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The Canadian Lady Boats
Between 1928 and 1952 The Canadian National Steamship Company Lady Boats (The Canadian Lady Boats) operated two routes from Canada to the West Indies the: The Lady Boats keep coming up in my researches into the family in the West Indies. They were clearly important not just for the economy of the islands but also…
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The Printed Maps of Barbados 1500s – 1980s (Overview)
The Printed Maps of Barbados 1500s – 1980s which cover Ancient Maps, Antique Maps and Historical Maps was in February 2025 split into 5 sections: 1500s – 1700, 1700 – 1800, 1800 – 1900, 1900 – 1980s & Addendums: This work, weaves together the work of three authors and researchers: E. M. Shilstone, Tony Campbell…
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Rocket payload fairings wash up in Barbados post launch from Guiana Space Centre (CSG), French Guiana
Barbados has always been the destination for things that drift across the Atlantic such as: Thor Heyerdahl’s Ra Expeditions , Dr. Alain Bombard, The loss of The Kent – a letter in a bottle story, The story of John Heller, Survivors arriving in Barbados in May 1942 from ships sunk by German U-Boats and British…
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Cecil Ward (Bajan Cecil) – early pan pioneer Trinidad
Bajan John Archer was so notorious in Trinidad & Tobago at the turn of the twentieth century that his nickname “Badjohn” entered that nation’s vocabulary. He was one of many Bajans who contributed significantly to Trinidad & Tobago’s history and culture. Take for instance pan, that quintessential Trini art form. It’s early development was accelerated…
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How “badjohn” became a word
badjohn – nounA man willing to use violence and who likes being known as a dangerous person; a ruffian, hooligan or miscreant. An illusion to Bajan John “Bad John” Archer, a criminal who figured prominently in Trinidad in the early 20th century. Of the countless jailbirds to tread this island, none has cast a longer…
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BajanThings five years on…
2020 marks a new decade and BajanThings five years on. It also marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Errol Barrow on 21st January 2020. Errol Barrow’s time in the RAF between 1940 and 1947 is covered in two posts: Errol Barrow – Statesman, Prime Minister of Barbados, RAF Navigator World War II and…
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Bajan Garveyites
The Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) which was established by Marcus Gavey in New York City’s Harlem district in 1916. His ideas were known as Garveyism. A number of Bajan Garveyites played important roles in the UNIA and its conventions or were otherwise noteworthy in the international affairs of the movement. Bajan Garveyite: Clifford Bourne…
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Cuba
Cuba is a country that is misrepresented and misunderstood by the rest of the world. I have a very different view from that portrayed in the press and internet. Cubans are very proud of their heritage and history. Their education and health care systems are much better than most countries. There are many Colectivos (shared…
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It was always hot – Memoirs of Col. Reginald T. Michelin, Commissioner of Barbados Police 1949-1953 post Col. Oriel St.A. Duke
Reginald Townend Michelin (1903-1998), CMG (1957), CVO (1953), OBE (1952) took the post of Sub-Inspector, Police, Jamaica, 1924 and Inspector, Police, Leeward Islands, 1928. He was made Assistant Commissioner of Police, Nigeria, 1930, and Commissioner of Police, Barbados, 1949 and Jamaica, 1953, retiring in 1958 from the Colonial Police. In 1940 he married Nina Gladys…
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Millie gone to Brazil, Oh Lawd, poor Millie
In the 1920s a man called Bailey murdered his common-law wife Millie and deposited her corpse in a well. There are conflicting reports about the location of that well. Below are the words to a well-known Barbadian folk song written by an unknown author in the 1920s. Millie gone to Brazil Oh Lawd, poor Millie…
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BajanThings
Bajan history. Interesting Bajan people. Hiking in Barbados and Overseas. International Travel…