The Making of a National Hero

By Sir Kennedy Simmonds

Dr. the Right Excellent Sir Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds, the only living National Hero of St. Kitts and Nevis, was the first Prime Minister of this great country. He contested nine general elections—1966, 1971, 1975, 1980, 1984, 1989, 1993, 1995 and 2000—the most in our history since adult suffrage in 1952.
This book chronicles Sir Kennedy's humble upbringing in Basseterre's Rosemary Lane. At the age of nine, Sir Kennedy entered the St. Kitts-Nevis Grammar School on an entrance scholarship as one of the youngest-ever pupils. Although he never kept a diary, Dr. Simmonds uses his powerful memory for meticulous detail to walk his reader through university and medical school, and on to his early career as an anaesthesiologist. His historic foray into Caribbean politics is a must-read documentary of how this twin-island state (which was once tripartite) was guided out of colonialism without further fragmentation.
Sir Kennedy's is a life well-lived. He loved the arts, literature, music, and theatre, often playing the lead in dramatic productions. He was a leader in school and in the Methodist Church Sunday School. His love of cricket, soccer, American football, baseball, tennis and basketball is passionate and pervasive, and his words ring with the enjoyment he takes in these activities.
His disciplined no-nonsense approach to duty belies his easygoing "one of the boys" style in his leisure time, which is colourfully reflected in this volume. His love for family, camaraderie, a ready laugh, his genuineness as a friend and his modest appreciation for the finer things in life, are the things one remembers most clearly about Sir Kennedy. Nothing went to his head and he was never susceptible to greed or envy.
Sir Kennedy talked about publishing his more important speeches, but that idea morphed into this conversational recollection of his great life, transcribed while he is yet vibrant, at peace with himself, and able to enjoy the accolades he so richly deserves.
Dr. the Right Excellent Sir Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds belongs in the pantheon of National Heroes of St. Kitts and Nevis. He played a vital role in one of the most tumultuous periods in the history of the modern Caribbean, showing poise, grace and dogged determination.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tellwell Talent
• Release date: Nov 7, 2019
• ISBN: 9781733960021

Sir Kennedy Simmonds

Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds was not born to a wealthy family, but rather was a son of very ordinary citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis, and that was fine with him. I recall him saying to me at a very early age that he did not wish to be a rich person, but rather to be comfortable and feed and raise a family. In real life, what we want or what we think we want are seldom what we achieve.This gracious gentleman always found favour to open windows and doors of opportunity, not for himself but for his Country, St. Kitts and Nevis, and its people. Surely, this must be accepted as a parallel to our country's motto: "Country Above Self."It would be instructive to recall the youthful, and the later accomplishments in part, as no one person would venture to reconstruct his life story.1964: The demonstration against new electricity rates calculated by floor space.1965: The formation of a new political party, the Peoples Action Movement (PAM).1967: Forced entry into Judith Hart's office in London, England, to inform of the breakdown of democracy in St. Kitts and Nevis.1978: Cheated from winning the bye-election for the constituency #2 seat in parliament.1979: Court decision confirmed Dr. K. Simmonds as the elected member for constituency #2. Parliament did not meet for nine months, so he was not sworn in.1980: General Elections in St. Kitts and Nevis. Dr. K. Simmonds, leader of PAM, sworn in as the Premier of St. Kitts and Nevis.1983: Secured independence for St. Kitts and Nevis, and became the first Prime Minister of our Country.Fast forward and due recognition must be given to Sir Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds the man, the Hero, the father, the politician, the specialist medical doctor, and—last but not least—the saviour and visionary of the St. Kitts and Nevis we know and enjoy today, as one of the most desirous "Tourist Destinations."I would now state that his tenure of political office was undertaken at an enormous personal sacrifice to himself and to his family.I also place on record that he was arrested by the authorities, then the Labour Government, for walking on his own land, which he bought and for which he held TITLE.I am constrained from attempting to highlight the various projects and policies that have transformed our Country from a casualty of the dominant and almighty Sugar Industry.However, for the younger and succeeding generations, it is imperative that you know that during the hurricane season, the old Treasury Building was battered by huge waves from the sea. Today, we all enjoy the ambience of Port Zante, the brainchild of one Dr. Kennedy Simmonds.The next game changer was "the road to nowhere." The critics could not conceive that a road could be built through the mountainous Timothy Hills skirting Friar's Bay and onwards to the Salt Pond. Again, the Dr. Kennedy Simmonds highway has become a busy street for tourists, visitors and residents.I conclude by saying that the title of National Hero bestowed on him is appropriate and well deserved. Long may he live.- RICHARD L. CAINESClose friend and former Minister in the Ministry of Finance.

