Michel "Mitch" Couriard

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(20 December 1953 – 23 October 2015) was a

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

vingtenier There is an Honorary Police ( French: Police Honorifique) force in each of the twelve parishes of Jersey. Members of the Honorary Police are elected by the voters of the parish in which they serve, and are unpaid. Honorary Police officers have ...

and civil servant.

Biography

He originally qualified as an electrician, but after a number of years of voluntary service with the Jersey Youth Service and took a position at the Department of Education. He was one of Jersey's torchbearers in the

2012 Summer Olympics torch relay The 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from 19 May until 27 July, prior to the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The torch bearer selection process was announced on 18 May 2011. As well as touring the United Kingdom the schedule included the ...

. He was painted for the Peoples Choice portrait in 2013 by royal portrait painter

Christian Furr Christian Furr (born 1966, Heswall, Wirral, England) is an English painter. In 1995 he was commissioned to paint Queen Elizabeth II. Education Furr was educated at Ladymount Primary School, Heswall and St Anselm's College, Birkenhead. He lat ...

Mitch's portrait hangs in the Jersey Heritage Jersey Museum and Art Gallery. On 18 August 2015, Mitch married his second wife Kaye Temple at Southampton Hospital. Couriard died of cancer, aged 61, at the Jersey Hospice on 23 October 2015. His funeral, which was held on 8 November 2015 at the

Parish Church of St Helier The Parish Church of St Helier is the parish church of the parish of Saint Helier, Jersey. It is a Church of England church, one of the twelve 'Ancient Parish Churches' of Jersey, and serves as the Island's civic church and Pro-Cathedral. Hist ...

, attracted hundreds of people.

Parish Municipality

Couriard was a member of the

Honorary Police There is an Honorary Police ( French: Police Honorifique) force in each of the twelve parishes of Jersey. Members of the Honorary Police are elected by the voters of the parish in which they serve, and are unpaid. Honorary Police officers have ...

having been elected to serve as a vingtenier for the

Vingtaine du Mont à l'Abbé The Vingtaine du Mont à l'Abbé is one of six vingtaines of the Parish of Saint Helier in the Channel Island of Jersey. Elected Officials Two Vingteniers, three Constable's Officers and two Roads Inspectors are elected for three years term to r ...

Saint Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; french: Saint-Hélier) is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St Helier has a population of 35,822 – over one-third of the total population of Jersey – ...

. He was also president of the Honorary Police Association. Couriard's "beat" includes Victoria Avenue, meaning that he is delegated to manage policing for the annual Battle of Flowers held in August - an event that continues to attract crowds of 10,000 or more. As such he was one of the most visible members of the island's Honorary Police.

Member of the Order of the British Empire

He was awarded membership of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the Queen's birthday honours list of June 2002 jointly for his services as a civil servant and his honorary work.2002 Birthday Honours List for Jersey
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References

Municipality members of Jersey People from Saint Helier Honours recipients from Jersey Members of the Order of the British Empire 1953 births 2015 deaths {{Jersey-bio-stub