Ecrehous and Minquiers

                                         

The arrival for a brief visit and coffee here in Wimbledon, of maytrees max from Jersey over in the UK to meet with his friends from university, caused me to look into the history of Ecrehous and Manquiers. They are small islands off the coast of north western France used  both by fishermen from Jersey and French fishermen.

After  some discussion, a centuries old ownership dispute between the French and English, was referred to the international court in December 1951

Many months later,  the court ruled in Great Britain's favour in 1953 - see further below.

Maytrees max has promised to buy a fast boat trip to the Islands (cost about £40) when we next visit his wife and himself in Jersey.

... the French argued that not only were the islands geographically French, but Ecrehous had been granted to the Abbey of Val Richer the year before Jersey had sworn its continued allegiance to the British crown.

Ultimately, the French arguments failed and the International Court of Justice upheld the British claim in a judgement passed on 17 November 1953. In part, the judgement was based on the 1066 invasion and the fidelity of 1204, but the court also cited the fact that Jersey had administered both the Ecrehous and Minquiers faithfully over the years, which France had not.