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The Making of a National Hero

an Autobiography

SIR. KENNEDY ALPHONSE SIMMONDS

The Making of a National Hero

Copyright © 2019 by Sir. Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Tellwell Talent

www.tellwell.ca

ISBN

978-1-7339-6000-7 (Hardcover)

978-1-7339-6001-4 (Paperback)

978-1-7339-6002-1 (eBook)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

About The Author

Acknowledgements

Book Endorsement

Foreword

Chapter 1     Early Life And Influences

Chapter 2     Growing Up, Acquiring Skills

Chapter 3     The War Years: Scarcity And Remittances Memories Of My Father

Chapter 4     Life At Grammar School

Chapter 5     Early Introduction To The Workplace

Chapter 6     Diligence Has Its Rewards

Chapter 7     Culture Shock At Grammar School

Chapter 8     Being A Cadet

Chapter 9     Disappointment And Resilience

Chapter 10   Becoming A Man

Chapter 11   Going Off To University

Chapter 12   Living The University Life

Chapter 13   Never Refuse Potluck

Chapter 14   Challenges And Disappointment

Chapter 15   My Famous Uncle Stanley

Chapter 16   The Boy’s Brigade

Chapter 17   Enter My Friend, Myrven

Chapter 18   Vacation Back Home

Chapter 19   Vacation In New York: An Amazing Experience

Chapter 20   When Duty Calls…

Chapter 21   At Last, Real Doctoring The Clinical Years

Chapter 22   Look It Up

Chapter 23   Flashback

Chapter 24   Which One Is Worrell?

Chapter 25   Beloved Bobo

Chapter 26   Always Expect The Unexpected

Chapter 27   University Outreach: Cricket

Chapter 28   Can Anyone Hang On To Bachelorhood?

Chapter 29   Internship

Chapter 30   Home Sweet Home

Chapter 31   Anguilla And The Little Boy Doctor

Chapter 32   Happiness Is Being Back Home

Chapter 33   Civic Concern: Freedom Of Association: Punishable Offenses

Chapter 34   Life’s Turning Point

Chapter 35   Philosophy Of Putting People First

Chapter 36   High Ideals Don’t Put Bread On The Table

Chapter 37   Hurry Dawg Eat Raw Corn

Chapter 38   All Things Sport—Just Make Time

Chapter 39   Politics And Cricket — Bad Combination

Chapter 40   Precious Memories

Chapter 41   Unpredictable Politics. Better Have A Plan B

Chapter 42   Election Time. Reality Check.

Chapter 43   Executing Plan B

Chapter 44   The Best Laid Plans Of Mice And Men…

Chapter 45   Visit To London And Judith Hart

Chapter 46   The Struggle Continues, Regardless.

Chapter 47   What Value, A Promise?

Chapter 48   New Horizons. Same Commitment.

Chapter 49   Prepare. Always Be Ready.

Chapter 50   When Opportunity Knocks, Open Up.

Chapter 51   Accept Challenges.

Chapter 52   Principia Non Homines. Where Are You?

Chapter 53   Newspaper Attacks

Chapter 54   The Trip

Chapter 55   Back To Reality

Chapter 56   How I Met My Wife

Chapter 57   Regional Netball Comes To St. Kitts

Chapter 58   Christena Disaster

Chapter 59   Bye-Election 1979

Chapter 60   Rejects Rampant

Chapter 61   The Art Of Representation. Promise Made, Promise Kept.

Chapter 62   History-Changing Sea Crossing.

