Peter Crill

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Sir Peter Leslie Crill KBE (February 1, 1925 – October 3, 2005) was Bailiff of Jersey from 1986 to 1995.

As a young man, he was one of the few people who successfully escaped from German-occupied Jersey during the Second World War. With two friends he retrieved the family’s 12 ft (3.7 m) dinghy from store, hiding it while it was made seaworthy. They set out at 8.15pm at the end of the first week in November 1944, choosing a place where they knew the nearest German guard was at least 100 yards (91 m) away (there were some 13,000 German troops garrisoning 26,000 islanders). The danger was that if they failed to get far enough out to sea, they would simply be carried round the island by the tide and spotted at daylight.

Rowing out through a heavy swell till they could safely start the engine, they soon had to stop, to go to the aid of a second boat behind them. When the engine would not restart, they put up a small sail, but lost the compass in a squall an hour later. With the sea too rough to sail, they allowed the boat to drift, feeling thoroughly seasick after years ashore. Soon after dawn, the tide began to carry them away from land. Finally, they restarted the motor and landed safely at Agon-Coutainville near Coutances.

He later followed a legal career, and entered politics, being elected to the States of Jersey.

He gave up politics to become a Crown Officer, rising to become Deputy Bailiff and then succeeded Sir Frank Ereaut as Bailiff of Jersey in 1986.

Following his retirement in 1995, he was active in organizations promoting culture of Jersey, including the Société Jersiaise and the Jersey Arts Centre. His activities in latter years were curtailed by the onset of motor neurone disease.