The Société Jersiaise was first established in 1873 and is a registered Jersey charity with the a mission “to produce and facilitate research, and to share that knowledge with the widest possible audience for the benefit of our island community.”

We began the day with a talk from the Chief Archivist Patrick Cahill and Assistant Archivist Rochelle Merhet about the importance of the archive and how it works. They told us that the Photographic Archive works to allow the island to see and understand its past with images that either depict exactly what happened at a certain point in history (photographs from the Nazi Occupation of the Island) as well as what is believed to have been there in the past (paintings of St Helier Harbour or drawings of l’Hermitage on the Elizabeth Castle breakwater as it looked in 555 AD).

With our film project revolving round Elizabeth Castle, they showed us geological and geographical maps of the area, diary pages from the English Civil War, letters from King Charles II to Sir George de Carteret and photos from the NAzi occupation and the handover of the fort from the British military to the island. It was an interesting array of material that was impossible to delve into in the 15 minutes we had, but it has definitely intrigued me to look closer into what they have to offer, perhaps even consider working closely with them when researching at forming my personal study project.