Chapter 63   The Symbolism Of New Life

Chapter 64   Win The Election. Back To The Campaign

Chapter 65   Performance Like A Highlight Reel

Chapter 66   Always People First

Chapter 67   Firm Handclasp Across The Channel

Chapter 68   Making People’s Lives Better

Chapter 69   The Deepwater Port

Chapter 70   Modernising The Ferry Service Between St. Kitts And Nevis

Chapter 71   Airline Services: Pitfalls And Successes

Chapter 72   People Empowerment

Chapter 73   National Bank Hijack Thwarted

Chapter 74   The Road To Independence

Chapter 75   Preparing The Country For Independence

Chapter 76   Independence Celebrations

Chapter 77   Purchase Of The Sugar Lands

Chapter 78   Taiwan

Chapter 79   Davis Cup

Chapter 80   Youth Cricket

Chapter 81   Lights At Warner Park

Chapter 82   Nevis Airport

Chapter 83   Mustique Meeting

Chapter 84   The Cruise Industry Crisis Of 1992

Chapter 85   Port Zante

Chapter 86   Talk To Mayer

Chapter 87   Mandela’s Visit To Jamaica, July 1991

Chapter 88   PHOTOGRAPHY

Chapter 89   Forming The Government In 1993

Chapter 90   The Four Seasons Accord

Chapter 91   The Pension

Chapter 92   Commission Of Inquiry

Chapter 93   Post Election 1995. Anguilla Calling.

Chapter 94   Director Of Medical Services

Chapter 95   National Cancer Coalition

Chapter 96   Impact Of The University Of The West Indies

Conclusion

Appendix

Endnotes

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds was not born to a wealthy family, but rather was a son of very ordinary citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis, and that was fine with him. I recall him saying to me at a very early age that he did not wish to be a rich person, but rather to be comfortable and feed and raise a family. In real life, what we want or what we think we want are seldom what we achieve.

This gracious gentleman always found favour to open windows and doors of opportunity, not for himself but for his Country, St. Kitts and Nevis, and its people. Surely, this must be accepted as a parallel to our country’s motto: Country Above Self.

It would be instructive to recall the youthful, and the later accomplishments in part, as no one person would venture to reconstruct his life story.

Fast forward and due recognition must be given to Sir Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds the man, the Hero, the father, the politician, the specialist medical doctor, and—last but not least—the saviour and visionary of the St. Kitts and Nevis we know and enjoy today, as one of the most desirous Tourist Destinations.

I would now state that his tenure of political office was undertaken at an enormous personal sacrifice to himself and to his family.

I also place on record that he was arrested by the authorities, then the Labour Government, for walking on his own land, which he bought and for which he held TITLE.

I am constrained from attempting to highlight the various projects and policies that have transformed our Country from a casualty of the dominant and almighty Sugar Industry.

However, for the younger and succeeding generations, it is imperative that you know that during the hurricane season, the old Treasury Building was battered by huge waves from the sea. Today, we all enjoy the ambience of Port Zante, the brainchild of one Dr. Kennedy Simmonds.

The next game changer was the road to nowhere. The critics could not conceive that a road could be built through the mountainous Timothy Hills skirting Friar’s Bay and onwards to the Salt Pond. Again, the Dr. Kennedy Simmonds highway has become a busy street for tourists, visitors and residents.

I conclude by saying that the title of National Hero bestowed on him is appropriate and well deserved. Long may he live.

RICHARD L. CAINES

Close friend and former Minister in the Ministry of Finance.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I acknowledge above all else that There is a Divinity that shapes our ends, rough hew them how we will.

My wife Mary, whose encouragement, forbearance, understanding, typing and sometimes pointed suggestions were invaluable in helping to get it done.

My daughter, Keris, who named the book.

Mr. Selwyn (Rusty) Liburd, my videographer.

Edecree Corp. in Canada who transcribed the videos.

Mr. Justice E. Anthony Ross, QC, who recommended Edecree and made the initial arrangements.

Ambassador Terence Byron, CMG, my sounding board, major resource person, and Foreword writer.

Mr. Richard Caines, CSM, friend and resource person, and writer of About the Author.

Mrs. Lorna Callender, whose experience, advice, proofreading, editing and willing assistance were essential to getting the book written and published.

Mr. Sheldon Pemberton for being the point man for getting the book published.

Sir Wesley Hall, former West Indies fast bowler, former Barbados Minister of Sports and Tourism, and Gospel Minister, for his sage advice and endorsement.

Mr. Dennis Richards, for providing historical photographs of places and events, and basic design concept of the cover.

Mr. Will Brown, my son-in-law, for his expert assistance with photographs and significant contribution to the final cover design.

Mrs. Victoria O’Flaherty, for her always ready assistance in sourcing information and documents from the archives, and scanning of photos and documents.

