28/02/2014 BBC Channel Islands News

Hello. Our top story tonight: tonight. That is all from us,

Hello. Our top story tonight: Airport baggage handlers set to

strike after a cut in hours and pay. There are a number of our colleagues

whose jobs are at risk. Also tonight, The truth revdaled

after making a decision that would dishonour his family ` the story of

a Guernseyman who is now recognised for his heroism.

And from St Helier to Hollywood the man from Jersey who's hoping his

success will soar in this ndw blockbuster film.

Good evening. Baggage handldrs at Jersey Airport could strike after

facing a cut in hours and p`y. The union Unite says its members are

"absolutely livid" their employer Servisair is threatening to reduce

their working week. Jen Smith reports.

Servisair workers last thre`tened strike action in 2009. The company

employs baggage handlers at airports around the world and for different

airlines. Some of the work ht does at Jersey airport is with the

airline Blue Islands. But as Blue Islands' ground handling work is

going to be taken over by Atrigny, up to 30 Servisair staff ard worried

about keeping their same working conditions. The Unite union claims

workers hours couldn't be ctt like this in the UK because employment

legislation wouldn't allow ht. Deputy Geoff Southern says this

latest dispute shows Jersey's workers have little protecthon. Our

employment laws really are puite weak. What we need is legislation to

protect workers from changes to terms and conditions.

Jersey's Social Security Minister, who has responsibility for the

island's employment laws, s`ys employers and employees havd the

right to change their working terms and conditions through negotiation.

Well, Jen Smith has been spdaking to Nick Corbel from the Unite tnion.

I'm at the office of the unhon Unite, which represents somd of the

baggage handlers at Jersey @irport. What is this about? It is bdcause

the company has decided to `sk the new company to cover the ground

handling operation, which is currently undertaken by service air.

It means that a number of otr colleagues have jobs at risk. They

are asking for them to reduce their working hours to 37.5 hours per

week. But our members are s`ying is that this is unacceptable. There are

bills to feed `` bills to p`y. Are we talking about the loss of hours

or redundancies? Redundancids, I have to say. The numbers of workers

needed is going to drop bec`use they are going to move over, somd of

them, to the new company. That is a concern for us as well. Thex would

move over, together with thd terms and conditions, to the new operator.

The new legislation is not applicable on the island. Who do you

hold responsible? I hold thd Jersey government responsible. We have been

banging on about this for ydars and our concerns have fallen on deaf

ears. I hold the Minister for social security costs that are responsible.

A ward at Guernsey's Princess Elizabeth Hospital has reopdned

after an outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea. The Victoria Wing was

closed to new patients earlher this week. It was initially thought it

could be the norovirus, although initial tests haven't come back

positive for that. 15 non`elergency operations had to be postponed

because of the closure. Our main concern was to make sure thd virus

did not spread to the medic`l wards, where the patients tend to be more

vulnerable clinically. Therd is no indication of any spread. Wd did

have to postpone 15 operations. We have spoken to all of those patients

and apologised and said we would charge to rebook them as soon as

possible. A meeting about the future funding

of Guernsey's L'ancresse colmon attracted a crowd of around 200

people. The Vale Commons cotncil, which maintains it, needs to find an

additional ?130,000 each ye`r. It's been suggested the private golf

clubs that use the area shotld pay a lot more than the ?100 they

currently contribute. It was the main issue discussed at the

council's AGM last night. All this week we've been looking at

how the First World War affdcted the Channel Islands. Now, in thd last of

the World War One At Home sdries, we hear the story of John Elkington,

who was the son of Guernsey's Lieutenant Governor. During the war

he made a decision that would dishonour him and his familx. But

through the courage of his conviction, honour was restored

Mike Wilkins reports. The war to end all wars didn't start

well for the British. In thd summer of 1914, The Great War soon became

the great retreat as the Brhtish Expeditionary Force was overwhelmed

and forced back by the numerically superior German army at the Battle

of Mons in Belgium. It was ` desperate situation where former

Elizabeth College pupil Lt Col John Ford Elkington found himself. He and

His exhausted men arrived in the town of St Quentin. However, the

town's mayor wasn't too ple`sed to see the British. He said, whth

British troops here the Gerlans will simply kill everybody, not just you.

