In today’s episode, The Small Island Big Stories host Mel, sits in on a fascinating conversation about Island life after Liberation between Jersey writer & researcher Mark Lamerton & Lucy Layton, Exhibitions Curator at Jersey Heritage. 
Not much has been shared on what life was like for the Island of Jersey after Liberation on 9 May. Jersey had been Occupied for 5 years by German forces and Islanders had endured isolation, tensions between town and country, financial debts and fears of civil unrest. What did the road to recovery really looked like?  Both Lucy and Mark share their research.

Tune into this episode to hear all about Jersey’s long road to recovery. 

Want to find out more?  Come to Jersey Museum and visit our FREE exhibition, Life After Liberation (until end December 2025).    Life After Liberation | Jersey Heritage

Have you ever wondered who changed women's rights to stand for election in Jersey? In our latest episode of our ‘Small Island, Big Story Sessions’ podcast, we explore the life of Caroline Trachy, a pioneering campaigner in the quest for equality. 

You can also discover more about Caroline Trachy on our website.  

Come and visit our exhibition – ‘La Tèrr’rie d’Jèrri – d’s histouaithes dé not’ Île / Being Jersey – stories of our Island‘   at the Jersey Museum which tells the story of Jersey’s unique and complex history, including the story of women's rights – this exhibition really does have something for everyone. It’s free to visit and open all year round.  You can also read about Caroline Trachy's life on our website.

Are you a Jersey heritage Member?
If not head to our website and sign up today. Your Membership unlocks the doors to all our sites, offers special discounts and benefits, but above all else it supports the important work that Jersey Heritage does to preserve and share our rich Island story. 

In this episode, hosts Mel and Perry are joined by Dr. Mariana Pereira, who is a post-doctoral research associate at the University of York. Mariana conducts her studies at the Heritage for Global Challenges Research Centre, and during our conversation, we will be diving into the complexities of migration and how the movement of people shapes our community landscape and traditions. 
 
Dr Pereira is a researcher with Abundant Futures, a project commissioned by ArtHouse Jersey which explores food justice by highlighting knowledge and experiences of migrant communities and native populations. She will conduct interviews with project participants, gathering their perspectives on what it means to belong in a place. Dr Perreira asks 'what it means to be local', and in order to integrate with the existing community and become part of Island life, you don't need to leave your cultural identity behind.

 Follow Dr. Pereira’s work with Abundant Futures on ArtHouse Jersey’s website (https://www.arthousejersey.je/our-work/abundant-futures)

Take a closer look at the work of Jersey Heritage, a Jersey registered charity on our website.
 
A diaspora refers to a population that is scattered across regions separate from its geographic place of origin.

A diaspora refers to a population that is scattered across regions separate from its geographic place of origin

In this episode of the *Small Island Big Story Sessions*, we're exploring the life of 'the Jersey Lillie' born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton on October 13 1853, Lillie Langtry has been famous for her acting career, her immense beauty and her presence, and often she's been talked about due to her somewhat scandalous affairs.

Today we are going to be looking at the other side of Lillie, the entrepreneur, the witty woman of London's high society, we're going to be looking at her achievements and exploring who she was as a person. 

To support our charity and our mission to tell Jersey's stories you can make a donation on our website Support | Jersey Heritage.

Described as "15 minutes of mayhem" by historian Doug Ford, find out more about Jersey’s famous battle which took place in the Royal Square in St Helier, Jersey on 6 January 1781. Hosts, Mel and Perry are joined this month by Doug Ford, who’ll talk through the battle, how French forces, led by Baron de Rullecourt, landed at La Rocque in the early hours of the morning and tried to take the Island by force and how the battle was won, with the loss of Major Peirson.

If you want to discover the more of the story, then come to Jersey Museum.  The Battle of Jersey features in ‘La Terr’rie d’Jèrri’ our FREE exhibition at Jersey Museum.

