Saturday, 11 February 2012

Circular No 536





Newsletter for alumni of The Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.
Caracas, 11 February 2012 No.536
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Dear Friends,
The emails in this Circular are, exceptionally, to be read from the top downwards. Normally, they are to be read from the bottom up.
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Have a look at:
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FROM: Don Mitchell
Thursday, January 26, 2012 1:54 PM
Hello Ladislao,
Many thanks for the first two Circulars of 2012.
They are posted on the new Blog for 2012:
Perhaps you could let the alumni know.
I am gradually adding to the settings of the 2012 Blog and putting up the links to the other related Circular and Old Boy websites that were previously listed on the 2011 Blog and earlier ones.
If anyone would like me to add their missing website to the list, please let me have the link.
All the best,
Don
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FROM: Don Mitchell
Friday, January 27, 2012 1:13 AM
Dear Ladislao,
I was going through Nigel's database today and noticed for the first time that Arthur Richards, "Sambo" had died.
There is a question mark for his year of graduation.
He never did graduate from Mount, but if he had it would have been in 1962.
Sambo played a major role in my social awakening as a boy in the racially charged society of Trinidad in the late 1950s.
I can well remember one particular day in about the year 1957.
I believe I was in Prep A at the time.
Sambo used to sit nearby.
We weren't particular friends.
I don't believe he had a friend at the school.
He was very black in colour.
This made him stand out in a class consisting mainly of white boys.
He was surely made to suffer for his difference.
I was never able to understand why the priests would stand by beaming with amusement while the white boys teased him and beat him up.
I don't remember which boy it was, but that day one of the boys hit him on his head from behind.
He burst out crying, it was so vicious a blow.
I remember tearing into whoever the miscreant was and getting in a couple of good lashes before I was overwhelmed myself.
Sambo was taken away from the school a short time later.
He never was able to find acceptance among either the teachers or the students.
I imagine his parents became aware of the torture we put him through, and removed him for his own safety.
I often wondered what had become of him.
Had he become a success in his adult life at whatever line of work he chose?
Did he become so twisted and emotionally distorted by his Mount experiences that he became some sort of extremist?
I never did find out.
And, now I learn he is dead, and I will never find out.
So sad.
Keep well.
Don
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FROM: Nigel Boos
Monday, January 30, 2012 8:35 PM
Don,
For the record, I think it was Robbie Huggins in Calgary who told me that, so far as I can remember, during the Black Power Revolution of 1970, he had been travelling by car in the Maraval area when he ran into a difficult situation, where he was accosted by a large number of young black men in a threatening manner.
While some chat was taking place between himself and the group of young men, suddenly another young man stepped out of the crowd and speaking to the gang, said, "I know this man. Let him go".
And Robert was free to leave.
The young man who rescued him was none other than our "Sambo". (May he rest in peace.)
Robbie should be able to corroborate this story, if he so wishes.
Nigel
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Sent: Monday, January 30, 2012 9:13 PM
Hi Don,
Long time no talk.
Hope all is well with you.
Don, Nigel is correct concerning Sambo.
In fact he was the leader of the pack during the 1970 riots, and it was I who recognized him at that particular time.
Fortunately for me I always got on with him at Mount, and maybe that is why I was never accosted by any of the black power participants.
Unfortunately, he was shot by the police together with another MSB boy, Yearwood I think was his name.
His "student" name if I am correct was whitey, black as black you can get, and one heck of a runner.
Hope that helps,
Regards,
Robert
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FROM: Don Mitchell
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 2:24 AM
Hello Robert,
What a story that is!
But, I still wonder what became of him between his leaving Mount and his untimely death.
How did he die, do you have any idea?
Nigel's database does not indicate.
I must tell you one day about how the 1970 riots were quelled.
Don
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FROM: Nigel Boos
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 5:19 AM
Guy Harewood (May have left the Abbey School in 1967) was shot during the Black Power Revolution in 1970, while escaping from the Police.
He was attempting to swim or to run through the Maraval River just above St. Joseph Village, when he was shot and killed.
He had become a Black Power Advocate.
Nigel
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Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 7:45 AM
Hi Don,
Great to hear from you after so many years.
