Though pure breed Alderney cattle no longer exist, at the time they were famous for their abundant supply of milk and rich butter.
Alderneys were a smaller cow and supposedly docile. But Julia’s brindle Alderneys would listen only to her. As soon as Julia called their names, they galloped single file and followed wherever she led them. They were obstinate and ornery for anyone else. If someone new was milking them, Julia had to stand where the Alderneys could see her, until they trusted the new milker.—Abby, Laurilla, and Mary Ann, p. 209.
Alderney, Jersey, and Guernsey cattle breeds originated on Islands of the same name in the British Channel.
Pure-breed Alderneys (which no longer exist) were smaller and more slender boned than Jerseys and Guernseys.
In June 1940, before the Germans took over, some 1,500 native Alderney folks were evacuated to mainland Britain. Some Alderneans went instead to Guernsey, where they were forced to stay for the war.
Most of the Alderney cattle were shipped to Guernsey where they interbred with the local Guernsey breed. The few purebred Alderney cattle which stayed on the island died at the hands of the Germans as did some 400 of the 6,000 people living in the prison camps.
The Alderney bloodline can be traced in some American herds.
—Jordan Allen, BBC News, “Alderney Cow: The Breed Jerseys and Guernseys Overshadowed,” February 5, 2013.
Alderneys are mentioned in Jane Austen’s novel, Emma (1815) and Elizabeth Gaskell’s, Cranford (1853).
