NOT once have they attained a full Muratti cap, not once have one of their number been honoured by the monarch.
But for the past century and a half Roussels have been a distinguished and prominent name in the community, two becoming jurats, two elected Vale deputies, one of whom stepped up to conseiller, one an editor of this very paper, one a truly outstanding all-round sportsman and one, put simply, very dodgy and a pain in the neck as far as the early 19th-century authorities were concerned.
More of Nicholas ‘Le Rimeur’ Roussel later.
Roussels are of Brittany origin, the name deriving from the Breton nickname for someone red-haired or of ruddy complexion.
You should not be surprised to know that the English variant is Russell, while over time the Guernsey variants have included Rousel and Rouxel.
In Channel Island terms they are essentially a Guernsey family and particularly associated with the Castel parish, although by the early 20th century their strength lay very much in the north with, of the 19 registered in the 1926 Press Almanack, nine living in the Vale and three in St Sampson’s.
Half of the 1920s Roussels were growers and, as you will see from the profiles of elected ones in this study, the wealth it brought several would help them reach the top tables.
John Flere Roussel is among those and having walked through the Grange Road gates for the first time in 1919, was the first of the name to attend Elizabeth College.
Since then a couple of dozen or more Roussels have had the OE tag and none has been more prominent than OE 4475, Robin Charles Ninnim Roussel, exemplary island sportsman and, for so long, a much admired College master.
‘RCN’ as he was often tagged in cricket circles was the son of another successful Roussel, OE 3599 Charles Roussel, well known in banking circles and as president of the Guernsey Hockey Club.
And for several decades, first as a pupil and then as the College Field groundsman, Phil has kept alive the family link with the school.
Charles Roussel’s time at the college coincided with the Roussel who, in December 1949, was appointed joint editor of the Guernsey Evening Press alongside another former College boy, Jack Mellish.
Frank Roussel had spent much of the Second World War serving in Syria and then Bengal.
His rank on demobilisation was major and with peace restored and Guernsey once again free of Germans, he returned to his native shores to rejoin the Press as a sub-editor.
Fully 40 years after he first stepped through the Press doors, Frank – now editor-in-chief – retired in 1973 with his retirement presents being a typewriter and lawn mower.
In more recent times Roussels have been absent from the States but a string of them have been prominent figures in island life, notably Ronez general manager Steve Roussel, Rob Roussel, who organises the Vale Earth Fair and Phil Roussel, a leading light at the Guernsey Housing Association.
More on the Roussels in pages 16 & 17
