This is my final post on our family history, showing how Alderney has been indelibly imprinted upon my soul.
Since I have no children I am the end of the line on this part of our family tree, which is one reason why, even though married, I chose to write under my maiden name Jackson.
Born in 1958, my memories of family holidays growing up are delightful, either going west to Devon or Cornwall or over to the Channel Islands, first to Guernsey (once too early in my life to remember) then to Sark when I was ten and then three wonderful breaks on Alderney, three weeks at a time over Alderney Week when I was in my teens.
And so, here’s my life in photos, focussing mainly, but not exclusively, on trips to Alderney:
Diana and Mum (Patricia Jackson) 1958
Diana (10yrs), Dad (Arthur Jackson) and sister Christine 1968
Family rock-pooling on Alderney, Diana aged 13
Mum, Diana (aged 15 yrs) Christine and Grandma Green on Braye Beach Alderney
Diana (16yrs) and Christine
Diana celebrating her 50th at the Braye Beach Hotel Alderney (2008)
Diana with husband Roger celebrating the launch of her debut novel Riduna at the Braye Beach 2009
Corblets Bay, Alderney 2009
Mum and Dad at Arch Bay in 2010 when they joined us on their final trip to Alderney
Diana Jackson 2013 with the launch of MURDER, Now and Then
First holiday of freedom from Covid lock-down in the Greek island of Tinos in May 2022
We did return to Alderney in the autumn of 2022, hopefully one of many visits to come. I feel emotionally drawn to the island; I have a connection through time and family for nearly 200 years and the Alderney will always remain in my heart.
I have just received an email from my cousin Lyn with some exciting new documents which she has uncovered in her loft.
The first is the confirmation certificate of Harriet Jane Hopkins (she was often called Jane) on Alderney on 10th August 1884:
The second is the actual marriage certificate of Harriet and Thomas Jackson. Up until now we only had a copy of the church records (note Harriet is Jane Harriet here):
For me these are quite poignant, when Thomas returned to Guernsey in WW2 and the family were concerned that they had not heard from him:
… and finally the news the family dreaded that Thomas Jackson’s had passed away on 26th August 1943 :
It looks like the family had to wait 8 months to hear this news.
The missing piece of the puzzle is still verification of Harriet Jane’s mother, but, since many records were lost or destroyed on Alderney during the evacuation of WW2, it is very unlikely anything will come to light now. Common sense is that her mother’s name was Jane, but we have no proof of that.
Harriet is the protagonist of my first novel Riduna.
Isn’t it heart warming looking at photos of parents when they were young or when they were married!
Following on with my series of blog posts on my family history and how it has influenced my writing, we have reached Mum and Dad.
They were both brought up in the Southampton area and were married at Weston Road Church, Woolston. As a family we made regular visits to see Grandma Green there while growing up, and so the whole area was extremely familiar to me. Being a family of walkers, you get to know a place far better that way. Thus, it wasn’t difficult to make it the main setting for my second novel Ancasta ~ Guide me Swiftly Home.
Over the years my parents have shared many memories of their childhood and adolescent days and I’m sure all of this has coloured my writing too.
Arthur Jackson (my dad) didn’t work at Supermarine, like his father (Arthur Walter Jackson) and sister. He joined the RAF right at the end of WW2, but he did remember seeing the prototype Spitfire fly overhead, before he was evacuated to Bournemouth.
Mum and Dad also shared my Great Grandmother Harriet’s love of dancing and, legend has it, that she could turn on a sixpence.
On this trip here, we shared my parents’ last voyage on their favourite P&O ship the Oriana, chosen because it had a good dance floor; our last port of call was (fittingly) Guernsey.
Here are Mum and Dad on deck waving their flags, just as we passed Sark and Herm, two of the smaller Channel Islands.
…and so The Channel Islands, particularly Guernsey and Alderney are in my blood and my family heritage and childhood memories are also of holidays in Wooston, Southampton.
As it happens, when I began writing the first draft of Riduna, my parents decided that they would have a go at writing too. There’s was a sort of prequel to Riduna, set at the time of Elizabeth Quesnel and John Taylor.
I started working on their little book with Dad when they were both showing signs of dementia. He had been frustrated that he couldn’t write conversation. In the end he did not have the patience anymore to focus on it and so, since they passed away, I have spent some time working on their story. It is now at proof readers, but then I hope to work with someone from Alderney Museum to check it for historical authenticity. I won’t say accuracy because, although inspired by our family history, it remains fiction. I’ll keep you posted.
Diana Jackson 