Joan Ozanne

‘Bamber Gascoigne,’ said Marguerite Talmage, Joan’s eldest child. ‘Before there was such a thing as Wikipedia, if you wanted to know something, you’d ask mum. If she didn’t know, she had a book on it.’

Marguerite’s sister, Denise Ozanne, agreed.

‘She could take up any subject and talk about it.’

And perhaps, too, Joan’s Facebook page was a testament to the wide reach of her friendship.

‘She had friends in Denmark, Australia, Nigeria, New Zealand and Cambodia,’ said Denise.

‘And Eric in Costa Rica,’ added Marguerite. ‘And they would all stay in touch.’

Joan was born on 17 April 1926 to Harold and Lillian Lucas. She grew up at La Geniesse on the Forest Road, a place she would call home for all of her life.

An only child, at the age of nine she was educated at Ladies’ College. When war came she was not evacuated with the school but instead, aged 14, she left with her parents.

‘They lived in Sanderstead, near Croydon in Surrey,’ said Marguerite. ‘She didn’t go to school, she wasn’t an academic, but she went to the library. She worked for Warner Brothers, hoping she would meet some of the film stars, but she never did.’

‘And then for Ronald Burns Ltd, a booksellers on Henrietta Street in Covent Garden,’ said Denise. ‘She had great affection for that job.’

Back home after the Occupation the family returned to La Geniesse – which the Germans had requestioned, but not before neighbours had rescued and stored most of the furniture.

Joan attended secretarial college and then took a job for her uncle’s business, JW Lucas & Co, which imported Dutch bulbs.

An extract from a tribute written by her son-in-law, Tony Talmage, beautifully demonstrated Joan’s independent spirit. She had been invited out by childhood friend Lawrie Ozanne.

‘Lawrie had invited Joan to the New Year’s Eve ball at the Royal Hotel. Joan really wanted to attend such a splendid occasion so she accepted, telling her friends: “I’m going, even if I have to go with Lawrie Ozanne.”’

In 1950, Joan and Lawrie married at the Forest Church and in 1951 Marguerite was born, followed by Andrew in 1953 and Denise in 1962.

‘Dad was phenomenally busy, so mum focused on the family,’ said Marguerite. ‘She supported us and dad in our many hobbies, including our horse riding. And she was terrified of horses.’

Tony said of her devotion to her family: ‘When her loved ones were all round her, she’d say, “I’m clucking like a mother hen”. And she was very proud of a plaque she’d been given which said, “Mums are like buttons – they keep the family together”.

Arguably, what many people knew Joan for was her love and patronage of the arts in Guernsey.

Her involvement began in the 1960s when she became a committee member of Sarnia Arts and Crafts Club and some years later, in the ’70s, Joan met Malcolm Reynard and they formed Theatre Projects.

Ambitious and innovative, Theatre Projects staged several productions, including, in 1972, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar in the Town Church – two months before it appeared at the West End. It featured local rock band Ponder’s End.

‘The first audience that came in were there to celebrate Good Friday,’ explained Marguerite. ‘It was so successful that they decided to put on another, impromptu performance.

‘The second audience were the pub crowd and they brought in bottles to the church. The Dean was concerned. But within 10 minutes there was absolute silence. And at the end there wasn’t a bottle left in the place.’

In 1975 they organised a Son et Luminere at Fort Grey. Cyril Parkinson wrote the script and Joan contacted Guernsey-born actor Roy Dotrice – who at the time lived in Australia – to ask if he would narrate it. Roy recorded the narration on cassette tape and it arrived just two days before the performance.

‘Mum had a way of persuading people,’ said Marguerite.

‘It was an amazing night,’ added Denise. ‘There was a massive audience.’

In 1981 she was appointed the first chairman of BBC Local Radio Advisory Council in Guernsey; and in the late ’80s, together with artist and College of FE tutor Eric Snell, she set up Designs on the ’90s, an initiative to encourage Guernsey students to develop their talent, as well as promote the cause of a dedicated arts centre through Community Arts Association.

Into the 1990s Joan set up the organising committee for the Millennium Tapestry, carrying out much of the research; with Peter and Richard Rouillard launched the Guernsey Lily Film Festival, regarded as the friendliest-ever amateur international film festival; was the founder of the Arts Council, which became Arts Foundation Guernsey; served on the States Arts Committee for 20 years; and on the 70th anniversary of the Evacuation, with the help of author and Manchester University researcher Gillian Mawson, invited to Guernsey for an unveiling of a commemorative plaque the mayors of towns where local evacuees had been posted.

In 2011, she and Gillian were jointly awarded the Guiton Group Ambassador of the Year award.

On Wednesday 6 April 2011, organised by Lester Queripel and compered by the late George Foote, Joan was the the subject of a This is Your Life evening. It featured a Who’s Who of the Guernsey arts scene as well as the then-Bailiff, Sir Geoffrey Rowland.

National recognition for her decades of hard work arrived in 2015 when she was awarded the British Empire Medal for her contribution to the arts in Guernsey and for her parochial work (she was the first female constable for the Forest parish, having previously served as procureur of the poor).

Her picture was taken by well-known local photographer Fiona Adams and her portrait painted by well-known artist Liz Adams. The painting was unveiled at the Princess Royal Centre for the Performing Arts in April this year by the Bailiff Sir Richard Collas. Joan remarked: ‘Most people don’t have the opportunity to hear how much they are appreciated during their lifetime. I feel very fortunate that this celebration has given me this opportunity.’

Likewise, many islanders will feel fortunate to have met Joan and to have benefited from her tireless work.

Joan Ozanne BEM died at home on Thursday 30 August 2018, aged 92 years. Her service was held at the Forest Parish Church on Friday 7 September. She is survived by children Marguerite, Andrew and Denise, grandchildren Adele, Emma, Kitten, Nico and Pierre and great grandchildren Alex, Ben and Tom.