Sydney Frederick Cartwright

By Gilly Carr

Sydney Frederick Cartwright was born in St Helier, Jersey, on 11 December 1902.  We do not know much about his early life other than that he had been in the army in the 1930s, retiring with the rank of private on 21 January 1935. At the time of the registration of Islanders in 1940, Cartwright was married and worked first as a handyman and, later, as a licensee.

Cartwright first comes to our attention because, on 10 June 1944, he was sentenced to two months and fifteen days’ imprisonment for three cases of receiving stolen articles, and fined 420 RM in each of two other cases in lieu of two further sentences of 14 days each, i.e. a total of 840 RM. While this sentence was below the usual three months minimum sentence for deportation, it seems that Cartwright was deported.

No prison or camp records have yet been found for Sydney Cartwright. Our only knowledge that he was definitively deported comes from a newspaper cutting shown on this web page from the Guernsey Star dated 19 June 1945, recording the names of Islanders returned to the UK from prison sentences. Sydney Cartwright’s name is recorded.

The combination of Cartwright’s absence from the political prisoner log book, and the date of his deportation, is worrying. How many other islanders were deported from the island in June 1944 (the latest date at which people were deported) without any record? Were the other four men sentenced with Cartwright, who all received sentences of more than three months also deported? The families of Philip Bray, Michael Butler, Denis Clery and Martin Curtis are encouraged, along with the family of Sydney Cartwright, to get in touch with the Frank Falla Archive.

Sources

Sydney Cartwright’s occupation registration card, Jersey Archives ref D/S/A/4/A2199.

Sydney Cartwright’s occupation registration form, Jersey Archives ref. D/S/A/4/B2199.

Sydney Cartwright’s charge sheet, copyright Jersey Archives ref. D/Z/H6/7/94.

Guernsey Star, 19 June 1945.