Anthony was a Barbados Scholar and was accepted by Cambridge University in England to study Civil Engineering. He attended Churchill College. As boys, we were always rowing small boats, and at Cambridge he took up rowing competitively.
Around this time he met and fell in love with Sarah Warsap. They were soon married.
After graduating with honours, Anthony secured employment with a Civil Engineering partnership in London, England.
He and Sarah soon had two sons. I believe that at this time he was a deacon in the local Church of England. Since birth, he had always been the good son.
Our father, Herbert, had a wooden sailboat called Aurora. I think it was about twenty seven feet long. When Herbert was tasked with opening a new branch of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in St. Vincent, he was not going to leave his boat in Barbados!
Sailing from Barbados to St. Vincent in 1964
Circa 1964 – Aurora entering Careenage, Bridgetown, Barbados
The above shows Aurora entering the Careenage, Bridgetown. Herbert kept the boat at the Royal Barbados Yacht Club, as it was then known. The boat was brought to Bridgetown to do the required paperwork before leaving for St. Vincent.
St. Vincent was a hundred miles away across deep open ocean. Herbert made the trip navigating with a compass and a transistor radio!
I strongly desired to go on this adventure, but I was only thirteen and I had a habit of falling overboard!
Circa 1964 – Careenage, Barbados: Anthony, Herbert and Harold Jones
At fifteen Anthony was chosen to crew. The others were Jacques Baldini, cousin Harold Jones and of course, Herbert.
Circa 1964 – St. Vincent: Anthony, Jacques Baldini, Herbert in front of Harold Jones
Life in St. Vincent
Most of our school days were spent at our grandparents’ home, Windermere, in St. John, Barbados. We did fly to St. Vincent for most vacations. There we had many friends and enjoyed the parties and the fishing.
Anthony and the lush Vincentian vegetation“Tally Ho”, St. Vincent: Herbert, Ian, Marjorie, Ronnie and Anthony
Barbados was once a British colony, and the dominant culture was English. When we were in school we held British passports, and many Barbadians thought of themselves as English. This influenced the educational system, and we would take exams from Oxford and Cambridge on graduation.
In this vein, Lodge was a boys’ school, based on the English public schools. It was described as similar to Harry Potter’s Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!
As a little boy, I was very impressed that Anthony always came first in his class. Firstly it was very difficult to get into Lodge. Secondly students were divided into an A stream and a B stream, and Anthony was in the A stream. He became “Head Boy” and was accepted by Cambridge University in England.
Shakespearian plays were the norm at Lodge. Below Anthony is playing Julius Caesar. (On another occasion I recall he played Calpurnia.) Can anyone identify the supporting actors?
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Above: The third person from the left may be Clive Davies from Britain.
When I was 12, we went with our parents to America. This trip was Herbert’s “Long Leave,” as he was required to travel north every few years.
New York – Anthony with Marjorie and great uncle Leo
This photo below was taken at great uncle Leo’s and great aunt Ida’s home in Brooklyn. I was breathing out trying to see the vapour condense from my breath, something that we had never seen in Barbados!
About 1962 – Brooklyn, New York, USA: Anthony and Ian
Brooklyn, New York, USA: Anthony, Marjorie and Ian
The photo below was taken at Plymouth, Crane, St. Philip, Barbados. In the background is the ravine, then the cliff and then the blue rough sea. We had a flight of concrete steps down to a secluded beach. My grandfather, Laurence, rented Plymouth every year.
Plymouth, Barbados: Ian with Laurence and Philip Cheeseman, Malcolm, Anthony and Ione Cheeseman
This was taken at Bohemia, 10th Avenue, Belleville, St. Michael, Barbados. The steps lead to the front door. The walk gate and driveway gate are visible. Behind the fence is the 10th Avenue with its’ massive “Cabbage Palms.” We are in front of a rose bed. To the right of the photo there is an orchid, and to the left a Periwinkle. The Periwinkles grew wild on my father’s land in St. Andrew.
Bohemia: Anthony in suit and Ian in school uniform
This is Anthony on the East Coast of Barbados. We loved to explore and run around these beaches and hills.
Anthony Herbert Davis was born in Barbados in 1949. I think he was born in a house with Lodge in the name just north of Bridgetown. Our family was Anglican, so infant baptism was mandated. Here is a photo of Anthony’s Christening.
1949 Barbados: Malcolm, Kathleen, Marjorie with baby Anthony, Amy, Herbert, Laurence, Wendy Farmer and unknown gentlemanKathleen holding Anthony and Malcolm
I have no idea where the following three photos were taken.
Ian and Anthony
Herbert, Marjorie, Ian and Anthony
Barbados: Marjorie and Anthony
I believe this was taken at Constant, Belleville, St. Michael, Barbados. I recall a barber visiting us. He was a Cheeseman, and he was known as Dummy because he was unable to speak.
Anthony, Herbert, Ian and barber
This is probably Constant, Belleville again. Anthony appears to be feeding Ian.
Can anyone identify the supporting actors?
