The Duke was in the Island at the weekend in his capacity as Grand Prior of the Order of St John to inspect the St John Ambulance annual review, and also asked to visit the castle to see the planned restoration works.The Duke, who arrived on Saturday, yesterday led a procession of Jersey members of the Chapter General of the Order of St John from Government House to St Saviour’s Church, where the annual service took place.During his two-day stay the Duke also visited the Société Jersiaise, and, as president of the D-Day Veterans Association, he asked to meet local members.He also met representatives of the Island’s farming and fishing industries at La Ferme, St Martin, yesterday, morning.During his visit to Mont Orgueil , the Duke, a military architecture enthusiast and former professional architect, threw his support behind the restoration plans.
Maintaining cultural landmarks like the castle, he said, would strengthen Islanders’ sense of cultural identity.’I think that as the world changes, and it changes pretty rapidly, there is a tendency for every place to become more and more similar and I think that where there are historic buildings, they provide a cultural reference point for people, and particularly when they are so picturesque,’ he said.’I think it also gives people a reference point throughout their ages.
While they may think nothing of it as teenagers, perhaps 50 years later they will be grateful to see a familiar landscape and will want to fight to make sure it does not get swept away by everything else.’
