Jean Gilbert, the eldest daughter of a St Helier greengrocer, was a champion diver and represented Great Britain in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games when she was only 17.

Family

Her father Albert, known as 'Pop', moved to Jersey from Sheffield in 1923 and set up a fruit and vegetable stall in the Beresford Street market, eventually to make headline news.

He will be best remembered by Jersey residents of the pre-war era for bringing down the price of fruit and vegetables in the island through direct importation.

He moved out of the market to set up shop in Halkett Place just before the Second World War, and continued there until his retirement.

Before the Occupation Mr Gilbert left the island with his family to run his second greengrocery business in Bournemouth. He then sold this and moved to the Midlands, before returning to Jersey after the war.

It was Mr Gilbert who financed a scheme to bring the first bananas into Jersey after the Occupation. He sent his son John to charter an aircraft to fly to Africa so that the people of Jersey could enjoy the taste of banana for the first time in years.

On his retirement Mr Gilbert, his wife May, who died a few years ago, and some of his eight children, moved to Canada for a few years.

In Canada he bought a large estate on the Frazer River, and eventually sold the land so that it could be used to build homes for ex-servicement.

Mr Gilbert returned to Jersey to set up home with his wife at Lavender Cottage, Havre des Pas, where he lived until his death.

Diving

Albert Gilbert was an enthusiastic member of the Jersey Swimming Club, for whom his elder daughter Jean was a star diver.

At a time when Jersey divers were recognised champions throughout the British Isles, and further afield, teenager Jean one countless competitions and, at the age of 17, represented her country in the Berlin Olympic Games, reaching the final of the highboard competition and finishing in seventh place.

Eighteen months later she was in Australia to represent England in the Empire Games.

Family tree

• Descendants of John Gilbert - 2

Jersey school Culture.

Macfadden popularized the practice of fasting that previously had been associated with illnesses such as anorexia nervosa.[6] He felt strongly that fasting was one of the surest ways to physical health. Many of his subjects would fast for a week in order to rejuvenate their body. He claimed that "a person could exercise unqualified control over virtually all types of disease while revealing a degree of strength and stamina such as would put others to shame" through fasting. He saw fasting as an instrument with which to prove a man's superiority over other men.

Macfadden had photographs of himself taken before and after fasts to demonstrate their positive effects on the body. For example, one photograph showed Macfadden lifting a 100-pound dumbbell over his head immediately after a seven-day fast. He also promoted fasting by appealing to racial prejudices, suggesting that fasting was a practice of self-denial that only civilized white men would choose to embrace. Macfadden acknowledged the difficulties of fasting and did not support it as an ascetic practice but rather because he believed its ultimate benefits outweighed its costs.[6]

He was particularly opposed to the consumption of white bread, which he called the "staff of death".[7]

Macfadden established many "healthatoriums" in the eastern and midwestern states. These institutions offered educational programs such as "The Physical Culture Training School". Although he gained his reputation for physical culture and fitness, he gained much notoriety for his views on sexual behavior. He viewed intercourse as a healthy activity and not solely a procreative one. This was a different attitude than most physicians had at the time. He also attempted to found a "Physical Culture City" in Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey, which folded after a few years and became the vacation-cabin neighborhood, and, later, suburban development of Outcalt.

Nicknamed "Body Love Macfadden" by Time – a moniker he detested – he was branded a "kook" and a charlatan by many, arrested on obscenity charges, and denounced by the medical establishment. Throughout his life, he campaigned tirelessly against "pill-pushers", processed foods and prudery.

Mont Orgueil Jersey.

The site had been fortified in the prehistoric period, but the construction of the castle was undertaken following the division of the Duchy of Normandy in 1204. The castle was first mentioned in 1212.[1]

The castle was the primary defence of Jersey until the development of gunpowder which then rendered the castle ultimately indefensible from Mont Saint Nicholas, the adjacent hill which overlooks the castle. Mont Orgueil was updated with platforms for artillery constructed in 1548 and 1549 under the direction of Henry Cornish, Lieutenant of the Earl of Hertford in Jersey. Cornish complained that earlier repairs to the donjon by Robert Raymont had left it so weak it was vulnerable to musket shot; "lyke a nadyl eye scarse abyll to byde a hagboshe." In 1543 he had asked for a "saker" cannon that would cover the sands between "Grovyll" and the castle, where the French had landed in the past.[2]

Mont Orgueil was to be superseded by Elizabeth Castle off Saint Helier, the construction of which commenced at the end of the 16th century. Walter Raleigh, Governor of Jersey in 1600, rejected a plan to demolish the old castle[3] to recycle the stone for the new fortifications with the words: "'twere pity to cast it down".