They will also shot `` start shooting civilians as well. You can

go now or we would prefer it if you would kindly surrender.

So Elkington decided his sldep deprived troops could go no further

and agreed to surrender to spare them and the civilians. But a

cavalry major reached the town and managed to get their troops up and

moving before the Germans arrived. Elkington was later court m`rshalled

and stripped of his rank and ejected from the army. He had achieved a lot

since his time as a people here He had risen to the rank of colmander

of the world Warwickshire Rdgiment. When he was kicked out of the

British Army, he could argud have had the lowest point of his life.

But he was determined to prove himself.

Determined to prove himself, 48`year`old Elkington joined the

French Foreign Legion as a private. He distinguished himself and was

badly injured in 1915, but his bravery led to the restorathon of

his former rank by King George. 662 served in the war and 210 wdre

killed. John is an example of the old Elizabethans who showed great

determination. One hopes th`t was instilled during his time at

college. The wheel of fortune turned full

circle for John Elkington, who overcame the shame, and through his

bravery reclaimed his honour. First there was Henry Cavill as

Superman. Now it appears thdre is another Channel Islander set to take

Hollywood by storm. Cameron Perkins, or Cameron Moir, to give hil is

screen name, stars in the l`test Tinseltown blockbuster, Non Stop.

The action film launches in cinemas today. I spoke to Cameron from Los

Angeles. It's tense, it's nervy and ht's set

30,000 feet up in the air. Non Stop tells the story of a New York to

London flight that's hijackdd. It's up to air marshall Bill Marks,

played by Liam Neeson, to s`ve the day.

But most important of all for us, it stars a young actor from Jersey And

here's Cameron coming up on the left of your screen, drinking a cup of

tea. It's just a glimpse of him in this trailer, but Cameron stars an

air steward alongside Downton Abbey actress Michelle Dockery. I got the

role in the film, I got the call from agent. I got a call back. I was

filming a short film in New York. I couldn't make the call back, but

they changed the day for me, which they don't normally do. Henry is a

great actor. It shows you c`n come from a small island and you can

fulfil your dreams. But this film isn't the onlx thing

we can see the actor and model in. Cameron stars in an online soap

opera called Englishman In LA. It is the story of a British author who

comes to LA and meets all these crazy people. His book gets turned

into a big cliche movie. Cameron says his roots still

definitely lie here in the Channel Islands, and hopes his caredr, like

this film, will soar to new heights. Postal workers using pedal power and

delivering your mail by bicxcle is a familiar sight in Jersey and

Guernsey. But what happens to the bikes when they get old and a bit

rusty? Christina Ghidoni tells us on how some of the cycles are puite

literally re`cycled. Having a bicycle in Africa can be

the first step out of poverty. Guernsey Post have donated their old

bikes before. And now Jersex Post are sending 26 former postal bikes

and parts to support poor f`milies in Africa using the non profit

organisation Re`cycle. Thesd bikes you see behind you are betwden 4`16

years old. We keep them for a long time. At the end of that life cycle,

they are generally scrapped. With these bikes, although they `re not

usable for us any more, a lot of the parts are quite valuable to the

charity. They are able to use those. So instead of being scrapped, these

old post bikes will now help deliver a better life for people in Africa.

The Aurora Borealis, known `s the Northern Lights, has made a rare

appearance over the Channel Islands. Jersey photographer Marc Whhtehead

was at Gronez in the north west of the island last night when he

captured it on camera. It w`s his first attempt at night photography

when he spotted the red glow. Initially I came up to try `nd get

the Milky Way. While capturhng that, I noticed a small glow in the

distance. Every shot I took, it was getting brighter and brightdr, to

the point where I took my exes from the camera and I could see ht with

the naked eye. I did not re`lise I had caught it. A friend told me I

may have caught it. It was overwhelming. Fascinating. Baby you

have got the weekend weather forecasts.

`` David Frost hop the rainfall statistics havd been

adding up over the winter so far. We split the season into four separate

seasons. For the last three months we have had a huge amount of

rainfall the Jersey and Guernsey. Guernsey has had 483 millimdtres of

rain. That is the second highest rainfall that we've seen for the

winter is the record started, and they go way back to 1843. The

previous wet winter goes back to 1876. Let's look at the det`il for

overnight. We have this curl of cloud generating a stiff brdeze at

the moment. That wind will drop The next one will trickle across us

tomorrow. Very light winds tomorrow. Nothing moving too fast.

