The Man who Tried to Invade an Island

 

Welcome to Sark, the crown jewel of the Channel Islands. Here are some simple tips to help make the most of your visit: wear comfortable shoes suitable for travel on foot. Sark has several walking paths which showcase spectacular scenery including clifftop views. Do not bring a gun. The last time somebody attempted to take over Sark, it did not go well. The island of Sark is sandwiched between Guernsey and Jersey about 80 miles south of the coast of Britain. It's tiny, about 2.10 square miles, and home to around 600 people. Its official languages are English and French. A few residents also speak Circa, an old Norman dialect native to the island. Sark is a British royal that's been following its own set of laws based on ancient Norman law for over 400 years. At the time of our story, it was governed autonomously by a senior or a dame in a hereditary position. There's also a small Parliament made up of residents called the court of Chief Police. There is no airport on the island. Goods are shipped via cargo boat or ferry cars are banned, the citizens walk, bicycle, and use horses and carts or tractors to tow large items. There are no street lights either, Sark is a refuge from the modern world. It's slow-paced, peaceful, and quiet. The Tale of the invasion has now passed into legend and there are a couple of different views as to exactly what happened. August 1990, an ombre guard and unemployed nuclear physicist from Roseville, France researched his family history. He became convinced that he was a legitimate descendant of aliens they caught array, the First Lord of Sark, who received the Fife deal from the hands of Queen Elizabeth the First, therefore he should be the senior. Andre decided to make this happen by staging a coup. He concealed the semi-automatic assault rifle along with 260 rounds of ammunition and managed to get his weapon through French Jersey and Guernsey customs. He took the 50-minute ferry ride from courtesy to Sark dressed in combat clothes. Upon arrival, Andre wandered through a small town. On the unpaved Main Street. There were a couple of pubs to hotels and food shops. Andre posted a few notices open down the street and on socks may notice boards prior to his trip; he'd already alerted the world's embassies of his true intentions by telex, an old school telephone to printer network. According to the notice he set a deadline after which he would rightfully claim the island, its airspace, and its territorial waters. The deadline was the next day at noon. The flier also warned that violators would be seen off with a rigorous force satisfied with his declaration. Andre went to bed down in the churchyard for the night. Trevor Kendall, one of Sarks' volunteer part-time constables, noticed Andres's flier. In fact, he was one of the few citizens of Sark to do so. The other citizens who read it took it as a joke, but constable Kendall took it seriously. He was already suspicious it was illegal to sleep rough on Sark. The next morning the only other law enforcement officer on Sark constable took a stroll along the beach and throughout the town looking for any signs of an invading force. Not long before noon, he found Andre still dressed in his combat clothes sitting on a park bench, loading his gun. Sadly for Andre, none of the island's residents had decided that Joe and his crew constable Perry casually chatted with Andre about the upcoming invasion, complimenting him on his gun. He eventually talked Andre into handing over his gun so he could admire it up close. Andre being no fool didn't want the gun turned against him. So he removed the magazine before handing it over for inspection. Gospel Perry took the gun and properly struck him in the nose and then tackled him while he was incapacitated. Then Andre was taken into custody, thus ending the invasion. The senior Sark John Michael Beaumont missed the attempted invasion. He had taken the ferry to courtesy to do some banking, the gun used by Andre in the attempted coup now sits in a Sark museum next to old ships and a dedicated exhibit to one of the island's two original telephone calls. Andre was taken to Sark's tiny prison, which was known for possibly being the world's smallest prison, which is two windowless cells, one measuring six feet by six and the other measuring six feet by eight with a three-foot-wide corridor that runs in front of them. Each cell contains a wood-sledded bed and a thin mattress. Often the prison is used to hold drunk and tourists until they sober up or until the ferry arrives and they can be kicked off the island per judicial powers granted on the island in the 16th century. The Sark prison can only hold prisoners for a maximum of two days. If a longer punishment is needed, the offender is shipped off the island. Andre received a seven-day jail sentence so he was sent to Guernsey to serve out the rest of the sentence. Sark had to pay Guernsey for the use of their jail, a small hardship for the island. After serving his sentence, Andre was deported to France. Believe it or not the next summer Andre tried to return to Sargon possibly for a second coup attempt. However, the fair gap had recognized him and refused to let him on the ferry. It's rather surprising that Andre received such a short jail sentence, but all the Channel Islands and Sark, in particular, have unique ancient laws. Probably the most famous law is the Hado clamor legal injunction: if a resident of the Channel Islands feels they're being wronged, they can go to the location of the offense, and kneel in front of two witnesses and the wrongdoer. They raise one hand in the air and exclaim: "hear me hear me hear me come to my aid for someone does me wrong". They then must recite the Lord's Prayer in French, then the grievance must be put into writing and lodged with the court clerk within 24 hours invoking the harrow club more results in an immediate injunction where the alleged wrongdoer must stop doing the challenged activities until the court hears the case. If the wrongdoer refuses to stop, they are fine no matter what party is in the right, if the resident who invoked the hero did so without a valid reason, they must pay a penalty. The last time the Heroku was used by a resident of Sark was in 1970 in a dispute over a garden wall.