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Alderney From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For the suburb, see Alderney, Dorset. For the breed of cattle, see Alderney cattle. Aoeur'gny Aurigny Alderney Flag Coat of arms Anthem: "God Save the Queen" (official) Location of Alderney in relation to Guernsey. Capital St. Anne Official language(s) English, French[citation needed] Recognised regional languages Historically Auregnais Now extinct[citation needed] Government  -  Head of Government Sir Norman Browse Legislature States of Alderney Part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey (Crown dependency of the United Kingdom)  -  Separation from mainland Normandy 1204  Population  -   estimate 2,400  Currency Pound sterling1 (GBP) Time zone GMT Internet TLD .gg  (Guernsey) 1 Local coinage is issued, including the pound note (see Alderney pound). Alderney (French: Aurigny; Auregnais: Aoeur'gny) is the most northerly of the Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is 3 miles (4.8 km) long and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) wide. The area is 3 square miles (7.8 km2), making it the third largest island of the Channel Islands, and the second largest in the Bailiwick. It is around 10 miles (16 km) to the west of La Hague in the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy, in France, 20 miles (32 km) to the north-east of Guernsey and 60 miles (97 km) from the south coast of England. It is the closest of the Channel Islands to France as well as being the closest to England. It is separated from Cap de la Hague by the dangerous Race of Alderney (Le Raz). The island has a population of only 2,400 people and they are traditionally nicknamed vaques[1] after the cows, or else lapins[2] after the many rabbits seen in the island. Formally, they are known as Ridunians, from the Latin Riduna. The only parish of Alderney is the parish of St. Anne which covers the whole island. The main town, St. Anne, ('La Ville' or simply 'Town' in English) is referred to as 'St Anne's'. It features an imposing church and unevenly cobbled high street. There is a primary school, a secondary school, and a post office as well as hotels, restaurants, banks and shops. Contents [hide] ​ 1 History o​ 1.1 World War II ​ 1.1.1 War crime trials o​ 1.2 Since 1945 ​ 2 Politics ​ 3 Law ​ 4 Geography ​ 5 Culture o​ 5.1 Alderney Week ​ 6 Transport ​ 7 Healthcare ​ 8 Numismatic history ​ 9 Panoramas ​ 10 See also ​ 11 References o​ 11.1 Inline o​ 11.2 General ​ 12 External links [edit] History Alderney shares a history with the other Channel Islands, becoming an island in the Neolithic period as the waters of the Channel rose. Formerly rich in dolmens, like the other Channel Islands, Alderney's heritage of megaliths has suffered through the large-scale military constructions of the 19th century and also by the Germans during the WWII occupation who left the remains at Les Pourciaux unrecognisable as dolmens. A cist survives near Fort Tourgis, and Longis Common has remains of an Iron Age site. There are traces of Roman occupation.[3] The etymology of the Island's name is obscure. It is known in Latin as Riduna but as with the names of all the Channel Islands in the Roman period there is a degree of confusion. Riduna may be the original name of Tatihou, while Alderney is conjectured to be identified with Sarnia. Alderney/Aurigny is variously supposed to be a Germanic or Celtic name. It may be a corruption of Adreni or Alrene, which is probably derived from an Old Norse word meaning "island near the coast". Alternatively it may derive from three Norse elements: alda (swelling wave, roller), renna (strong current, race) and oy or ey (island). Along with the other Channel Islands, Alderney was annexed to the Duchy of Normandy in 933. In 1042 Duke William granted Alderney to the Abbey of Mont Saint Michel. In 1057 the Bishop of Coutances took control of the island. After 1204, when mainland Normandy was incorporated into the kingdom of France, Alderney remained loyal to the English monarch in his role as the Duke of Normandy. Henry VIII of England undertook fortification works, but these ceased in 1554. Essex Castle perpetuates the name of the Earl of Essex who purchased the governorship of Alderney in 1591. Prior to his execution for treason, the Earl leased the island to William Chamberlain, and Alderney remained in the hands of the Chamberlain family until 1643. From 1612, a Judge was appointed to assist the Governor's administration of Alderney, along with the Jurats. The function of the Judge was similar to that of the Bailiffs of Guernsey and Jersey, and continued until 1949. During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, Alderney was held by a Parliamentary garrison under Nicholas Ling, Lieutenant-Governor. Ling built Government House (now the Island Hall). The de Carterets of Jersey acquired the governorship, later passing it to Edmund Andros of Guernsey, from whom the