Guernsey Press and Star marks 200 years of publishing

Editor Richard Digard said he felt humbled to be part of the publication's long history

Guernsey's only daily newspaper has marked 200 years of publishing with the reproduction of its first edition.

The Star was first published in St Peter Port on 29 June, 1813, with its staff promising to be "the faithful reporters of authorised intelligence".

The Guernsey Evening Press first appeared on 31 July, 1897 and the two publications later merged to become today's Guernsey Press and Star.

Current editor Richard Digard said the paper's survival was "remarkable".

"As we've put together all the various stories and the supplements coming out [on Saturday], it's really brought home to us what a rich tradition and history we're part of," he said.

For its 200th anniversary edition, the newspaper ran the headline, "We are 200 today" amid a selection of 12 front pages from its history.

These included reports on the sinking of the Titanic in 1912; the "runaway [oil] rig" Orion hitting Guernsey's west coast in 1978; and a critical independent review of the island's education services in 2011, which followed a Guernsey Press campaign to have GCSE statistics published.

German occupation

The 12 images also included those from the beginning and end of the occupation of the Bailiwick by German forces during World War II.

The front page of 1 July, 1940 carried "Orders of the commandant of the German forces in occupation of the island of Guernsey".

The issue of 9 May, 1945 carried the headline "Peace and Liberation".

The current publication is published by the Guiton Group, which is owned by the Claverley Group of newspapers based in the West Midlands.

According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the Guernsey Press and Star had an average circulation of 14,794 per issue in the latter half of 2012.

Mr Digard, who is due to step down as editor in 2014, said he felt confident about the paper's future.

"There will always be a need for people who are able to sit down, analyse what's going on and present that to people in an easy-to-read fashion," he said.

"A newspaper is still the very best mobile reading device ever invented."