The Royal British Legion is searching for surviving family members of those brave soldiers who fought for Jersey in WW1 as part of the Jersey Contingent, a decorated band of brothers whose story is largely unknown to this day.

With 2018 the 100-year anniversary of the end of WW1, the Jersey branch of The Royal British Legion, with support from Jersey Plants Direct, is hoping to highlight the extraordinary role the Jersey Contingent played in the Great War by uncovering the stories passed down to generations of surviving family members.

“It is a story of great bravery, heroism and tragedy,” said Tim Daniels, chairman of The Royal British Legion, Jersey branch. “Yet, we only know parts of it and we are desperately hoping for family members to come forward so that the lives of those in the Jersey Contingent, and the role they played in WW1, are rightly remembered.”

In 1916, the Jersey Contingent, a group of over 300 semi-professional militiamen whose role was to defend the island from attack, responded to an appeal from London and volunteered to fight as a formed body overseas on behalf of King and country against the common German enemy. It was the first time the Jersey Militia had fought overseas since it was formed in the 13th century.

The Jersey Contingent became the only formed force from the island to serve at the front in WW1 and while 300 would leave Jersey, their numbers diminished to just a handful by the final roll call.

“The story is fascinating, but not without controversy,” said Jersey historian, Ian Ronayne who researched the Jersey Contingent for his book ‘Ours: The Jersey Pals in the First World War’, which is available on Amazon. “The contingent was left to dwindle on the front, with no organised effort by Jersey’s government at the time to reinforce or replenish their numbers, which invariably condemned them to fade away.”

He added: “Despite this, on the battlefield the Jersey Contingent excelled, winning an extraordinary haul of bravery awards. The 300 fought at The Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest battles of WW1, and the Battle of Ypres where they claimed several Military Medals.”

In all, members of the Jersey Contingent were awarded two Distinguished Conduct Medals, two Military Crosses, fifteen Military Medals and two military decorations of France. A monument commemorating their efforts was raised by island leaders in 2016 in the French village of Guillemont.

It is hoped that once these surviving family members have been found, their stories will be told as part of a film to be shown later this year in celebration and remembrance of the end of WW1, 100 years ago this year.

Surviving family members of the Jersey Contingent should contact Martyn White who is co-ordinating the search on behalf of the Jersey branch of the Royal British Legion by emailing [email protected] with details.

Jersey Plants Direct, an internet and mail order plants company, is supporting the Royal British Legion in their search by raising awareness of the search through their #PlantaPoppy campaign. They are also providing a donation to the charity with each purchase of their specially sourced Flanders Poppy plants, which can be purchased online at www.jerseyplantsdirect.com