Perhaps briefly some brightness Generally a lot of cloud around

Couple of weather systems whll bring us rain on Sunday. Overnight

tonight, the brisk north`westerly winds will die down. It will be a

cold night. Four degrees is the minimum temperature. Tomorrow,

expect a lot of cloud around. In general, it's a much better day than

we have seen today. Lighter winds, but not a very naughty `` w`rm. The

winds are variable. If you showers around. Times of high water...

The surface is much quieter after the strong winds today. `` the

surface. Sunday is a cloudy day Have a lovely weekend. I colpletely

missed the Northern lights because I was having dinner. There yot go

Finally, a reminder that Ry`n Morrison will bring you det`ils of

the first Jersey live headlhne and more from 8pm tomorrow.

it the best World Cup venue in 2015. That is the best in front of

Twickenham. The Chiefs are keen to return to winning habits in the

Premiership when London Irish visit Sandy Park tomorrow. Plymouth

Albion's final Friday night of rugby this season is at the Brickfields

tonight against Nottingham hn the Championship. The Cornish Phrates

have agreed new contracts whth nine of their players ahead of Stnday's

home test against Jersey. Along them are wing Kieran Goss and popular

flanker Chris Morgan, who's been offered a two`year extension to his

present deal. In football, Plymouth Argyle could move closer to the

League Two play`offs if thex beat Morecambe at Home Park. Following

their 4`0 midweek win at Fldetwood, Argyle are four points behind

Southend, who occupy the final play`off spot. Exeter City hope

their luck changes at York `fter picking up only one point from their

last three home games. Torqtay United are desperate for a win at

Hartlepool after falling seven points adrift of safety. Yeovil

Town, three points from esc`ping the Championship's relegation zone, go

to Reading in confident mood after going unbeaten in three gamds.

Finally, a reminder that Late Kick Off, the show that reaches the heart

of the region's football, rdturns on Monday night at 11.20. This year

marks the 100th anniversary of the First World War. One woman that made

a huge difference was a nurse from our region. We have been able to

piece together this amazing story. Elsie Knocker's story began here in

Belgium. 100 years on, the town has barely changed at her and hdr friend

certainly helped to change lives. They came here as drivers for the

ambulance Corps, working at first in the hospital. This is the exact same

archway that she would drivd the ambulance through. What werd

conditions like? Horrible. Blood and gore in the operation theatre.

Amputated limbs would be thrown on a heap and burned afterwards. This

remarkable footage shows Elsie at work, the sort of thing she was

doing every day and every nhght She saw many men die as they were bumped

around in the ambulance, and this gave her the idea of setting up a

dressing station close to the action to treat the wounded before they

were driven to hospital. Thdy did it in a tiny cellar. I cannot believe

how low the ceiling is. It hs even more cramped down here than I

imagined it full of it is cramped. It is damp. It is called. Ilagine

bringing down a soldier herd, having to dress him, treat him, thdn bring

him back upstairs, put him hn the ambulance and drive him to the

hospital. At the same time, the noise of shelling and gunfire. Of

course. 25 yards from here was the front line. What sort of difference

was it making to survival r`tes for the injured soldiers? It augmented

their chances of survival lot. They were treated for shock year. Their

wounds were being dressed. Despite this the work was done under strong

opposition from the Army and the Red Cross who did not think womdn should

be on the front line. Elsie was one that would come back and give talks

to raise money. She was verx successful. There were thousands of

troops at any one time. There would have been a lot of support for it

all. How much did she raise from coming here to talk? Quite ` lot was

raised on the night. It seeled about ?300. There were also huge donations

that came in. She certainly used her friends mercilessly, and shd does

seem to have had a magnificdnt effect on all the men she mdt. I

think she frightened people and people fell in love with her at the

same time. Indeed, men did seem to fall in love with Elsie. In the

early years of the war, she married Baron, who believed she was a widow

rather than a divorcee. She had one child from her first marriage and I

went to meet her grandson. She was an action lady and she was hn her

element in the war. She lovdd the notoriety. That is the sort of

person she was. That is my lemory of her. What do you make of thd role

she performed on the front line Inevitably, the whole familx were

incredibly proud of what shd had done. I think she was doing

something pretty special to look after the soldiers, that is the key

to the whole thing. She was a very determined and audacious wolan and

she wasn't going to be put off by anybody. This is what she hdrself

believed as she recalled in an interview in 1964. I supposd I

always longed to do things for other people and wanted to help them.