Mr. Val Henry, for facilitating and conducting the interview with Sir Wesley Hall.

Mrs Toni Fredericks-Armstrong, for assisting with artefacts for inclusion.

Mr. Zack Nisbett, for assisting with artefacts for inclusion.

Mr. Chester Marshall, for helping to source historical artefacts.

Mrs. Wilhelmina Irish, longtime friend, who would never let me leave her presence without the reminder, You got to write the book.

Rt. Hon Sir James Mitchell, former Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines who persisted in telling me to write a book. Tell your own story Kennedy, don’t let others define who you are, he would say.

Mr. Henry Albert Phillips, author of the book White Elephants in the Caribbean, in which he gave a most graphic characterization of my Uncle Stanley Clarke. My Uncle was from St. Kitts, not Tortola.

Robert M McBride & Company, publisher of White Elephants in the Caribbean.

Mr. Ira Simmonds, for his encouragement to get the book done, and his sage advice to help me through the pitfalls of self-publishing.

Dr. Kevin Isaac, St. Kitts and Nevis High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, for providing essential resource material.

The courteous and very professional staff of Tellwell Publishing for their invaluable advice and assistance.

BOOK ENDORSEMENT

It is with jubilant ecstasy that I congratulate His Excellency Sir Kennedy Simmonds for sharing his memoirs with the world. There are seminal moments in the history of our society and I have shared my extraordinary contributions. I am of the view that Sir Kennedy’s magnificent contribution is worthy of emulation and the events of the journey will be required reading. Sir Kennedy has a fundamental understanding of the Christian ethos. We therefore thank God for weaving a tapestry of goodness in his life, his wealth of creativity, legal and business acumen, and his absolute leadership as Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis.

I am sure that this book will inspire many West Indians, especially our youth, as Sir Kennedy expounds on the many points of elucidation, his triumphs and vagaries in his journey. May God bless Sir Kennedy and his family and may God bless St. Kitts and Nevis.

Sir Wesley Hall

Minister of the Gospel, former Minister of Government (Barbados), former West Indies fast bowler, former President of the West Indies Cricket Board.

FOREWORD

The five National Heroes of St. Kitts and Nevis, Robert Llewelyn Bradshaw, Caleb Azariah Paul Southwell, Joseph Nathaniel France, Simeon Daniel and Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds, have all been elevated to the Order of National Hero as a result of their stellar political careers, centered around the ballot box.

Dr. the Right Excellent Sir Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds, the only National Hero of St. Kitts and Nevis to be awarded his Nation’s highest Order of Merit during his own lifetime, contested nine General Elections in St. Kitts and Nevis, in 1966, 1971, 1975, 1980, 1984, 1989, 1993, 1995 and 2000. This unheralded statistic puts an emphatic exclamation point to the fact that this is more than anyone else has ever done in the history of politics in St. Kitts and Nevis, since universal adult suffrage in 1952.

Four of these General Elections were held before 1984, four after. In 1984, Sir Kennedy led the People’s Action Movement to its best General Election result in its history, capturing 47.6% of the popular vote in St. Kitts and Nevis in a 77.7% turnout. The 1984 General Elections in St. Kitts and Nevis rank unquestionably as the pinnacle of his electoral success at the polls.

But the 1980 General Elections, equally without question, are the most significant manifestation of the popular will of them all. It was then that the Peoples Action Movement broke the proverbial glass ceiling created by the seeming invincibility of the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla Labour Party in General Elections in the former Presidency/Colony/State. It was then that Sir Kennedy was invited, for the first time, by His Excellency the Governor Sir Probyn Inniss, his former schoolmate at the St. Kitts-Nevis Grammar School, to form the Government in St. Kitts and Nevis. It was then that St. Kitts and Nevis witnessed the formation of the historic Coalition of the Peoples Action Movement and the Nevis Reformation Party under the inspired leadership of Sir Kennedy.

The year 1980 is fortuitous as well as divinely providential. The Peoples Action Movement was launched in 1965, as an Opposition Party to the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla Labour Party. Of the next 30 years, the Peoples Action Movement spent 15 years in Opposition, followed by 15 years in Government, with the year 1980 at the epicenter.

