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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…
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A BajanThings 101 follow-up on AI Chatbots in 2025: ChatGPT, CoPilot, Gemini, DeepSeek, Grok & Claude. Why you MUST fact check the output…
Back in 2023 we published: A BajanThings 101 on AI Chatbots: ChatGPT and Bard. Why you MUST fact check the output… Two years on in March 2025 and in June 2025 we have updated our AI chatbot experiment. The reference research source we used to compare the AI output was the work we had done…
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F/O Robert Allen “Shorty” Stewart RAAF 1919 to 2004
This is the fourth in the series of BajanThings posts that profile Errol Walton Barrow’s crew in RAF 88 Squadron, “B” Flight, Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) during World War II. That crew consisted of: English pilot Andrew Leslie Cole and two Australian rear Wireless operator and Air Gunners (WAGs): Leo Leslie Schultz and Robert…
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Barbados History – Professor Richard Drayton
We hope you had a Happy Christmas with your family and friends. We thought you might enjoy this 30 minutes potted history of Barbados by Professor Richard Drayton from Kings College in the UK. Professor Richard Drayton gave the 2023 Errol Barrow Day lecture in London at All Saints’ Church, Notting Hill Gate, London W11…
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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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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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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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Remembering EIIR 1926 – 2022
Here we remember HM Queen Elizabeth II (21st April 1926 – 8th September 2022). Queen Elizabeth II’s historic 70 year reign marks the end of Great Britain’s longest ever reigning monarch and a truly remarkable life of service. We take this opportunity to remember Queen Elizabeth II’s five state visits to Barbados: Editor’s note: Backstory to…
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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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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 independence from: 1961 to 1966 as leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Errol Barrow…
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Tag: Errol Walton Barrow
These posts all feature Errol Barrow (1920 – 1987): distinguished Barbadian statesman, visionary leader and a champion of Caribbean unity who led Barbados to independence on 30th November 1966 and then served as Barbados’ first and fourth Prime Minister.
Prior to independence from: 1961 to 1966 as leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Errol Barrow served as the third Premier of Barbados during the island’s transition from full internal self-government to being an independent nation.
From 1940 – 1947 Errol Barrow served in the RAF where he trained as a Navigator in Canada and then served with RAF 88 Squadron, “B” Flight, 2nd Tactical Air Force (2TAF), seeing active service supporting the Allied ground forces, bombing German communication infrastructure positions and airfields where he accrued 48 operational bombing sorties giving him 103 hours and 25 mins of combat flying time.
Post WWII Errol Barrow served with British Air Forces of Occupation (BAFO) Communication Squadron assigned to C-in-C Military Governors Flight as one of the navigators assigned to Marshal of the Royal Air Force William Sholto Douglas, the Military Governor of Germany who was classed as a 5 star General.
On leaving the RAF in 1947 Errol spent three years secondary re-training, post active-service in London, where he read Economics and Industrial Law at the London School of Economics (LSE) and Law at the Inns of Court, before being repatriated to Barbados in November 1950 after ten years away from home.
When Errol Barrow returned home he was drawn to politics.
The leadership training Errol Barrow received in the RAF, the need to operate within a close knit aircrew and operate at peak concentration while under fire, together with his natural intellectual skill nurtured in Barbados at Harrison College and honed in London after World War II at the London School of Economics and The Inns of Court, provided the foundation for the man Bajans affectionately know as “Skipper” or “Dipper”: The Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow, PC, QC (21st January 1920 – 1st June 1987).