Guernsey family of Le Mesurier inherited it, thus establishing the hereditary line of governors that lasted until 1825. Henry Le Mesurier prospered through privateering, and moved the harbour from Longis to Braye, building a jetty there in 1736. Warehouses and dwellings were built at Braye, and the export of cattle generated wealth for the economy. The Court House was built in 1770 and a school in 1790. A Methodist chapel was constructed in 1790, following John Wesley's visit in 1787. A Telegraph Tower was constructed above La Foulère in 1811, enabling signals to be relayed visually to Le Mât in Sark and on to Guernsey - the importance of early warning of attack during the Napoleonic Wars was of strategic importance. But with the end of the Napoleonic Wars, privateering was ended and smuggling suppressed, leading to economic difficulties.[3] The last of the hereditary Governors, John Le Mesurier, resigned his patent to the Crown in 1825, since when authority has been exercised by the States of Alderney (as amended by the constitutional settlement of 1948). The British government decided to undertake massive fortifications in the 19th century and to create a strategic harbour to deter attacks from France[4]. These fortifications were presciently described by William Ewart Gladstone as "a monument of human folly, useless to us ... but perhaps not absolutely useless to a possible enemy, with whom we may at some period have to deal and who may possibly be able to extract some profit in the way of shelter and accommodation from the ruins." An influx of English and Irish labourers, plus the sizeable British garrison stationed in the island, led to rapid Anglicization. The harbour was never completed - the remaining breakwater (designed by James Walker) is one of the island's landmarks, and is longer than any breakwater in the UK. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited Alderney on 9 August 1854.[5] The Albert Memorial and the renaming of Rue Grosnez to Victoria Street commemorate this visit.[3] At the same time as the breakwater was being built in the 1850s, the island was fortified by a string of 13 forts, designed to protect the harbour of refuge. The accommodation quarters of several of the forts have been converted into apartments; two are now private homes; and one, Fort Clonque, situated at the end of a causeway which is flooded at high tide, now belongs to the Landmark Trust, and can be rented for self-catering holidays. It was at Fort Clonque that the film "Seagulls over Sorrento" was shot in 1953. Some of the forts are now in varying stages of dereliction: the most ruined being Les Hommeaux Florains, perched on outlying rocks, its access causeway and bridge having been swept away long ago. Houmet Herbé resembles a Crusader castle with its squat round towers. Like many of the forts it included such apparently anachronistic features as a drawbridge and machicolation, which were actually still common in military architecture of the period. [edit] World War II Alderney concentration camps memorial plaque During the Second World War, the Channel Islands were the only part of the British Commonwealth occupied by Germany. The German occupation 1940–45 was harsh, with some island residents being taken for slave labour on the continent; native Jews sent to concentration camps; partisan resistance and retribution; accusations of collaboration;[citation needed] and slave labour (primarily Russians and eastern Europeans) being brought to the islands to build fortifications. In Alderney, before German troops landed in June 1940, the entire population, save for six persons, left. The Germans built four concentration camps in Alderney, subcamps of the Neuengamme concentration camp. Lager Helgoland and Lager Borkum were used by the Nazi Organisation Todt and used forced labour to build bunkers, gun emplacements, air-raid shelters, and concrete fortifications. In 1942, the Lager Norderney camp, containing Russian and Polish POWs, and the Lager Sylt camp, a concentration camp holding Jewish slave labourers, were placed under the control of the SS-Hauptsturmführer Maximilian List. Over 700 of the inmates (out of a total inmate population of 6,000) lost their lives before the camps were closed and the remaining inmates transferred to Germany in 1944. The Royal Navy blockaded the islands from time to time, particularly following the liberation of mainland Normandy in 1944. Intense negotiations resulted in some Red Cross humanitarian aid, but there was considerable hunger and privation during the five years of German occupation, particularly in the final months when the population was close to starvation. The Germans surrendered Alderney on May 16, 1945, eight days after the Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich, and seven days after the liberation of Guernsey and Jersey. 2,332 German prisoners of war were removed from Alderney on 20 May 1945, leaving 500 Germans to undertake clearing up operations under British military supervision.