In 1980, there was everything at stake for the future of St. Kitts and Nevis. Despite a 99.66% support for secession from St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla in the unofficial referendum held in Nevis on 18th August 1977, Great Britain had just, in the latest round of Independence talks for St. Kitts and Nevis led by Premier Lee Moore in December 1979, affirmed Independence Ifor St. Kitts and Nevis early in 1980. This announcement paid scant regard to the objections of the Nevis Reformation Party delegation, which demanded the holding of an official referendum on secession for Nevis before the advent of Independence.

In the 1980 General Elections held on 18th February, the Nevis Reformation Party, in complete control of the electorate in Nevis, had published as its General Elections Manifesto the single sentence: "The Nevis Reformation Party will continue to press for secession at all costs."

Nevis did not anticipate that a defeat of the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla Labour Party at the polls was possible in General Elections in St. Kitts and Nevis. Even after the formation of the historic coalition Government in February 1980, the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla Labour Party in Opposition was the Party with the most elected seats in Parliament, and it had obtained nine more votes than the ruling Peoples Action Movement and Nevis Reformation Party Coalition combined. The Labour Party was a formidable Opposition. They had been continuously in Government since Universal Adult Suffrage in 1952. They presented an imposing threat of great proportions for a fragile administration whose members had no experience in Government, and little to no experience in Parliament.

How Sir Kennedy managed during his first term in office to keep his fledgling Coalition humming and intact, and the cantankerous Opposition at bay, while propelling St. Kitts and Nevis together to a massively popular and widely acclaimed Nationhood, and on a fast track to the forefront of economic growth in Latin America and The Caribbean, must surely be his finest accomplishment. The crown jewel of the achievement of National Independence was the unique Constitution of St. Kitts and Nevis. Its preamble declared the people of St. Kitts and Nevis committed to achieve their National Objectives with a unity of purpose. Its first section proclaimed the Island of St. Kitts together with the Island of Nevis a sovereign democratic federal State. The Constitution provided a framework for unity while fostering the aspirations of the people of Nevis for greater autonomy, a formula which has stood the test of the past 35 years and two changes of Government at the federal level, and three changes of Government at the Nevis level.

Lest we forget! The machine guns of the Defence Force on the daily runs of the inter-island ferry MV Liamuiga, the army’s armoured tanks patrolling the streets of Charlestown, and the rumoured preparations of the Resistance Movement in Nevis for real rebellion and serious guerilla warfare, provided the ingredients for a perfect storm of civil unrest, untold loss of life and further, perhaps irremediable, economic and social degradation in both islands. This was all averted by the charismatic leadership of the indomitable Sir Kennedy.

1980 was also the year in which then Premier Simmonds appointed me his Press and Public Relations Secretary in the first week in March. This was an opportunity to serve my country in the capacity of a Special Advisor, the first such appointment of more than 10 years’ duration for a non-politician in the field of Public Relations in St. Kitts and Nevis.

This brought me into close contact with Sir Kennedy while I pursued my private law practice. I was privileged to accompany him on many assignments at home and abroad, to document and report on them for the news media, in print, and on radio. There was none more memorable than the ceremony at the General Assembly in New York to mark the admission of the brand new Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis into the United Nations, albeit the smallest country in the Western Hemisphere, just four days after Independence.

I first saw Sir Kennedy, a supremely self-confident young professional, in 1964, after he returned to St. Kitts fresh from qualifying as a Medical Doctor in Jamaica. I was then in the 5th Form at the St. Kitts-Nevis Grammar School, and the St. Kitts-Nevis Grammar School was one of the first places where he headed, as one of its favourite sons, when he came home from his university studies in Jamaica.

The School had in 1958 moved from Wigley Avenue near The Village, where Sir Kennedy attended for 9 years, to more salubrious surroundings off Victoria Road. The Grammar School was now housed in a sprawling Greco-Roman building with spacious grounds, four years after Sir Kennedy had, as expected, won the coveted Leeward Islands Scholarship in the Higher School Certificate Exams. Some notable contemporaries who also contested these exams were William Valentine (Billy) Herbert, Clarence Fitzroy Bryant, Eldon Incely Jones, and Probyn Ellsworth Inniss, to name a few.

