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Andromeda Gardens – the location of a covert US Navy cold-war submarine tracking station in Barbados from 1954 to 1985/87
The US Navy NAVFAC Barbados at Harrison’s Point, St. Lucy was operational from 1957 to 1979. Did you know there was another, hush – hush and “covert” NAVFAC cold-war submarine tracking facility located in Barbados from 1954 to 1985/87. It was located within the workshop of Dr. Harry Bayley’s bay-house at Andromeda in St. Joseph.…
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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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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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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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Alan Emtage – the Bajan who invented the ftp search engine in 1989 while a post-grad student at McGill University
Bajan Alan Emtage in 1989, aged 25, invented the first internet (ftp) search engine – Archie. The name Archie is derived from Archive with the v removed. At the time Alan was a post graduate student at McGill University working as a volunteer systems administrator for the School of Computer Science where he conceived and…
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George Blackman BWIR – There were no parades for us
In 1915 Britain’s War Office, which had initially opposed recruitment of West Indian troops, agreed to accept volunteers from the West Indies. A new regiment was formed, the British West Indies Regiment (BWIR), which served in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “They called us darkies. But when the battle starts, it didn’t make a…
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Banja in Barbados and its influence on calypso throughout the West Indies
The story of Banja and its development and its influence on calypso though the West Indies told by our guest contributor Roger Gibbs – who is Toronto based. Here we re-publish Roger Gibbs’ video presentation: Early Calypso in Barbados. In addition to the video Roger has also provided us with a transcript for those that…
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King Ja Ja, L’Année Passée and Rum & Coca-Cola
This is a follow-on to the well-known Barbadian folk song Millie Gone to Brazil and is how two classics songs L’Année Passée and Rum & Coca-Cola trace their heritage back to the Bajan folk song: King Ja Ja. It is told by our guest contributor Roger Gibbs. King Ja Ja of Opobo King Ja Ja…
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BajanThings
Bajan history. Interesting Bajan people. Hiking in Barbados and Overseas. International Travel…
Category: Bajan People
Bajan’s (Barbadian’s) that have done outstanding things or have made outstanding contributions.