-
Remembering those that served during WWI, WWII and later conflicts
Remembrance Sunday is the: second Sunday in November. This year it is Sunday 9th November 2025. This Remembrance Sunday, we honour the service and sacrifice of the men and women of the Commonwealth who served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Merchant Navy, and Emergency Services during the First and Second World Wars and in later…
-
Operation Carlota – Cuba’s secret flights to Angola via Barbados
Fifty years ago on 7th November 1975, Cuba launch Operation Carlota using Seawell airport as the first refuelling stop on the long flight east from Cuba to Angola transporting elite Cuban troops in support of the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which was facing external aggression aimed at thwarting independence. These flights…
-
W/O Derek Davies – A Bajan Specialist Gunner with 224 Squadron RAF Coastal Command
Derek Sewell Blackburn Davies joined the RAF on 3rd September 1942, serving for nine months in the RAF regiment. He received aircrew training as a specialist air gunner receiving his wing in April 1944 and was then posted to 224 Squadron, RAF Coastal Command joining the crew of F/L Merrington flying in B-24 Liberators hunting…
-
Moving from Google AdSense Auto Ads to Google AdSense Manual Ads on BajanThings
This post about Google AdSense Manual Ads is part of a series where we share our learnings on managing a hobby website. It’s intended for WordPress hobby website administrators. This post was updated in September 2025. In this latest iteration we use the WordPress Plugin AdInserter by SpaceTime. We are fans of AdInserter and have…
-
Bygone Barbados photographs held in the UK National Archives
The National Archives UK have a wealth of bygone Barbados photographs. They formed part of the Colonial Office photographic collection – some of which have now been digitised. This collection of bygone photographs of Barbados held by the National Archives UK, in the Barbados album, is an amazing resource of 372 Barbados colonial photographs. Here…
-
Using AI tools to create a WordPress snippet
This post about the use of AI tools to create a WordPress Snippet is part of a series where we share our learnings on managing a hobby website. This post is intended for WordPress hobby website administrators. This is a very quick post to highlight how good the AI chatbots are getting at writing code.…
-
Searching for the names of Bajan RAF Ground Crew in WWII
This is a call for help. For over 40 years, Audrey Dewjee in the UK has dedicated herself to uncovering and preserving the history of West Indian men who joined the Royal Air Force as ground crew. Believing that their contributions had been largely overlooked, she took it upon herself to ensure they would not…
-
Lord Nelson’s statue – Bridgetown, Barbados
Lord Nelson’s statue – Bridgetown The statue of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson in Barbados was unveiled in Bridgetown on 22nd March 1813. It was sculpted from bronze by Sir Richard Westmacott. It is considered an excellent likeness of the British Admiral. Very soon after his victory and subsequent death at Cape Trafalgar in 1805, plans…
-
Remembering V-E Day 1945
The 8th May 2025 is the 80th Anniversary of V‑E Day (Victory in Europe). V‑E Day is a pivotal moment in history marking the end of World War II in Europe in 1945 when the Allies accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. The Russians celebrate Victory Day (День Победы) on 9th May. V‑E Day signified an end to…
-
The British West Indies in 1936
Sorting through my parents papers, post probate, my sister and I came across a school textbook that my father had kept: The British Empire by George W Southgate BA published in 1936. On the inside cover of this book it says: James H Burton form IV Harrison College 1939, and it has his address as…
Advertisements
BajanThings
Bajan history. Interesting Bajan people. Hiking in Barbados and Overseas. International Travel…