People of the Sea: Maritime photography exhibition and charity auction

An exhibition of vintage photographs celebrating Guernsey’s fishing heritage will take place at Sùla Framing & Gallery, raising funds for the RNLI.

Organised by Les Gens d’la Maïr (The People of the Sea) in partnership with the Guernsey Lifeboat Fundraising Committee, Carel Toms and The People of The Sea will feature 17 framed black-and-white portraits of local fishermen from the 1950s and 1960s.

The photographs were taken by the late Carel Toms, a former Guernsey Press photographer and Features Editor, and previously hung in Mora restaurant on the Quay.

Nello Ciotti, who donated the photographs alongside his wife Della, recalled: “They were very popular with our customers, who often recognised them and in some cases were related to them. One man sat next to a picture he had never seen before of his father, Sydney Robilliard, ormering. That really made his night.”

The collection includes portraits of well-known local seafarers, among them the three Down brothers, Douglas Girard and Captain Fred Noyon, who escaped Guernsey in his fishing boat during the Occupation.

A selection of original watercolours and line drawings by Carel Toms will also be on display.

Marcel Lenormand, who organised this summer’s Fête d’la Maïr Maritime Heritage Festival, said: “These images are authentic pieces of Guernsey’s maritime history, when so many locals made their living from the sea. They offer rare glimpses of a bygone age that I think Islanders will really enjoy, with an opportunity to give them a permanent home.”

Visitors will have the opportunity to bid for the artworks through a sealed-bid silent auction running throughout the exhibition, with proceeds going to the local RNLI.

Celia Allen MBE, Chair of the Guernsey Lifeboat Fundraising Committee, said: “These really are exceptional pictures, and we’re hoping they find new homes across the Island with people who love them.”

Organisers are particularly keen to welcome relatives and friends of those featured in the photographs, offering them the chance to reconnect with a piece of Guernsey’s maritime history.

Successful bidders will be contacted following the exhibition’s close on Saturday 14 November.

Pictured: L-R Marcel Lenormand, Founder of Les Gens d’la Maïr (holding image of JW Hamon); Hayley Bachelet, co-owner of Sùla Framing & Gallery (holding Carel Toms artwork); Nello Ciotti, former owner of Mora Restaurant (holding image of John Paint); Celia Allen MBE, St Peter Port Lifeboat Fundraising Chair  (holding image of Eddie Down).