The Sections are having a busy summer, blessed with plentiful sunshine, many of them have been busy with outdoor activities, including our Field Archaeologist who has been busy in France and Jersey with his various excavations.
One of the most exciting pieces of news recently is the Board’s decision to accommodate JICAS (Jersey International Centre for Advanced Studies) in the building at Pier Road, and we look forward to welcoming them at the beginning of the new academic year in September. It is hoped that the students will bring fresh energy to our organisation, and they will be investigating our resources and bringing them into their further studies.
To kick off this new partnership, JICAS is awarding several bursaries (up to £10,000) for any Société Jersiaise Section member who would like to undertake their 2025-2026 MSc Island Biodiversity and Conservation programme in partnership with BioSciences, University of Exeter.
There are both full-time and part-time options available.
For more information about the bursary, programme and/or entry requirements, pls email info@jicas.ac.je
We are also delighted to have welcomed a new staff member towards the end of June. Jeremy Percival is Valérie’s long-awaited Library Assistant, and once he has settled in, we’ll be hearing more about him.
Furthermore, the Board has agreed to employ a part-time business support officer and has committed to a comprehensive fund-raising programme, starting immediately.
The Section Chairs and Secretaries were invited to a guided tour of the store at Augrès to discover the hidden gems which are kept there. The majority of the store contains the Société’s collections which are now all catalogued. Many thanks to the Jersey Heritage team, Helena Kergozou and Neil Mahrer for showing us around and highlighting items like Lord Coutanche’s writing desk from where he signed Occupation and Liberation paperwork, a crystal set hidden in a walnut with a secret, ‘jack-ass’ range-finders, militia coats and other clothing which demonstrate the very small stature of 19th century people compared to today, and a curious collection of medicines, food parcels from the Red Cross during the Occupation, a clock from the former railway and archaeological finds from the SJ. That was just a small selection of what is held there!
