The princess and the peas

ONE is rather famously celebrating her diamond jubilee; the other is living a quieter life in sheltered housing called The Jubilee.

But when Princess Elizabeth, as she was then, visited the island in 1949, Eileen Sykes felt a certain kinship to the famous visitor.

She had turned out to watch the princess plant a tree in Connaught Square more than 60 years ago. 'I was standing right near her when she planted the tree outside what is now the Island Hall, but then was a convent,' remembered Mrs Sykes.

'The Queen then was about my age. I thought she was very charming and had a natural, lovely smile. It was such a pleasant surprise that she was there.'

Alderney was in the throes of royal fever that July. Princess Elizabeth, with Prince Philip at her side, had arrived on the Royal Yacht Britannia for the first time since the residents' return to the island four years earlier, after the Occupation.

Mrs Sykes, who later in life held the 'Miss Alderney' title and became a States member, was working for a market garden business based at Island Gardens, which occupied an area now given over to allotments. She worked as a secretary for a Mr Impney, the islander who owned it.

She recalled how Princess Elizabeth had walked up to Island Gardens, where Mr Impney had decided to present her with produce.

'I accompanied him to hold the tray, which was covered with a beautiful linen napkin with baskets of fruit and vegetables on it. Mr Impney grew early strawberries, melon, sweetcorn – things people didn't grow in those days – and she was very pleased to accept them. In those days things were scarce, even for her I should think. I remember that I had been dressed in a very smart suit, the perfect secretary's attire.'

The princess also made a speech on a specially built, elaborately decorated dais on the Butes and took the President's Chair at the courthouse, which a talented States Works craftsman had refashioned using a photo for reference after it was damaged during the Occupation.

'People had returned to Alderney in December 1945 and this was her first time on the island since we had returned,' said Mrs Sykes. 'In her speech she said how marvellous it was that Alderney had recovered in that comparatively short time and how pleased she was about it.'

She remembers the enormous community spirit, which flowed again when she was crowned, and islanders flocked to the 350-seat cinema to watch the momentous event.

'There was such a community spirit in those days,' said Mrs Sykes. 'Town was all cleaned up, the streets were weeded by the States and there were flags and bunting up. We were very thrilled that she had come to our island.'