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Our People

Victor Emanuel John

 

Victor Emanuel John Victor Emaunuel John was born on the 1st Dec 1877 to Ishmael John and Catherine Phipps.  The couple were married on the 23rd Dec of that same year in St. Ann's Anglican Church in Sandy Point.   Ishmael John was a St. Vincentian who had been given the appointment of  schoolmaster at the Methodist School in Sandy Point, St. Kitts. It was there that young Victor received his early education and developed an ambition and...

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William Sendall ('Semblin')

 

William Sendall known as Semblin was born in Africa around the time when the slave trade was abolished. He was apparently captured as a slave around the age of 19. The exact details of his story are unclear but Sendall claimed that he had been born in Guinea, in Africa and that he had been taken along with about three hundred others off a privateer by a British war ship. He and his companions were...

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Ada Mae Edwards

 

Ada Mae Edwards Ada Mae Andrews was born in Antigua on the 9th June 1911 and came to St. Kitts in 1930 immediately after graduating from the Antigua Teacher’s Training College. Her first appointment was as Assistant Teacher at the Sandy Point Boys’ School where she came under the influence of two of the best teachers on the island, J. E. Hanley Headmaster of the Sandy Point Boys’ School and Ann Locker (later Lady Allen) Headmistress...

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Our Places

The War Memorial

 

War Memorial - Remembrance Day service 2015 THE WAR MEMORIAL was originally unveiled in 1926 at the place now occupied by the Post Office. It honoured the men who died in the First World War. In January of 1926 Administrator St. Johnston wrote to the Crown Agents asking for a copy of a book showing War Memorials in English villages as a guide towards decision making. He was sent a publication called Portfolio of War Memorials. There...

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JNF Hospital

 

Joseph N. France General Hospital, St. Kitts   by Sonia Daly-Finley, Director, Institutional Nursing Service  Under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Health and Welfare, construction of The Joseph Nathaniel France (JNF) General Hospital began in March of 1966 and was expected to be completed in September 1967. The master plan for the Hospital was prepared by Sir John Weekes of Llewellyn Partners, United Kingdom. The facility was built by Clarence Johnson Construction Company Limited of Antigua...

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St. George’s Anglican Church

 

ST. GEORGE’S ANGLICAN CHURCH is the largest church in Basseterre. It stands at the head of Church Street and resembles an English parish church in style. The outer walls are of heavy andesite rock and the roof is covered in slate. Like many of the buildings in Basseterre this church has had its ups and downs, often rising from ashes like the mythical Phoenix. In 1635, at the request of the directors of the Company of...

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Our Events

The Arts Festival - 18 Aug 1964

 

Arts Festival - String Band, St. Kitts   On the 18th August 1964, the Education Centre, now the Basseterre High School, was the venue of “an evening of One Act Plays”. The plays were The Doctor in spite of Himself, by Moliere produced by Eustace John and Sunday Costs twenty-five dollars produced by Aimee Dinzey. This was the beginning of the first Arts Festival in St. Kitts that was to last for 15 days. The idea of an...

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Labour Day - first Monday in May

 

Labour Day March, 1955 The afternoon events at the park were well attended. The Union’s Entertainment Committee organised a Steel Band Competition. Esso, Wilberforce, Amstel, Boston Braves, Battalion and Invaders competed with the last emerging as the winners. Lord Croft sang a special Labour Day Calypso. The bands then played on the streets of Basseterre. Looking to the future, the Messenger’s editorial declared, “The idea is not yet as firmly rooted as it might have been, but...

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Statehood 28th February 1967

 

Statehood flag The West Indies Federation was an experiment in unity for the English Speaking Caribbean and should have resulted in an independent West Indian nation.. After long discussions it came into being in 1958. Elections took place that year but Jamaica and Trinidad did not join the new political unit with the same commitment as the other islands. Economic prosperity meant that these two islands did not feel the need to be part of a...

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"In this  bright future, you can't forget your past"

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