A young Frenchman named Francois Scornet, just 22 years old, became the only civilian to be executed by firing squad

On this day – 17th March 1941

A young Frenchman named Francois Scornet, just 22 years old, became the only civilian to be executed by firing squad in Jersey during the German occupation of the Channel Islands in World War II.

Francois was one of 16 young men from the French Army Cadets who tried to escape Nazi-occupied France. They got a small boat and set out for England, hoping to join the Free French forces and help fight for their country. Sadly, rough seas and bad weather caused them to get lost. They thought they had reached the Isle of Wight in England, but they had actually landed in Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, which was under German control.

They came ashore singing the French national anthem, the Marseillaise, not knowing they were in the wrong place. German soldiers were waiting. The group was arrested, sent to Jersey, and put on trial.

Francois was chosen by the Germans as an example to others. They called him the leader of the group and gave him the death penalty. The other three who were also sentenced to death had their punishments changed to prison, but Francois’s sentence stayed. He was taken to St Ouen’s Manor and executed there by firing squad.

On the night before his execution, and during his final moments, he was comforted by a French Catholic priest, Père Maré, from St Thomas’s Church. Today, a tribute to Francois Scornet hangs in the French chapel at St Thomas of Our Lady of Lourdes.

After the war, his remains were returned to his home village in Brittany, France, where he was buried with honour. The other 15 young men were sent to prison camps, first in Caen, France, and then to Germany. Sadly, not all of them lived to see the end of the war and be freed by the Allies in 1945. Continue reading

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