Airport tragedy victim's granddaughter launches search for families

Friday 02 November 2018

The granddaughter of a farm manager, who tragically died when a plane plummeted into a field moments after taking off from Jersey Airport, is searching for the families of other victims ahead of the crash's 80th anniversary this weekend.

32-year-old Edmund Le Cornu was one of 14 victims that died on 4 November 1938 in what is known as the 'Jersey Airport Disaster'.

Mr Le Cornu was the only fatality not on board the plane at the time. Having occurred just seven months after the passing of his wife, his death left the pair's 16-month-old daughter Daphne and Dulcie, who was only a bit older, orphaned. 

At the time of the crash, Mr Le Cornu was a farm manager for the Laurens family. He was working in a St. Peter field, known as La Bataille, when the Jersey Airways De Havilland D.H.86 airliner, which was named St. Catherine's Bay, crashed on him shortly after taking off.

Official reports from the Airport, which were provided to Express by Jersey Archive, show that the aircraft took off at 10:52 under "fog regulations." 

Pictured: The de Havilland plane crashed shortly after take off on 4 November 1938. (Jersey Archive)

The report says: "Lookout S. Gallichan watched the aircraft enter cloud and listened to the engines while the aircraft was making the correct left-hand circuit round the airport and coming onto course for Southampton. He suddenly saw the aircraft break cloud to the N.E., dive to the ground and burst into flames on impact." 

All 12 passengers and the pilot were sadly killed in the crash, making the disaster one of the most serious plane crashes on British territory in history.

Among the victims were a Captain from the British Army, his wife Mrs Swann and baby granddaughter. The parents of islander Rosemary Blampied, Major Gerald Hazzard Voisin and Ruby Eleanor Voisin (née King) also died in the crash.

Now with the 80th anniversary of the disaster approaching on Sunday, Edmund's granddaughter, Marilee Picot, is hoping to find other families of victims to ensure the crash is not forgotten.

Pictured: Marilee and her mother, Daphne, who was left orphaned as a result of the Jersey Airport Disaster.

She said that the anniversary prompted her to start doing lots of research. "I have been interested in it for a long time. I was quite young when I knew my granddad had been killed in a plane crash," she explained.

"I wanted to find the exact place where it happened, which is now within the airfield. The last couple of years I have been doing some research but even more so in the last few months. I wanted to speak to families or witnesses so that we could get together and pay our respects."

So far, Marilee has been in touch with three families, as well as people who were on duty the day of the crash, or relatives of first responders who remember the dreadful day. A relative of a passenger who missed the fateful flight has also been in touch. "I have had a lot of emails," Marilee says, adding she hopes to find more families if possible.

Marilee is also hoping that Ports of Jersey will install plaques around the new pathway to tell the history of the airport. She says she has contacted the authority, who seemed to be interested in the idea.

"We could have information plaques, like the ones at Noirmont or Corbiere, to tell the history of things that happened at the airport. There could be a few photos of the crash as well as a list of the people that lost their lives," she explained.

"I don't mean for one to be installed just for the crash, there could also be one for the Dakota crash (which took place on 14 April 1965, Ed.) or for other happier events. The main idea is for it to be remembered, so it's not lost.

"It would be good to have something to make sure it's there in history."