Letter: A tradition too new for Jersey sweaters

Sir: I am sorry to disillusion John Dodds (letter, 21 September), but traditional jerseys did not have parish crests sewn on their fronts. These crests were not known in Jersey until 1921, when they were designed by Alfred G. Wright and used on an illuminated address presented by the States of Jersey to George V - see page 154 of Portrait of the Channel Islands by Raoul Lempriere, first published in 1970.

When I was asked to produce a knitting booklet by the Jersey Island Federation of Women's Institutes in 1978, I was requested to include an anchor pattern which was being asked for by members of the public; this was done, but it is not a parish crest. In the foreword to the booklet, which I obtained from the local history society - La Societe Jersiaise - it was made quite clear that traditionally jerseys did not have patterns on the front.

Yours faithfully,

AUDREY M. JOURNEAUX

St Lawrence, Jersey

22 September