Unfortunately I don't know what happened to Arthur between the time he left Mount and the time when I, be it fortunately or unfortunately, met him during one of the black power marches.
From what I had heard he seemed to be just moving around, I don't know if he ever went on to university.
As far as his death goes he was shot by the police during one of the marches, and if I am correct both he and another MSB boy were shot at the same time, not far from where Fatima college is now on Mucurapo road.
Would be interesting to hear your stories about how the riots were quelled, I can give you some myself as we live very near to Karl Hudson Phillips at time.
Regards,
Robert.
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FROM: Don Mitchell
Wednesday, February 1, 2012 2:53 AM
Hi Robert,
My memories of 1970s Trinidad are vague, mainly because I was in my final year of law studies in London.
I was to graduate in Summer of 1971 and return to St Kitts to practise law in the chambers of my uncle, Frank Henville QC.
I never returned to live in Trinidad after leaving Mount St Benedict in 1964.
I spent the rest of my life in St Kitts and Anguilla where my family roots originate.
I have, however, a clear recollection of a conversation with my father a couple of years later after the events of 1970.
My Dad was in 1970 a senior board member of the company that held Tate & Lyle's assets in Trinidad.
It was known by the name of Caroni Limited.
We lived in the Great House at Brechin Castle in central Trinidad.
The company consisted of cane fields, sugar factories, rum distillerires, and various transport and other interests.
Included in the assets were several aeroplanes used for crop dusting.
My Dad had, by the time of my conversation with him, negotiated the sale of Caroni Ltd to the Trinidad and Tobago Government, and was busy doing the same thing for Tate & Lyle's assets in Jamaica.
In 1973 he negotiated the sale of Wisco Ltd to the Michael Manley Government, and shortly after he died and was buried in Kingston.
I went to the funeral from Anguilla where I was living at the time.
I can remember Prime Minister Michael Manley arriving by helicopter to the funeral.
The noise of the army helicopter excited the curiosity of all the children standing outside the church walls, and they gathered in droves.
Anyway, what he told me before he died was that when the Black Power Revolution broke out in Trinidad in 1970, Prime Minister Eric Williams persuaded him to put the company aeroplanes at the disposal of his loyal forces, including the coast guard.
The pilots were instructed to fly over the mutinying forces, and to transmit back to the Coast Guard and the government security forces information including the location and direction of movement of the army forces then moving from Chaguaramas towards Port of Spain.
The intelligence provided by the company's pilots was critical in helping the coast guard to stop the army from marching on the city, and in forcing their eventual surrender to the loyal forces.
The real collapse of the Revolution came about as a result of "black ops" organised by the CIA in support of the Williams administration.
My dad told me about it.
He was a member of some sort of national security committee established by Williams in Port of Spain to coordinate action against the Black Power demonstrators in Port of Spain.
One operation that he believed was critical in turning the city's black masses against the Revolution involved a desecration of the Roman Catholic Cathedral.
The black population of Port of Spain included then as it does now a high percentage of Roman Catholics.
So, turning the Catholics against Geddes Granger et al would be critical to their defeat.
He told me that he was present at one meeting when they were introduced to a young, black American youth.
He was a CIA operative on a mission in Trinidad to subvert the Revolution.
He had just completed an operation that was deemed to have been a major coup for the loyalists.
He had worked up a crowd of demonstrators into attacking the Cathedral and smearing human faeces all over the inside of the church.
The church invasion was accomplished with much vigour and enthusiasm.
News of the desecration spread like wild fire through the faithful of Port of Spain and its environs.
The result was as anticipated.
The church followers were outraged at the supporters of the Revolution.
The church rose up in unanimous condemnation against them.
The demonstrators were marginalised and discredited.
The Black Power Revolution was essentially over from that moment on.
I have never heard or read of any account that even vaguely confirms my Dad's version of events.
It may or may not be true.
But, he had no reason I can think of to make it up when we spoke.
One last note on this song.
Eric naturalised my Dad and Mum before they left Trinidad.
I never had any advantage from the grant of citizenship since I was over 21 years old, and only minors benefit from their parents' acquisition of citizenship.
Keep well.
Don
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FROM: Nigel Boos
Thursday, February 2, 2012 12:26 AM
Don,
I well remember the involvement of the Caroni plane/s during the 1970 BPR.