Mont Orgueil (French: Mount Pride) has guarded Jersey's east coast since the 13th century.

The old castle continued to be used as the island's only prison until the construction of a prison in St. Helier at the end of the 17th century. The English Government found it expedient to send troublesome agitators such as William Prynne and John Lilburne to Mont Orgueil far from the realm of England. The regicides Thomas Waite, Henry Smith, James Temple, Hardress Waller, and Gilbert Millington were transferred to Mont Orgueil in 1661.

During the English Civil War, from March 1643 the then Lieutenant Governor and Bailif of the island, Sir Philippe de Carteret held out for the Royalists in Elizabeth Castle. Leaving his wife Anne de Carteret, and their son Philippe de Carteret to occupy Mont Orgueil. It was from Mont Orgueil that the Royalists under Sir George Carteret retook the island from Parliament in November 1643. In December 1651 the island was invaded by Parliament, however faced with the prospect of modern artillery being deployed on the adjacent hill Mont St. Nicholas, the fortress was surrendered with generous terms allowing those inside to go to Elizabeth Castle.[4][5]

A report for the States of Jersey in 1691 declared that the barracks accommodation was so dilapidated that it was impossible to quarter troops there. Two years later, the castle was stated to be in a ruinous condition and subsequently was abandoned as a prison, because Elizabeth Castle had been built and the castle was neglected and not needed any more.

Repairs were carried out 1730–1734 and for the rest of the century, parts of the castle were adapted for garrison accommodation. Given full access to the castle from 1795, Admiral Philippe d'Auvergne who was working for the British secret service, to destabilise the French Revolutionary government through an organisation he was running in Brittany and mainland Normandy including the smuggling of people with forged documents and materiel into France together with forged French Assignat notes, which were being mass-produced in London with the successful result of causing hyperinflation which raged in France until 1802.[6]:67 In 1800, the Corbelled Tower was fitted out for use by d'Auvergne as his headquarters.

In 1846, the castle was visited by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The castle has also hosted subsequent royal ceremonies to welcome George V in 1921 and Elizabeth II; inscriptions mark the occasions.

Lady Trent

Jesse Boot was believed to have donated upwards of £2m at 1930 prices to charitable causes. Much of his giving was focused upon his home city of Nottingham: however, he also made major gifts to the people of Jersey. The best known is the athletics complex in Saint Clement which is known as FB Fields. He also paid for the building of the school at La Motte Street in St Helier, and provided the land adjacent to FB Fields for the new St Nicholas Church.

After her husband's death, Lady Trent commissioned the rebuilding of St Matthew's Church at Millbrook with interior fittings by Rene Lalique - this was slightly ironic, as her husband was a lifelong Methodist. She also donated the land surrounding the church to be laid out as a park - this is now known as Coronation Park or Millbrook Park.

All these gifts are very well known, but that of ten horse-drawn spraying machines for combatting potato blight remains relatively obscure.

Florence loved entertaining, whereas her husband sought a much quieter life. Inevitably their wealth meant that they grew is social standing, but they undertook philantrophic work in the Nottingham area, which led to Jesse being knighted in 1909 and created Baron Trent in 1917. However, by this time he was increasingly crippled by arthritis. He sold the company in 1920, and in 1928 he and his wife retired to Villa Millbrook in Saint Lawrence in Jersey. He died in Jersey in 1931: his funeral took place in the Parish church of Saint Brelade. 

Florence Boot

Florence was born Florence Rowe in St Helier, Jersey. Her father William Rowe was a bookseller and stationer in Queen Street. The family lived above the shop and Florence often helped serve in the shop, providing her with an excellent grounding in selling and dealing with customers.

The Boots business was already a substantial one when Florence married Jesse. The first shops outside Nottingham had opened two years previously. However, Florence drove the business forward in several directions. One innovation was the introduction in 1898 of paid lending libraries into Boots stores: users paid 2d a copy to borrow books. Using her shrewd understanding of design, the library counters were generally placed at the back of shops, so patrons would have to walk past all the other merchandise. Florence also fostered lines of business such as silverware and picture framing. Between 1890 and 1914 Boots expanded from 10 stores in the East Midlands to over 500 stores across England, Scotland and Wales.

Florence was also committed to the welfare of staff at Boots, more particularly because many of them were women. Among her innovations were the employment of welfare officers and the provision of breakfast for staff.

Boots set up in Jersey in 1896, next to the Rowes' small shop and the two were integrated in 1908 when Mr Rowe died. Both shops were eventually demolished and rebuilt in the early 1930s.