Support our charity by making a donation and help us tell more stories of our Island. Fundraising | Jersey Heritage

In this Christmas special we will be sharing our Jèrriais roots, which explore festive Jersey traditions, to how Christmas is celebrated by our vibrant multicultural community today.  

We want to give special thanks to our fantastic guest speakers; Tracy from Jersey Heritage, Lesley Katsande, Alex Silva, Marcel Bucur & Anna Jolda 

A very special thank you also goes out to our listeners! We have loved bringing you the Small Island, Big Story sessions this year and look forward to sharing more stories with you in 2025! Don’t forget to subscribe!

Support Jersey Heritage in 2025 by becoming a Member or if you have time, consider volunteering!  Find out more here.

In the latest episode of our ‘Small Island, Big Story Sessions’ podcast, hosts Mel and Perry are joined by Dan Morrison, author of 'The Prince and the Poisoner'. When Dan visited Jersey recently, he came on the podcast to tell us about a murder in 1930s India that rocked the Raj and how the investigation was linked to Jersey through Deputy Police Commissioner E. Henry Le Brocq, who was in charge of Calcutta’s detective department.

Dan is a former New York crime reporter and currently deputy world editor at ‘USA Today’, shares his research into this fascinating story with a Jersey connection, and how he stumbled across it whilst researching something completely different.

Discover your family history with Jersey Heritage, it's easy to get started visit our website to find out more Jersey Archive | Jersey Heritage.

In this episode Mel and Perry welcome Jersey's very own British and European surf champion, Arlene Maltman. Arlene shares her incredible story of being a female surfer in a male dominated sport.

Mel and Perry will talk about the heritage of surfing in Jersey, how the names of surf spots have become part of our intangible cultural heritage and how surfing has put Jersey on the map.

Arlene shares how people's attitudes to women in the sport has changed and how the industry supporting women surfing has developed.  She also shares her memories of Jersey as a European hotspot for surfing culture.

So grab your board and join Mel, Perry and Arlene for a surf through history.

We’re asking practitioners, community groups or ICH champions to share their traditions, language, knowledge, habits, beliefs and customs to create a list of the Island’s intangible cultural heritage.  Share your stories by visiting our website.  ICH | Jersey Heritage

How would you feel if your sexuality was illegal? How would you form relationships?  Where would you go and what would you do? Hosts Mel and Perry read between the lines of the LGBTQ+ history in the Channel Islands. They speak to Vic Tanner Davy who'll be sharing some the stories of interesting characters, the challenges they faced and the history of legislation that make life difficult for them.

Vic Tanner Davy is Head of Programmes for Jersey Heritage and ex-CEO of Liberate a charity focussed on equality, diversity and inclusion across the Channel Islands. He has delivered hundreds of training sessions and public speaking engagements on its behalf, educating and engaging with people on the subject of equality, diversity and inclusion.

Support the work of Jersey Heritage in telling the Island's stories by becoming a Member. 

In today's episode, we are going to be exploring the lost dolmen of La Coupe, a series of ancient stones on the sea shore in Jersey, that have given local archaeologists and geologists much to deliberate.

Are these stone just a jumbled mass on the sea shore, or are they actually a megalithic monument?  If so, how did they get there?  Where they carefully placed there in prehistoric times or did coastal erosion mean they tumbled from a hill top near by? 

Join hosts Mel and Perry with special guest Paul Chambers, Head of the Aspiring Jersey Island Geopark project, to discuss the mystery surround the lost dolmen. Find out why we call these megalithic structures are called dolmen in Jersey (an incorrect term) and the prehistoric origins of Jersey.

Paul also talks about the Aspiring Jersey Island Geopark project, an Island-wide initiative to become a Geopark.

To find out more about the Geopark project visit the Jersey Island Geopark website.

You can read more about the Igneous Origins of Jersey on the Jersey Heritage website. 

To support Jersey Heritage, become a Member or make a donation here.