Sholto Douglas and Errol Barrow in Barbados

Errol Barrow and his commanding officer Sholto Douglas

This is the story of the deep bond that developed between Errol Barrow and his commanding officer Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir William Sholto Douglas who was the Military Governor of Germany after World War II. From 1945 to 1947 Errol Barrow served as a Navigator within the Commander-in-Chief, Military Governor’s Flight with …

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Leo Schultz photos album - Training in Canada

F/O Leo Leslie Schultz RAAF – 1921 to 1990

Errol Barrow’s crew in RAF 88 Squadron, “B” Flight, Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) during World War II consisted of: English pilot Andy Cole and the two Australian rear wireless operator and air gunners (WAGs): Leo Schultz and Allen “Shorty” Stewart. BajanThings has covered both Errol Barrow’s time in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and his …

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Dame Freya Madeline Stark DBE

Freya Stark (married name: Perowne)

Dame Freya Madeline Stark DBE (31 January 1893 – 9 May 1993), was a British explorer and travel writer. She was the wife of the Barbados Colonial Secretary Stewart Perowne and was one of five passengers who travelled in May 1948 from Barbados to Trinidad to join the Empire Windrush for its historic passage to …

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Empire Windrush docking at Tilbury Docks, Essex, on 21 June 1948

Do You Want The Truth Or Something Beautiful? The Empire Windrush story.

Only five of the 1,027 passengers on board the Empire Windrush began their journey in Barbados. Bill Hern writes about them here and explodes some myths about the iconic ship and its historic journey to England in June 1948. Background:The Windrush scandal erupted in 2018 where people mainly of Caribbean descent were wrongly classified as …

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P/O Andrew Cole in Lockheed Hudson cockpit

The Beautiful Blonde in the Bank – F/L Andrew Leslie Cole AFC RAF

Errol Barrow was Andrew Cole’s navigator while he was in the RAF, firstly with 88 Squadron “B” Flight Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) during World War II and for two years post-war they both flew with the BAFO Communications Squadron, Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) Military Governor’s Flight assigned to Commander-in-Chief and Military Governor of the British Occupation …

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Errol Barrow, Statesman, PM Barbados, RAF Navigator - crew graduation No. 31 OTU RAF Debert, Nova Socia Canada - 7 April 1944

F/O Errol Barrow RAF Navigator World War II & Prime Minister of Barbados

Errol Walton Barrow (21st January 1920 – 1st June 1987): distinguished Barbadian statesman, visionary leader and a champion of Caribbean unity led Barbados to Independence on 30th November 1966 and then served as Barbados’ first and fourth Prime Minister. Prior to that from: 1961 to 1966 as leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Errol Barrow …

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person reaching out to a robot

A BajanThings 101 on AI Chatbots: ChatGPT and Bard. Why you MUST fact check the output…

Here is a BajanThings 101 on AI Chatbots – using Errol Barrow’s time in the RAF from 1940 to 1947 as the reference source. Artificial Intelligence (AI) ChatBots like ChatGPT and Bard are being promoted as the “next BIG thing”. With any new technology, there are bound to be some teething problems and issues that need …

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Barbados 2030 scenarios by Greg Hoyos

Barbados in 2030 – Scenarios 3 & 4

These “Barbados in 2030″ scenarios were created 4 years ago in 2019 for a Caribbean regional conglomerate, who gave me permission to re-publish them. In this post, BajanThings are re-publishing the second two of the four scenarios. The first two potential outlooks for Barbados in 2030 were based on the premise that Bajan society would …

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Barbados 2030 scenarios by Greg Hoyos

Barbados in 2030 – Scenarios 1 & 2

These “Barbados in 2030″ scenarios were created 4 years ago in 2019 for a Caribbean regional conglomerate, who gave me permission to re-publish them. In this post, BajanThings are re-publishing the first two of the four scenarios which were based on the premise that Bajan society would generally “pull together”, as it has for centuries: …

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Renner Yearwood Memorial Hill Challenge 2023

Renner Yearwood Memorial Hill Challenge 2023

The 2023 Hill Challenge will be called the Renner Yearwood Memorial Hill Challenge. Renner entered the Hill Challenge in 2013 (3rd), 2014 (1st), 2015 (1st), and 2016 (5th). Sadly he died in 2022. The 2023 Hill Challenge will take place on Monday 1st May 2023. Start time is 6am sharp. Entries are open and the …

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Stanton Henry King, Born 1867 Barbados; Sailor, Author, Chantey Singer

Stanton Henry King: Sailor, Author, Chantey Singer (1867 – 1939)

Stanton Henry King was born in Barbados on 1st May 1867 and died 10th November 1939 in Everett, Massachusetts, USA. He was a sailor, author, and chantey (shanty) singer who was known for his works on maritime life and culture. He served in the US Navy before going to Boston and becoming the director of …

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