[6] The population of Alderney was unable to start returning until December 1945. [edit] War crime trials After World War II, a court-martial case was prepared against ex-SS Hauptsturmführer Max List (the former commendant of Lagers Norderney and Sylt), citing atrocities on Alderney[7]. However, he did not stand trial, and is believed to have lived near Hamburg until his death in the 1980s[8]. [edit] Since 1945 For two years after the end of World War II, Alderney was operated as a communal farm. Craftsmen were paid by their employers, whilst others were paid by the local government out of the profit from the sales of farm produce. Remaining profits were put aside to repay the British Government for repairing and rebuilding the island. Resentment from the local population towards being unable to control their own land acted as a catalyst for the United Kingdom Home Office to set up an enquiry that led to the "Government of Alderney Law 1948", which came into force on 1 January 1949. The law organised the construction and election of the States of Alderney, the justice system and, for the first time in Alderney, the imposition of taxes. The legislature and judiciary were separated: the position of Judge (who had headed the island's government since the resignation of the last Governor in 1825) was abolished, and the Jurats were removed from their legislative function.[3] Due to the small population of Alderney, it was believed that the island could not be self-sufficient in running the airport and the harbour, as well as in providing services that would match those of the United Kingdom. The taxes were therefore collected into the general Bailiwick of Guernsey revenue funds (at the same rate as Guernsey) and administered by the States of Guernsey. Guernsey became responsible for providing many governmental functions and services. The 20th century saw a lot of change in Alderney, from the building of the airport in the late 1930s to the death of the last speakers of the island's language (Auregnais, a dialect of Norman language). The economy has gone from depending largely on agriculture to earning money from the tourism and finance industries. E-commerce has become increasingly important, and the Island hosts the domain name registry for both Bailiwicks and over a dozen gambling website operators. Alderney has a full regulatory authority in operation. Due to these upheavals and large immigration, the island has been more or less completely Anglicised. [edit] Politics Main article: Politics of Alderney The States of Alderney is the legislature of the island; it sends two representatives to the States of Guernsey as well. The origin of the States is unknown, but it has operated from the mediaeval period. The States of Alderney consists of the President, directly elected every 4 years, and 10 States Members, half elected every 2 years for a 4 year mandate. The President of the States of Alderney is Sir Norman Browse (since 2002). The whole island is a single constituency. Until the reform of 1948, the States of Alderney consisted of: ​ Lieutenant-Governor of Guernsey ​ the Judge (appointed by the Crown, equivalent of the Bailiff in Guernsey and Jersey) ​ 6 Jurats (appointed by the Crown) ​ the officers of the Court of Alderney ​ 4 Douzainiers (elected annually by the ratepayers) ​ a Douzainier-Delegate (appointed by the Douzaine) ​ 3 People's Deputies (elected by the voters for a 3 year mandate; added in 1923) [edit] Law The Court of Alderney exercises unlimited original jurisdiction in civil matters and limited jurisdiction in criminal matters. The Court sits as a Chairman and no fewer than three Jurats (out of the six Jurats). Appeals are made to the Royal Court of Guernsey (which also exercises some original jurisdiction in criminal matters in Alderney) and thence to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.[9] [edit] Geography Vegetation of Alderney (cabbage trees) Les Étacs - Gannet colony Aerial shot of Alderney (centre) and Burhou (upper right) Ortac in the distance, seen from the ferry. Alderney itself is in the background. Breakwater by James Walker Alderney is similar to the other Channel Islands in having sheer cliffs broken by stretches of sandy beach and dunes. The highest point is on the central plateau of the island at 296 ft.