Vautier brothers

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Jersey's Great War heroes:

Vautier brothers


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Alfred and Jack Vautier - somewhere in France


This is one of a number of articles published by the Jersey Evening Post on 10 November 2018, the day before the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War. They tell the stories of a number of Jerseymen and Jerseywomen who were distinguished by their bravery during the war. Some survived to recount their own experiences, others perished in the conflict and never saw their native island again.

See full list of articles

George Vautier

Survivors

Some Jersey families with sons in the forces managed to reach the end of the war without tragedy striking.

Perhaps Jersey's luckiest wartime family was the Vautiers. Four brothers served in the Army and returned home safely to live long and successful lives in the island.

Three of them, Alfred, Jack and Philip, served in France, and George was sent to Egypt and Mesopotamia.

Privates Alfred and Jack both joined the Royal Irish Fusiliers in Jersey and in 1915 they enlisted as wheelwrights in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. They served together throughout the war and sent home a photograph of themselves in September 1917 with a note that they were 'somewhere in France'.

The youngest brother, Philip, joined the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry as a private.

All three served at the Sommes and Ypres, two battles renowned for heavy casualties, and escaped without injury.

George Vautier served in the Gallipoli peninsula as a farrier in charge of looking after the hooves of the horses in the RAOC. While in Mesopotamia he contracted malaria, but made a full recovery and, years later, served as a Deputy for the Parish of Trinity.

At the end of the war the other three brothers also returned to Jersey and settled back into island life, with Philip managing a grocery shop in Seaton Place, Jack becoming a wheelwright and Alfred starting a carpentry business.

Philip Vautier
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