One seasoned old pilot, so the story goes, was shot at during an early flight to reconnoitre the military base.
He flew back to Caroni and had his chemical tanks filled with water,
Then, back on the job, he flew again over the military barracks, but this time from the north, over the hills and then down toward the southward-facing "anti-aircraft" gun/s which had previously shot at him.
Opening his tanks, he delivered his entire load of water directly onto the unsuspecting soldiers who were certainly NOT expecting an "attack" from the north, their guns having been trained on the skies to the south of their position.
I'm told that he, naturally, had a good laugh at the discomfiture of the water-soaked soldiers as they picked themselves up from the ground after their untimely bath.
By the way, you may not realize this, but my step-father, Sir Joseph Henry-Pierre, was the Chairman of Caroni for a number of years, while your dad was G.M., and he too was involved in the sale of the company to the TT Gov't.
John Tate, the Chairman of Tate & Lyle in England, was a close family friend, and he was, in fact, the guardian of my half-brother, Charles, who is the son of Sir Henry, and who had been sent to school in England at the time of the BPR, after documents were found by the Police in a Northern Range camp threatening his life.
The story continues. . . . . . . . .
Nigel
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FROM: Don Mitchell
Thursday, February 2, 2012 2:09 AM
Good Heavens!
I well remember the one occasion when I met Dr Henry Pierre, the surgeon.
In about 1970 Maggie and I were sharing a flat in Hampstead in London.
She was aiming to complete her finals at London University the following year, just as I was hoping to be called to the Bar.
My Dad was over in London for a Tate & Lyle Board meeting.
We invited him for dinner at our flat.
It was a tiny little flat, I am not sure we had chairs.
I seem to recall we all ate sitting on the floor in a circle.
Anyway, the famous doctor Henry Pierre, who as I recall practised at the time in San Fernando, came to dinner with my Dad.
He was very charming and courteous.
I regret to say that I never met him again.
All the best,
Don
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Thursday, February 2, 2012 2:34 AM
Hi Don,
And the story goes on.
At the time of the insurrection, I was an agricultural student at the Eastern Caribbean School of Agriculture which was in Centeno, right at the end of the Piarco runway.
So as a student, we visited Caroni many times including the Camden airfield where Caroni had their crop spraying planes.
At that same time I had a couple of good friends who were working at Caroni during this unrestfull time.
There was one instant during the many marches when those marching wanted to go and cut cane with their Indian brothers, you imagine black cutting cane with local indians?
They didn't get on at the best of times.
Anyhow, the story goes that Caroni field staff got word that the cane cutters were going to encourage the blackpower marchers to come into the cane fields, and when they were well inside the plan was to set the fields on fire.
This never came to pass, as Caroni immediately put out spotters including their planes to let the field staff know what was going on with the marchers so they could move the cane cutters out of the way.
As far as stopping the riots, I vaguely remember about the Cathedral being desecrated, and I also know about the black opps that came in.
They were actually living in tents in the botanical gardens behind Government house.
Apparently they came in one night and landed in the savannah.
There was also a Venezuelan naval boat parked behind Gasparee island, and the British navy sitting off of Macqueripe in case they were required.
All this was given to us by the then AG K. H. Phillips, whom you probably know.
One fact I do know is when Raffique Shah, Rex LaSalle and a Lt Bazie together were trying to leave Tetron Bay to head into POS, the Coast Guard under Cmdr David Bloom actually shot the side of the hill opposite the Coast guard headquarters and brought down the dirt to block any vehicles from leaving.
I think that was also the beginning of the end, as weapons couldn't get out.
I also saw the two planes that brought in guns for the police from Venezuela.
Story to continue:
By the way, my ancestors are from Nevis.
The Bath House was owned by a Huggins, can't remember his name right now.
Are you living on Anguilla?
Regards,
Robert
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Ladislao Kertesz at kertesz11@yahoo.com,
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Photos:
Mount Inside MARCH 1966 page 7
74UN0001CLASS1974, Can you check this photo for the names??
09DB0003DBALKE, David Basanta and Ladislao Kertesz
57RB0004B4, Unknowns, maybe Farcheg Isaias???








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