[5] Its climate is temperate, moderated by the sea, and summers are usually warmer than elsewhere in the British Isles. Alderney and its surrounding islets support a rich flora and fauna. Trees are rather scarce, as many were cut down in the 17th century to fuel the lighthouses on Alderney and the Casquets. Those trees that remain include some cabbage trees (due to the mild climate - often miscalled "palms" but of the lily family.), and there are now some small woods dotted about the island. Puffins on Burhou and gannets on Les Étacs just off Alderney are a favourite of many visitors to the island. The Blonde hedgehog is a species native to Alderney. The island had its own breed of cattle, called the Alderney. The pure breed became extinct in 1944, but hybrids remain elsewhere, though no longer in Alderney itself. In August 2005, the west coast of Alderney and associated islands, including Burhou and Ortac, were designated as Ramsar wetlands of international importance. The Alderney Wildlife Trust helps to manage Alderney's two nature reserves at Longis and Vau du Saou. The island is surrounded by rocks, which have caused hundreds of wrecks. There are two treacherous tidal streams on either side of the island: the Swinge between Alderney and Burhou, just outside the harbour, and Le Raz between the island and the Normandy mainland. The Corbet Rock lies in the Swinge. The geology of Alderney is mostly granites from the Precambrian period. [edit] Culture Auregnais, the insular dialect of Norman language is almost extinct, with only one or two islanders being "rememberers". Also, French is no longer spoken in the island (except by tourists); it ceased to be an official language in 1966. French declined from neglect, especially in the education sector, but also because most of the population was evacuated in WWII. To this day however, many, if not most of the local placenames are in French or Auregnais. One or two words linger on in the local English, e.g. vraic (seaweed fertiliser), and the pronunciation of certain local names, e.g. Dupont as 'Dippoh' rather than the French way. Golf, Fishing and other water sports are popular, though there are many clubs and associations for sports and other leisure activities (List of Clubs & Associations). Alderney competes in the biannual Island Games. Due in part to the tourist industry (and the Ridunians traditional taste for the grape and grain, leading to the common expression elsewhere in the Islands that Alderney is 'two thousand alcoholics, clinging to a rock') there are many restaurants and public houses. There is a vibrant and lively nightlife which is enjoyed by many especially in the summer, and informal dance music events often take place in abandoned bunkers ('bunker parties') and more organised events in and around Alderney week at the Corporation Quarry ('Quarry parties'). It was one of the last places in the British Islands to introduce a smoking ban in pubs, shops, restaurants and other indoor public places (Guernsey, Jersey, the UK, and the Isle of Man all having outlawed this). The States of Alderney passed the anti-smoking legislation with the President's casting vote on 13 January 2010; the legislation came into force at 4 a.m. on 1 June 2010.[10] Alderney has an ageing population and is popular with people wanting somewhere quiet to retire. Because it is quiet and secluded, Alderney has attracted some famous residents, including authors T. H. White (The Once and Future King) and Elisabeth Beresford (The Wombles), cricket commentator John Arlott, cricketer Ian Botham, Beatles producer George Martin, actress Julie Andrews, and Olympic swimmer Duncan Goodhew. Alderney has its own radio station, QUAY-FM, which operates in the summer tourist season and at Christmas. Alderney Society Museum was inaugurated in 1966. [edit] Alderney Week Alderney Week is celebrated from the Saturday before the first Monday of August, during which a number of events take place. Each year the organisers pick a new theme, and there is a competition for a logo/mascot. ​ The first Saturday begins with a parade of decorated brollies, bonnets and dogs to the Marais Square, where, traditionally, the firemen squirt their hoses into the air to "test" the brollies. There is a disco on the green, and a Quarry Party starting at 11pm with a 1970s and 1980s theme. People dress in costume or just in wacky clothes. ​ The Sunday is always the day of a traditional street market. A mixture of traditional toffee apples and personal junk sales is laid out up and down the main street. Clothes, ice-creams, sweets and jewellery are all sold from tables in the street, and with dancing by the KFA, the Miss Holiday Princess Competition and music by the Alderney Band. ​ Cavalcade Day takes place on the Monday, on which residents and organisations construct parade floats based upon a particular theme, before walking them though the high street and onto the green. Judging and prize giving takes place up there, as well as games, stalls and burger vans. The Alderney Blowers give a full concert, and there is a car and bike show. ​ Tuesday events may include auditions, Shakespeare in the gardens, and the blessing of the fishing fleet. ​ Wednesday often includes the daft raft race, though it changes days often to get the right tide. Participants build the wackiest crafts they can think up to sail around two buoys in 3 great races whilst being pelted with flour bombs, water bombs and hoses from the lifeboat. Although the races are friendly, many attempts at sabotage have been made, which range from standing in the way of launch, to drilling holes in the previ