Author: Peter Burton

Peter Burton is part of the BajanThings crew. He is a co-editor of BajanThings with his cousin William Burton. Peter and William started BajanThings in December 2014 with the aim of building a website that focused on William’s three loves: preserving handed down Bajan history, hiking and international travel.Peter maintains the BajanThings website and writes the occasional BajanThings post.Peter was born in Trinidad to Bajan parents. Peter’s father, Jim Burton, worked in the oil industry, so as a child Peter grew up as a “third culture kid” in Trinidad, Barbados, England, Nigeria, Iran and Malta. He left Trinidad in 1970 aged 11 and went as a boarder to the Lodge School in Barbados. In 1971 he went to boarding school in England when his parents left Trinidad. His father retired to England in 1982. As an adult Peter has lived in England, Indonesia, Singapore and Hong Kong. After 20+ years in Asia, spent mainly in Hong Kong, in 2014 Peter returned to England and now lives in Surrey with his family.Peter trained as an engineer. In his early career he worked as a management consultant. Since 1998 he has worked in the field of advertising technology and programmatic advertising. He has recently retired and works on a number of family and friends web related projects.

Bajan History, Bajan People
Feuding Chase brothers vault – Christ Church Parish church, Barbados
Below are photographs of the famous Chase Vault, located in the south-west corner of Christ Church Parish churchyard. Sixty meters from the Church Government school. Two Chase brothers, who hated each other and had many furious fights during their life-time, were buried with their coffins placed side by side in the vault; and they continued…
2nd May 2016
Bajan History, Bajan People, Barbados during World War I and World War II, Black History Month, Remembrance Sunday
2nd Lt Walter Tull – first black infantry officer in British Army (1888 – 1918)
Walter Daniel John Tull was born in Folkestone, Kent, on 28 April 1888 to Barbadian carpenter Daniel Tull and Kent-born Alice Elizabeth Palmer. In 1895, when Walter was seven, his mother died of cancer. A year later his father married Alice’s cousin, Clara Palmer. She gave birth to a daughter Miriam, on 11 September 1897.…
13th September 2015
Bajan History, Bajan People, Barbados during World War I and World War II, Black History Month, Remembrance Sunday
Sid Graham. A forgotten Bajan WWII hero (1920 – 2017)
Sid Graham was born in Tidal Basin, Custom House in the London’s East End in 1920, the son of Sidney “Siddy” Graham a seaman from Barbados and his English wife Emma an East Ender. Sid made it to his 97th birthday on 28th January 2017 and sadly passed away on 30th April 2017. Until then…
6th September 2015
Bajan People, Windies cricket
Baby Burts trialling for the Windies cricket team!
Baby Burts (Connie as he is known at school) is 10. Baby Burts is half Bajan and dreams of playing cricket for the Windies and emulating Garfield Sobers who hit six sixes in an over at a county cricket match on 31st August 1968 in Cardiff. Baby Burts is also half Scottish and dreams of…
10th June 2015
Bajan History, Bajan People, Barbados during World War I and World War II, Remembrance Sunday
Torpedoing of the Cornwallis in Carlisle Bay, Barbados, 11th September 1942
The torpedoing of the Cornwallis in Carlisle Bay, Barbados on the afternoon of Friday 11th September 1942 by German U-Boat 514 is remembered by older Bajans as the dark day in 1942 when World War II reached Barbados’ shores. The 75th anniversary of the torpedoing of the CNS Cornwallis in Carlisle Bay was Monday 11th…
21st May 2015
I was there, PRC – Hong Kong SAR
Bajan & Trini sports ambassadors – HK Sevens, March 2014
Barbados and Trinidad both had teams competing at the 2014 Hong Kong Sevens. Both teams were knocked out in the qualifier round. That didn’t matter. It was just a joy to see Barbados and Trinidad competing on the international stage. The Bajan team were a mixture of local boys and British boys whose parents or…
9th April 2015