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As Jersey prepares to mark 70 years of Queen Elizabeth II being on the throne, each day this week, Express will be reflecting on how the island has celebrated previous jubilees.
Today, we turn back the clock to 1977…
After church services across the UK on 6 February 1977, several events took place during the official Silver Jubilee days in and around 6 June.
In the island, the celebrations saw the adoption of a new flag. Since the 1820s, the island had used a flag featuring a plain red saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross, upon a white background.
In 1977, it was decided to adopt a distinctive flag. With Jersey's growing international profile, it was felt that a new flag would “enhance Jersey's identity and avoid confusion with other uses of the plain saltire”.
The new design featured the red saltire on a white background, with the addition of three Norman leopards and crown in the upper part of the flag.
The States of Jersey approved the new design on 12 June 1979, with only two votes against. The Queen then officially issued the proclamation of the new flag on 10 December 1980, and it was officially hoisted for the first time on 7 April 1981.
The 25th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne also saw the opening of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Activity Base at Crabbé.
According to a Design Statement prepared by Riva Architects in 2013 as part of an application for the refurbishment of the centre, it was one of three community projects considered to be promoted as part of the preparations for the celebration of the Jubilee.
The idea of an outdoor activity centre for the Jersey Youth Service was eventually approved and the base was opened by The Lieutenant Governor, General Sir Peter Whiteley, on 13 June 1981. It featured several wooden chalets on a five-acre site surrounded by deciduous and evergreen trees.
The facility expanded in the following years with the addition of sleeping cabins in 1983, an equipment cabin in 1989 as well as smaller huts on site for toilets.
In October 2002, the site received its first Royal Visit with Their Royal Highnesses, the Earl and Countess of Wessex.
Pictured: The new building was erected in 2014.
Riva’s Design Statement said the facility, which they described as the only States of Jersey outdoor activity centre offering “this unique rural experience”, could host up to 30 people and six leaders. It was “renowned” with youth groups and schools throughout the island and catered for children and young people in primary and secondary education, as well as those involved with Youth Clubs, Duke of Edinburgh Award and Prince’s Trust.
“In 2010, 156 groups used the Centre; stays ranging from either one-night stays to some school groups spending a week,” the architects wrote. “It is in use seven days of the week, with schools and colleges using the site during the week and youth projects using it over the weekends. The site also has day users and can at times have two to three groups using the site at any one time.”
With the chalet having passed the manufacturer’s 10-year “expected service life”, it was proposed to replace the “dilapidated” classroom, sleeping, catering and sanitary cabins with a single-storey combined facility.
Pictured: The refurbished base opened in 2015.
The base re-opened in 2015 after a £1million refurb which saw the creation of a single-storey chalet-style building. In addition, the base was completely remodeled to house a new classroom and kitchen with better access for disabled islanders whilst the grounds were landscaped with recycled turf from Springfield Stadium.
In 2021, Jersey Youth Service was granted £32,000 as part of the first tranche the Fiscal Stimulus Fund for the “development and upgrade” of the facilities at Crabbé for its use and that of the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme.
The project was completed in December 2021.
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