suffered under Hitler's army, being reduced almost to starvation until the British liberated them in 1945.

One remarkable legacy of the German occupation is the underground hospital in St Peter's Valley. This is an astonishing construction of tunnels and corridors hewn by hand from solid rock deep underground to make it immune from attack by land, sea or air. The Germans used forced labour and the idea was to construct a hospital which would accommodate German casualties if the Allies attempted to regain the islands by force. The end of the war meant it was never used as a hospital.

We toured this complex, which is now a most moving and atmospheric museum, a remarkable testimony to the courage and loyalty of the islanders. Everyone should visit it.

For all its flavour of tourism, Jersey remains very much a rural island. Starting on the day of our departure was the three-day country show, rather like the Great Yorkshire Show; it is known as the Foire de Jerri. An autumn fair in another part of the island had just been completed, this showing how apples are crushed for cider making, using a horse-drawn granite crusher.

The long harvest includes everything from new potatoes to flowers by way of root crops, cereals and even fields of parsley. Lavender and vines are produced too, with some wonderful tomatoes and delicious seafood. And the fields are full of delightful Jersey cows whose purity is secured because no other types of cattle are allowed to enter the island.

There are no railways on Jersey, but the public transport system is highly efficient - there was no need for us to hire a car, service buses fulfilling all our needs as we toured the island which is some ten miles long and four miles wide. The island has a blanket speed limit of 40mph, with 30mph and 20mph in towns, and 15mph on designated green lanes in the countryside.

It has gorgeous yellow beaches which are the cleanest in Europe, lots of woodlands and open countryside, dramatic cliffs and pretty villages. With a range of tourist attractions, including its famous zoo, visitors are well catered for. And caravans are forbidden on the island!

Jersey zoo deserves further comment. It is housed in the exquisite parkland and gardens of Les Augres Manor in the north of the island, and is home to a remarkable range of animals, birds, flowers, shrubs and trees. Jersey's agreeable climate means that exotic plants will flourish within these grounds which, in turn, means that most animals and birds are living among plants which are native to their country of origin.

For example, there is a Chinese garden which provides the habitat for the white-eared pheasant, a native of China, while British species also have their own natural habitats. This is no ordinary zoo - here you should not expect to find lions, tigers, giraffes and elephants in concrete rooms behind bars, because the focus of Jersey zoo is conservation. Thus the zoo is rich with rare and endangered species living in well-planned environments.

Durrell's dream

The driving force behind the organisation was the late Gerald Durrel, author and renowned conservationist. He started the zoo in 1959, chiefly as a breeding centre for animals which had become rare in the wild, and this developed into the Jersey wildlife preservation trust with a mission to save a whole range of endangered species, whether animals, birds, reptiles and even plants. Durrell died in 1995 and in his honour, the name was changed, in 1999, to the Durrell wildlife conservation trust.

A fine example of the work of the trust is the Mauritius kestrel. So rare was this bird that only four of them existed in the wild, but the trust succeeded in breeding some of these kestrels until the number is now about 200, most having been bred from those which were returned to the wild. Another example from Mauritius was the extremely rare pink pigeon - in 1984, after 12 years of work, 14 birds were released into the wild in Mauritius, with others later being released at other locations. These wild birds are now monitored to show their progress, and a continuing programme of research is under way to ensure their survival.

Space does not allow me to highlight all the rare creatures in this unique place, but we were captivated by the fruit bats, the aye-ayes, the lemurs, monkeys and gorillas and the wonderful collection of reptiles.

So successful was Durrell's dream that the zoo is now an international training centre where students from all over the world come to learn the techniques of wildlife preservation and conservation.

One fascinating building on the coast near St Brelade's Bay is the Fishermen's Chapel. The exterior looks very plain but inside there is a transformation because this ancient little church, so rich with atmosphere, contains some ancient and remarkable wall paintings of the Annunciation. The chapel, thought to date to the 11th century, stands on the site of a former timber building, and it is believed this has been a place of religious worship for more than 1,000 years.

Fortunately, the wall paintings were recognised as being of considerable importance and have been restored.

Standing next door is the more recent church of St Brelade, once known as La Petite Chapelle and dating from the 15th century. It was vandalised by French Protestants during the Reformation but was later restored to its present beautiful condition