The picturesque surroundings at Victoria Road were no match, however, for the feelings of pride, almost of a sense of destiny, felt by the pupils admitted to the School at Wigley Avenue. The Old Grammar School was beloved. It was a crucible for Sir Kennedy, nurturing his lifelong love of sports and sportsmanship, of enduring bonds of friendship, of a certain culture, and self-belief seemingly without limit. As a pupil of the Old Grammar School, you were a member of a special club, and you went forth into the world assured that you were equipped for anything life could throw at you. These feelings of privilege and of self-assurance had only grown when Sir Kennedy attended the University of the West Indies. He was later acknowledged as the first student of the University of the West Indies to ascend to the high office of Head of Government anywhere.

Sir Kennedy was, therefore, by no means ill-prepared for the stern challenges of the Office of Premier of St. Kitts and Nevis at a time of ominous danger to the preservation of the public peace. The danger posed by the Secession Movement in Nevis was replaced, after the formation of the historic Coalition Government, by the danger posed by the Opposition Labour Party, who balefully regarded Sir Kennedy, the lawfully elected Premier of the State of St. Kitts and Nevis, and the historic Coalition Government, as undeserving usurpers of what they considered to be their Government.

This book tells of Sir Kennedy’s upbringing by his aunt, as his mother had emigrated to find work. It tells of his humble childhood in Basseterre’s Rosemary Lane before it was paved, and of his admiration for Bertram Ross. He also lived in Rosemary Lane in a much more comfortable house and was a Grammar School Old Boy who represented the island in cricket. He left St. Kitts on a medical scholarship just as Sir Kennedy was about to enter the St. Kitts-Nevis Grammar School on an entrance scholarship as one of the youngest ever pupils at the age of 9 years.

Sir Kennedy’s powerful memory for meticulous detail is mesmerizing, riveting and makes you wonder how on earth anyone could remember so much without having kept a diary through all those years.

This is a life well-lived. His love for the arts, of literature, of music, of theatre, of lead performances in plays, in school and in the Methodist Church, his love of cricket, of soccer, of American Football, of baseball, of tennis and basketball, is passionate and pervasive. His sense of discipline with a no-nonsense approach to duty belies his easygoing one of the boys style in his leisure time. His love of family and for his family, his camaraderie, his ready laugh, his genuineness as a friend and his modest appreciation for the finer things in life, these are the things I remember from my time spent with Sir Kennedy. Nothing went to his head, he was never susceptible to greed or envy. As Minister of Finance of St. Kitts and Nevis, he felt a personal responsibility for the Country’s finances and was obsessed about balancing the budget.

I became his friend, and tried to learn many of life’s lessons that he found unobtrusive ways of teaching me. I observed at close range his interaction with other Prime Ministers. He got on particularly well with Dame Mary Eugenia Charles of Dominica, Sir John Compton of St. Lucia, Sir James Mitchell of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and with Chief Minister John Osborne of Montserrat.

One of Sir Kennedy’s proudest moments, coming close to his pride as he stood in Warner Park on the 19th of September, 1983, and delivered the address to signal the attainment of Independence, was the opportunity afforded him as current Chairman of CARICOM to deliver the Welcome Address to Nelson Mandela in the National Stadium in Jamaica in July 1991, as Jamaica went wild with joy in an outpouring of support for the ANC President after his release from 27 years of imprisonment in South Africa the year before.

Sir Kennedy is fond of quoting the Chinese Proverb A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. This suited him in at least two ways. He is undaunted by the size of a task ahead of him. He believes in getting on with it. Also, he is methodical in his approach. Rather than thinking he has to do it all at once, he breaks things down into manageable pieces. He also likes to say he believes in dealing with things as they are, not as he would like them to be.

I used to joke with Sir Kennedy after Her Majesty appointed him a Member of Her Privy Council not long after Independence was achieved. I said This is their way of saying thanks for helping them to dodge the bullet of secession for Nevis. They probably did not see any way around it. You turned a no-win situation into a win-win situation.

It is like what is to my mind Sir Kennedy’s most important economic initiative, the conception and realization of Port Zante in Basseterre, the 25-acre piece of reclaimed land that turned Basseterre’s shallow roadstead, one of the least accessible harbours in the Caribbean, into the prime real estate and premier cruise ship port that last year welcomed more than one million cruise ship arrivals, surpassing Antigua and St. Lucia with their wonderful natural harbours. When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade. Port Zante’s economic miracle is in no small way responsible for the surge of St. Kitts and Nevis to the front of the GDP rankings of the Eastern Caribbean.

