Costa Rica ambassador unveils Guernsey plaque for sailor's role

William Le Lacheur made the first direct export of coffee from Costa Rica to London in 1841

A sailor from Guernsey hailed as a "national hero" in Costa Rica has been remembered with a blue plaque.

The memorial to William Le Lacheur has been unveiled at his former family home in Guernsey by the Costa Rican ambassador to the United Kingdom.

In the 19th Century, Le Lacheur was the first person to ship coffee direct from Costa Rica to London.

His actions are believed to have played a crucial part in the history of the Central American country.

The Bailiff of Guernsey, Richard McMahon, is the chairman of the Blue Plaque panel and joined the ambassador, Rafael Ortiz Fábrega, for the unveiling.

Prior to the ceremony, Mr McMahon said: "While little known in Guernsey, William Le Lacheur played a vital part in helping the newly independent Costa Rica establish itself.

The plaque has been put on his former family home at L'Epinel

"He is held in high esteem there, where he became a national hero and is credited with transforming that country from being the poorest in Central America to the wealthiest, in less than a quarter of a century, by shipping coffee direct to London and using the profits to improve coffee production."

Le Lacheur was born at L'Epinel in the Forest in 1802 into a farming family and started his working life on the land before setting out to sea on his grandfather's ship.

Ships belonging to Le Lacheur's company made 242 voyages and transported more than a million and a half bags of coffee from 1843 to 1886, long after the captain's death in 1863.

He died in London and is buried in Highgate Cemetery in the north of the city.

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