The Story of My Barbados Family
Scroll down for an informal pictorial family history
In 1964 Herbert was tasked with opening a branch of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in St Vincent, now known as St Vincent and the Grenadines. He sailed Aurora from Barbados to St Vincent.
I think that this is a photo of the bank.
We were very happy in St Vincent. Everybody was very friendly and made us feel very welcome.
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!
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!
At fifteen Anthony was chosen to crew. The others were Jacques Baldini, cousin Harold Jones and of course, Herbert.
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.
My recollections of my parents start in Belleville, where we lived on the 10th avenue. We first lived at “Constant”, a two story wooden home. Then we moved to “Bohemia”, which was close to George Street. Below Marjorie and Herbert in the backyard of Bohemia. The concrete wall runs along 10th Avenue. Behind the wall are towering palms. We called them Cabbage Palms, but their scientific name is Roystonea oleracea. They bore a “broom” which was used by our maid.
We were close to Bridgetown, and I recall my father coming home for lunch!
Here is an extended family photo taken in Barbados.
Laurence’s sisters were Helen Farmer, Katy Jones and May Marshall. Teddy and Katy’s daughter Audrey was married to Louis Seale.
This is a nice photo of my mother, but I don’t know the story behind it.
As a condition of his employment at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Herbert had to take a “long leave” every few years. The only stipulation that he was to head north to Canada or the US. My parents used to say with Dad’s uncle Leo in Brooklyn, New York. Leo’s wife Ida is on the left below.
Here is another unknown photo.
I am going to take a wild guess and say that the photo below was taken at Plymouth, Crane, St. Philip.
The photo below was probably taken on the south coast of Barbados. Marjorie is with her nieces, George’s girls.
Herbert was transferred to the nearby island of St. Vincent. Herbert had a sailboat, “Aurora.” I believe this group is seeing him off.
Below is a family reunion at Windermere, St. John, Barbados. Herbert, Marjorie and Ronnie would be visiting from St. Vincent.
Next: St. Vincent