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World War I Commonwealth War Graves – Barbados
On 25th August 2021 it will be exactly 100 years since the death of Wendell Valentyne Byer. Who was Wendell you may ask? A famous cricketer? A politician perhaps? No, he was none of these, Wendell was once a trainee schoolteacher in St George. He was strong and fit – 5 feet 11 and a…
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Kai Tak airport, Hong Kong – the Bajan connection
Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong closed on 6th July 1998. Landing at Kai Tak was a one-of-a-kind experience for pilots and passengers alike. It was breath-taking. With mountains on the port [left hand] side as you flew through a very distinct urban corridor of medium rise buildings bound by high rise buildings on either side,…
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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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Cooking on a cast iron coal pot stove
There is a corner of my UK garden that is forever Barbados. It’s where I store my cast iron coal pot during the winter. In the UK it is rare to see a coal pot and my grandchildren had no idea what Grandad was using on his birthday barbecue. They were spared seeing this rusty…
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Black Bajan footballers who were English Football League Club pioneers
Thanks to a select group of pioneering black Bajan footballers, no country in the world has had a greater impact on the history of English football than Barbados. That statement might come as a shock to some. After all, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica have reached the World Cup Finals whereas Barbados has never come…
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Barbados Oceanographic Research Facility 1957 – 1979: a top secret US cold war submarine listening post
The old US Navy Facility – Barbados at Harrison’s Point, St. Lucy on the North West coast of Barbados is back in the news. In the 1950 and 1960s this US Naval Facility in Barbados was a very important shore based soviet submarine listening station. It had many names: US Navy Facility – Barbados, NAVFAC…
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Richard Goddard – 1935 to 2021
Richard Goddard tribute by William Burton I first met Richard Goddard through my parents. But it was not until the early 1980’s that I joined his Sunday morning walks which started at Union Hall where he lived at the time. Soon groups from the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme joined as part of their qualification.…
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Plantation Life in Barbados in the 1950s
I grew up in St. John and St. George in the middle of some of the best agricultural land in Barbados, among numerous sugar plantations, at a time when sugar was still king and was the lifeblood of the island’s economy. During the 17th century, Barbados was celebrated as the richest colony in British America.…
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The New Joe’s River Pedestrian Bridge
After approximately 15 long years of waiting the Joe’s River Pedestrian Bridge was officially re-opened at the handing over ceremony on 17th December 2020. Joe’s River is one of only a few above-ground rivers found in Barbados. It has gone through many name changes since the 17th Century which included being called a Streamlet and…
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How they came to Barbados and found no men therein…
Amyas Preston was an English privateer of the Elizabethan period. Preston came from Cricket, St Thomas in Somerset. He took part in many wars and battles in support of England. Among these were the Preston Somers Expedition in 1595. The Preston–Somers expedition was a series of military actions that took place from late May till…
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BajanThings
Bajan history. Interesting Bajan people. Hiking in Barbados and Overseas. International Travel…