Rejected

In an article dated 16 May 1969, 'Suggestion that a prison should be built on Lundy has been rejected by the Home Secretary, Mr James Callaghan. He told Mr Harold Luscombe, prospective Labour Parliamentary candidate for Tavistock, who made the suggestion, that Earl Mountbatten during his 1966 inquiry into prison escapes and security arrangements had examined and rejected the possibility of using an island for a maximum security prison. Mr Callaghan said that such a site would concentrate the most difficult and dangerous prisoners in one prison. This, he considered, would create an excessively custodial atmosphere and would place an intolerable strain on the staff.

Islanders to Honour Benefactor

Lundy people said to be ‘enormously relieved’ that life for them is to continue unchanged, are preparing to make a presentation to Mr Jack Hayward, the millionaire whose gift secured the island for the nation, when he visits them. It will be the first time that Mr Hayward – known in the Bahamas, where he lives, as ‘Mr Union Jack’ because of his pride in Britain – has seen Lundy.

Mr Thorpe hopes that there can be a public celebration to mark the sale. ‘What I have in mind is chartering a steamer for a day trip to Lundy, with a service at the St Helena Church and lunch at the Marisco Tavern.

Gazette edition dated 6 June 1969

Appeal for ‘Founder of Friends of Lundy’

Three Devon MPs – Mr Jeremy Thorpe, Mr Peter Mills and Dr David Owen – have sponsored a public appeal for £75,000 for Lundy. The purchase price of £150,000 has been given by Mr Jack Hayward, a British businessman in Bermuda, and the Landmark Trust will fully endow the island. The additional sum is needed to restore buildings and make the island self-supporting. Representing the appeal in the West country is Major Raymond Moore.

Gazette edition dated 20 June 1969