Albert Reginald Marie

By Gilly Carr

Albert Reginald Marie was born in the parish of St Helier, Jersey, on 29 January 1913. At the time of the registration of islanders in January 1941, Marie was married, working as a chauffeur, and living at 1 Ann Lane in St Helier. Marie’s wife was Phyllis Elliott (who he married in 1933) and the couple had four children: Madeleine, Maureen, Desmond and Colleen, but all were out of the island at the time of the Occupation, indicating that the couple had decided to evacuate their children. As no record can be found of Phyllis Marie during the Occupation, we must assume that she accompanied her children.

Albert Marie first comes to our attention on 26 September 1942, when he was put in prison. On 28 October 1942, he was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment for embezzlement of petrol. Because he was tried by the Germans, we can assume that this was embezzlement of their petrol.

He was deported from Jersey to France on 18 November 1942 along with Alfred Le Calvez, Henry Rabet, and George Du Pré (all from Jersey), and Thomas Le Prevost and James Quick, both from Guernsey. Our knowledge of what happened next to Marie is based only on records from French prisons. These show that he arrived at Coutances Prison on 19 November 1942 and transferred on 7 May 1943 to Fort d’Hauteville Prison, where he arrived on 8 May 1943 having travelled via La Santé Prison in Paris. His fellow deportees, Alfred Le Calvez, Henry Rabet and George Du Pré, arrived with him. On 5 July 1943, Le Calvez, Marie and Rabet were escorted with Du Pré from Fort d’Hauteville to Dijon Prison.

Meanwhile, back in Jersey, on 9 July 1943, the Attorney General announced in a letter to the Constable of St Helier that Marie’s sentence (and that of the other men) had been revoked and that he had been transferred from prison to an internment camp. Marie was subsequently sent to Saint-Denis Internment Camp – the evidence for this is a Bible that he was given on 10 August 1943 (according to the inscription inside) while in Saint-Denis, and which was subsequently kept by his family. Records have also been found in The National Archives which state that he arrived in this camp on 8 July 1943. However, this sojourn was temporary as we know he returned to Jersey; he was lucky to do so.

The colleagues with whom Marie had travelled – Du Pré, Rabet and Le Calvez – returned from France to Jersey on 25 August 1943. Du Pré and Le Calvez’s Occupation registration cards were noted with this fact. No such note is found on Marie’s card, but we know that he returned to the Island, most likely with his colleagues, and most likely on this date.

This was not to be the end of Marie’s brush with the authorities and prison life. On 29 August 1944, and by now living at 5 Plaisance Terrace, Albert Marie was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment for ‘failure to surrender a wireless set’, with an indication that he had already spent two weeks in detention awaiting trial by this point.

While Marie’s sentence was due to expire on 14 April 1945, he was released on 31 October 1944. This was most likely because the prison was full to bursting by this point, given that Jersey was now cut off from the continent because of the Allied invasion, meaning that no further deportations could take place.

The Frank Falla Archive would like to invite the family of Albert Reginald Marie to get in touch if they have more information about him to share.

Sources

Albert Reginald Marie, Occupation registration card and forms, Jersey Archives ref. St.S/9/554, 555. 556.

Albert Marie’s court records, Jersey Archives ref. D/Z/H6/8/138.

Albert Marie’s entry in the Political Prisoner Log Book, Jersey Archives ref. D/AG/B7/7.

Albert Marie’s records at Coutances Prison, Archives de la Manche ref. 2Y3/3.

Albert Marie’s records at Fort d’Hauteville Prison, Archives Départementales Côte d’Or, ref. 1409 W.