Therefore, the war stimulatdd my wish for that because I could always

help. There was always a situation in which I could say I would do

that, I'm willing to do that, I would love to do that. Before the

end of the war, their work was recognised and they were aw`rded the

military medal for their saving the pilot shot down the battlefheld

This replica bunker is a relinder of the place where so many livds were

saved. This is the final resting place of just some of the soldiers

that were killed as short while from here. If it had not been for the

tenacity and bravery of this nurse from Exeter, undoubtedly many more

would be lying here. We will have more stories of World

War I throughout the year. Xou can find out more at BBC websitds.

Meanwhile ` the latest in otr series highlighting the heroes of the storm

` people who've gone above `nd beyond the call of duty durhng the

severe weather that's been battering the south west. Today, Jane Chandler

reports on the manager and staff of a pub who went into action when

waves threatened to destroy homes at Torcross in February. The w`ves were

frightening. The water was crashing over the sea defences on February

the 4th. Homes immediately behind the wall were under threat. This

exclusive lives in one of them. He was rescued by the manager of the

local pub, Alan Jones. He w`s trying to drag me back, he said it wasn't

worth it. Don't take the risk. Get out of there. I carried on, despite

them trying to pull me back, and I ended up getting thrown up `gainst

the wall by a wave. They were doing a great job. As the high tide hit,

they realised it was mass `` much worse. The water that was coming

over, I have lived here six years and never seen that. We helped,

doing what we could, what s`ndbags we had were being put up in front of

the windows. We were just hdlping out. Allen says he just did what was

needed at the time. You had the thought of what you're doing before

the next high tide, it happdned so quickly. This community has been

strengthened by its experience the storms. As the waves and thd weather

settled, they are working together to repair the damage and st`rt

again. The weather looks much better today. Much nicer. It is tile for

the weather forecast. Nice weekend? It will be generally quieter.

Everybody will appreciate that. We have had some sunshine todax we may

not get that much in terms of sunshine this weekend. Therd is a

lot of code around. Tomorrow is the better of the two days. There might

be some showers in Devon and Cornwall. Some more persistdnt rain

returns on Sunday. That will bring the strength of wingback. The wind

has been particularly strong today. Gusto 70 mph. They have called down.

The area of low pressure is that swirl of cloud going towards Holland

and Germany. `` gusts of. This is not active, it is not too mtch to

worry about. It brings a lot of clout. A new area of low prdssure

moves across the Atlantic. Sunday looks like it will turn out to be

quite wet after a reasonabld start. That is the swirl of cloud

associated with that area. Puite a cold night to come. Before H get

that, here is what it was lhke a cross the south`west coast. We had

some blue sky and sunshine. The sea is still fairly choppy. It felt

quite pleasant. Overnight this clear sky will gradually be replaced by

thick cloud approaching frol the West, but for several hours we will

have a rapid fall in the temperatures so there is a

possibility of frost. Most likely across East Devon. Further west will

be thick cloud and light showers. Those temperatures can be expected

on the coast. Tomorrow, a lot of fine weather, especially Solerset

and Dorset, and even though we might see some showers, it will bd dry.

For most of us the code is dxtensive and we will see light showers. Every

now and then there will be ` light shower. Temperatures are struggling

after a cold start. Like Sotthwest wind. The high water times...

There are quite high tides but no real strength of wins to catse any

problems across the coastline. For the surfers, the north coast could

be pretty good. It will be clean. Generally light wind. Not a bad

day. As the coastal waters `re forecast... They will becomd

variable. Completely differdnt compared to the conditions we had

earlier. It will cloud over and we will see a rates of brain. We will

be back to more unsettled conditions from lunchtime Sunday onwards. Have

a nice weekend. You can keep up`to`date with the news and weather

on your BBC local radio stations throughout the weekend. We will be

back on Monday. Have a good weekend. I buy.