Sir Kennedy had for a very long time talked about writing a book. He began by thinking of a book of his more important speeches. But that gradually morphed into this conversational recollection of his great life, transcribed while he is yet vibrant, at peace with himself, and able to enjoy the accolades he so richly deserves, capped, of course, by the special award which makes him the first and only living National Hero of St. Kitts and Nevis.

There is absolutely no doubt that Dr. The Right Excellent Sir Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds belongs in the pantheon of National Heroes of St. Kitts and Nevis, and there is also no doubt that this story of his journey is a must-read documentary of one of the most absorbing lives produced in St. Kitts and Nevis, in one of the most absorbing periods in the history of St. Kitts and Nevis, and of the Caribbean.

Terence V. Byron, CMG

CHAPTER 1

EARLY LIFE AND INFLUENCES

I was born on April 12, 1936, in Rosemary Lane. In those days, everybody was born at home, one only went to the hospital for birth if there was a serious problem. The house of my birth is still there, the ground floor is occupied by my brother, Dr. Leroy Richardson. That’s where his medical office is located. It’s interesting to note that many years later, when I entered politics, I became the subject of a birther conspiracy, similar to President Obama because the governing party at the time was claiming both on the platform and in their newspaper that I was not born in St. Kitts, that in fact, I was born in Santo Domingo. I very well recall that Nurse West who at that time was living in Caunt Street between Stainforth Street and Carty Alley, actually spoke on the PAM platform to let it be known that she was the person who delivered me and that she can attest to the fact that I was indeed born in Rosemary Lane on the 12th of April, 1936. Rosemary Lane is a very special street for me. It is located between Cayon Street and Central Street and between Fort Street and West Square Street. When I was growing up in the early days, Rosemary Lane was just a dirt road, but it was a dirt road that was a hub of activity and produced some very special people in the community.

One characteristic about Rosemary Lane was that it housed, in my early days, two churches, one at the north end of the street, and one at the south end of the street. What is now today the Wesleyan Holiness Church, then known simply as Brother Lynch Church, after the pastor, was located at the north end of Rosemary Lane. That church subsequently moved to Fiennes Avenue before finally locating in its present location on Cayon Street, just in the vicinity of Market Street. At the south end, there is still to this day, the Norwich Holiness Church, which is pastored by Pastor Jim Rawlins. The Salvation Army was also identified very much with Rosemary Lane because every Saturday night the Salvation Army Band with trumpets and the drummers and the tambourines, would come and set up at the top of Rosemary Lane, and they’d put a little bowl on the ground for people to drop money into, and they would have a service there with the band, which was really the attraction when people passed back and forth, and people came by on a Saturday night to the Salvation Army as they spread the word of God from that location at the top of Rosemary Lane. So, it was a very interesting street, and it seemed to those of us living there, that there was always something going on in the area.

There was a third alley on the western side of Rosemary Lane, and that alley linked Rosemary Lane to Fort Street. I mention it because in those days, there was a little shop in Fort Street that used to sell what we called Frozen Joy, later I suppose that might have been the forerunner of popsicles and snow cones, but we used to run up the road, run through the alley to buy a Frozen Joy over on Fort Street. Back then you could get lots of things for a penny, initially, the farthing as a measure of currency was still in use, and I recall that you could buy two or three items for one penny because you could buy a farthing sugar cake, a farthing sweetie and a farthing something else and we did pretty well with one penny back in those days. But eventually, the farthings were discontinued.

The life in Rosemary Lane was very simple at that time. My home—the house was what I would call maybe a one-and-a-half storey; it wasn’t a two-storey house, but it was somewhat elevated on nogs.

House on Nogs. Our house was similar to this one, but the nogs under the house were much taller, and there was a cellar under the back half of the house, and a high flight of stairs under which pots and pans were stored.

