Contributions de la famille Le Sauteur
à la petite histoire de Jersey
Extracts from Hommage à la famille Le Sauteur
(William Thomas LeSauteur, 1982) and other sources

His boyhood was spent at Le Havre des Pas and when aged 14 years he ran away and joined the Navy but was reclaimed by his mother as "under-age". His mother however relented and allowed him to join the Royal Navy at their Gorey station, when he was 15½ years, still under age. He served with some distinction for 27 years. He fought on land with the Naval Detachment in the South African War, was a member of the Benin Expedition at the bombardment of Zanzibar. By 1911, he was made a Chief Petty Officer and in 1914 was posted to the Flagship of the First Light Cruiser Squadron H.M.S. Galatea as Acting Boatswain. This ship started the Battle of Jutland, fired the first shot and received the first shot which penetrated the ship without exploding. Three days later he was presented to H.M. King George V as the smartest man in the squadron at Scapa Flow, having been instrumental in saving the ship from sinking by fixing a salvage mat. On at least two occasions, he was co-opted into secret missions and sent to France in the front line trenches and on his return gave lectures etc. in the Fleet. He was in charge of the gun-crew which brought down a Zeppelin, the L7, off the island of Sylt. The French Government awarded him the Médaille Militaire and the British made him the first Naval recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal. The Island of Jersey presented him with a Gold Watch and Illuminated Address. A newspaper cutting records him jumping into the harbour at Guernsey and saving a man's life. He was demobilised in early 1920 having spend the previous 2 year period as an instructor in the Royal Naval Barracks at Porstsmouth. He died in January 1923 from a combination of malaria and pneumonia. The malaria was of a recurring form and he suffered from attacks ever since his service in the South African War. He is buried at Mont à l'Abbé cemerery, Jersey, age nearly 45 years.

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