Gorey Castle has long been a deterrent again invasion. In 1405, French infantry under the command of Pierre de Pontbriand saw the fortification and decided to seek a truce. Picture supplied by La(Société Jersiaise

REPORTED plans made in 1942 to invade the Channel Islands have roused the interest of author Alec Podger.

In early June, the Jersey Eveing Post published an article about the plans, which would have had the aim of forming a bridgehead for a future attack on the Continent, and the disastrous effect that this would have had on the population.

‘We had heard about this after the war, though not in detail, and also that it had been decided that too many people would have been killed, because houses are spread all over the Island, and not just in villages, as is more usual elsewhere,’ wrote Mr Podger.

He added, however, that the island has been heavily invaded many times with enormous loss of life.

Taking extracts from his book A Nest of Vipers, Mr Podger details just two of the ten attacks which are known to have taken place during the Hundred Years War.

1295
We know very little about French attempts to take the islands during the 13th century, after John’s loss of Normandy in 1204, but it seems probable that there were several.

We do know of one. In a petition sent to King Edward I, Islanders said in 1295: ‘The body of our Lord was hacked down and spat upon. The images were smashed with swords and given to the flames.

The chalices were destroyed and taken away. The women and girls were taken by force from the Churches. The men and women were killed 1,500 in number. The houses were burnt and the corn; whereby we have nothing to eat.

Our money and all our other chattels were carried off. Of the chasubles and the vestments, trappings for horses were made, and when the horses had served their purpose they were hamstrung.’

In terms of the present population, that would be about 11,000 men and women killed within only one or two days.

1405, De Pontbriand
Pierre de Pontbriand, a distinguished Breton knight, with Pero Nino, a Spaniard, as tactical commander, landed with 1,000 French and Spanish armed mercenaries.

Their reason for doing so was that ‘… many rich merchantmen had feared to enter the port of Saint Malo, being unarmed, and Jersey pirates swarming the roadstead. They occupied l’slet overnight, and next morning advanced along the ‘bridge’.

The local forces of about 3,000 men were drawn up on the sand dunes which are now West Park and the Esplanade. Diaz de Games, who travelled with Nino everywhere and acted as his biographer, says of the battle: ‘The invaders advanced slowly under cover of a wall of linked shields … The Jerseymen opened battle with a charge of 200 horse, but a deadly volley from the French archers threw them into confusion.

The first line (of Jerseymen) then charged; the Jerseymen fought right sturdily, but they were reluctantly forced to retire.

The charge of the second Jersey line broke the ranks of the invaders. They joined in a fierce rough-and-tumble. Then you could see helm severed from breast-plate, and arm-plates and greaves hacked off … (greaves – leg-armour which a man on foot could cut from a man on horseback) blood flowed in torrents.’

Such steadfast courage did both sides show that all would have been slain, but the Receiver-General, bearing the white flag with Saint George’s Cross, and guarded by doughty knights, was slain.

Then the Jersey troops withdrew to Castel Sedement, a fortified area at Trinity, but the French were so fatigued that they could not pursue.

Some prisoners that they had taken told them that most of the survivors of the battle, together with non-combatant civilians, labourers and fishermen were taking refuge in this fortified area, surrounded by palisades and good wet ditches, whither their wives with their children and goods had already fled.

Rather than surrender this fortification to an enemy, it had ever been a law among them that they should all first die in its defence.

The next morning they marched inland, with a view to attacking Gorey Castle, and the country en route was covered with houses, gardens, harvests and flocks; and all the country was burning, which was a most piteous thing to behold, for the inhabitants were Christians.

When they got to the heights of Grouville they found their way blocked, and another indecisive battle took place.

The site of that battle is marked to this day with an ancient cross, La Croix de la Bataille, at the top of Grouville Hill.

Now seeing the castle from its landward side, they realised that they did not have the force to capture it, and both sides being exhausted, a truce was made, in which Jersey agreed to pay a ransom of 10,000 gold crowns to release all French prisoners, and to pay for the next ten years a tribute of 12 lances, 12 axes, 12 bows and 12 trumpets, which they much resented and found humiliating.

This was, in fact, only paid for one year.