The humble banana is a regular feature on shopping lists these days. However, in the years following the Second World War, it was an exotic sight and one that could cause a rush on sales…
This was the situation 75 years ago when the British Ministry of Food declared in April 1951 that the importation of bananas would be freed from restriction. ‘Bananas for all!’ announced an advert in the local paper.
Up until then, bananas had been rationed and there were restrictions on the amount that could be purchased. Great excitement was felt by Islanders when the first ‘free’ importation of bananas arrived by air.
First in the queue was John Gilbert, a well-known fruiterer based at Gilbert’s Corner, Beresford Street. He was determined to be the first person since 1939 to import a free consignment to Jersey. He applied for and obtained from local authorities permits to import the fruit and then got in touch with agents from Equatorial Africa, organising a large delivery of bananas to be despatched immediately.
The first order was shipped from Guadeloupe, before being freighted to Marseille and transferred by rail to Dinard. It then made its final leg of the journey via a Jersey Airlines flight to the Airport. It touched down just two days after the restrictions were lifted at 10am on Thursday, 5 April.
Mr Gilbert was very keen to confirm the authenticity of his produce, telling the Evening Post reporter: “They are bananas, the real thing, not plantains.” The eager reporter was able to confirm this for himself when shown a sample of the fruit.
In the same Evening Post edition, an advert appeared shouting the fact that at Gilbert’s Corner there were “bananas for all! Unlimited quantities”.
An advert later in the month by the enterprising Mr Gilbert announced that his business “will pack hands of bananas to your friends on the mainland, where supplies are still very short”.
The imagination of locals was captured by the arrival of the fruit. On 6 April, the Evening Post reported that at 8.30am there was a line of people outside the door at Gilbert’s waiting to snap up the tropical delicacy.
Mr Gilbert reported that by 10am, they had sold out of ripe produce, however, another consignment was due to arrive imminently.
Mr Gilbert said: “In the meantime people are buying the slightly green fruit, and for their guidance I would like to say that if kept in a warm room for 48 hours, the bananas will be perfectly fit to eat.”
By the middle of the month, other grocers and market vendors started receiving stock of the popular fruit and local appetite for them was sated at last.
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