In the back, there was a cellar. You could go down into the cellar, and the floor of that cellar was hard impacted dirt, and I recall my Uncle George used to give haircuts down there. He also had a little wooden box, which looked like a briefcase, and he would go to various places and cut people’s hair. My grandmother, who, along with my aunt, raised me, had seven children, and when she spoke about them, I used to count them on my fingers, and sing a little jingle to remember them: Wenty, Selwyn, Stanley, George, Sister, Edith, Brontie. Sister’s real name was Rebecca, but everybody called her Sister. Brontie, the youngest, was my mother. There was one other child, I am told, who died either in child- birth or very young. The oldest boy, Wenty, I never knew, as it was customary those days, especially for large families, for the young men and women as soon as they were old enough, to go abroad to look for work because at that time the only real consistent source of employment was the sugar industry. So, I never met Wenty; he had gone to Santo Domingo and never came back. Uncle Stanley also migrated, but he returned from time to time to visit, and we always looked forward to his visits because he always had a story to tell. Uncle Stanley became a valet in Santo Domingo to the then dictator, Generalissimo Rafael Trujillo, worked with Trujillo in the palace, and he married a young lady, Viola, who also worked in the palace, and that was his second marriage. He was an excellent cook and also a manager and administrator—domestic and household administrator. There was quite a profile on Uncle Stanley in the book White Elephants in the Caribbean. He eventually went to New York and became cafeteria manager on the New York campus of Columbia University. That was where I went to visit him, many years later of course, when I was a student in Jamaica and was in New York on vacation. Those are the days—as I said, I lived with my grandmother and my aunt, and my mother from time to time. My Aunt Edith did go away to Aruba and Curaçao as was customary, and my mother, she worked at the library briefly as a casual worker. Eventually she went abroad to Aruba as well and worked there as a domestic. That was a very interesting and good time for me because, back then, I think perhaps, it’s still the case, many families depended on remittances from abroad, so we looked forward to the regular box that was coming up by sea on the MV Moneka, the boat that usually went back and forth between Aruba and Curacao, and St. Kitts and Nevis. Anguilla boats, famously Warspite and Chrissy Boat also did that trip sometimes, but more regularly to and from the Virgin Islands.

There was one very special person in Rosemary Lane, who in a sense was almost an idol, and certainly a role model for me, and had a tremendous effect on the whole of my life. And that person was Mr. Bertram Ross, simply Mr. Ross. In those days, you called anybody older than you Mister. Now, the Ross family lived near the top of Rosemary Lane. They were a very well-respected Christian family. They were members of the Wesleyan Holiness Church. And Mr. Bertram Ross, who eventually became a doctor, was at that time a student at the grammar school. As a young boy, I followed grammar school sports closely, and Mr. Ross was the goalkeeper for the grammar school, and I recall him playing in his yellow jersey. Yellow Breast we used to call him. He was an outstanding goalkeeper and he was also an outstanding cricketer, and the young boys in Rosemary Lane all looked up to him. But for me in particular, he was a role model. Eventually Dr. Ross was awarded a scholarship to study medicine in England. Growing up, I just wanted to be like Dr. Ross. You hear youngsters talk these days about being like Mike. I was fortunate, many years later, to follow in his footsteps and become the goalkeeper for grammar school, and like him, to wear the famous Yellow Breast jersey. Well, I wanted to be like Dr. Ross and, like him, I wanted to study medicine. My desire and my goal from the very beginning was to practice medicine in St. Kitts, not just to practice medicine, but to do it in St. Kitts. Even later when I recognised that it was necessary for me to go abroad for advanced studies, these forays abroad were no more than interludes to equip me to provide better service in my profession to the people in St. Kitts.

During those early days, the church played a very significant role in our upbringing. I think many people of my vintage will recall that most of us went to several Sunday schools. I had to go to the Methodist Sunday School, which was not far, and then when that was finished, I had to go to the Norwich Holiness Sunday School, which was conducted by Mrs. Rogiers, who was the wife of the pastor, the Reverend Rogiers. Reverend and Mrs. Rogiers also lived in Rosemary Lane. Subsequently, a house was built for them on the premises of the Norwich Holiness Church at the bottom of Rosemary Lane.

Norwich Holiness Church with Pastor’s House Adjacent.

But before the house for the pastor was built, there was an open yard between the church and Rosemary Lane. And that yard was significant because they grew vegetables in there. They grew all sorts of things. And one of the striking memories that I have is of a set of peas trees—pigeon peas trees—which would hang over into the street. In those early days, we didn’t have toothpaste, so we would go down the street in the morning, get some peas bush, and use those to brush our teeth. I believe that those things were very effective. Later on, when science and technology took over, I’m sure many of you will remember that they were marketing chlorophyll toothpaste. Of course, the peas bush, or any other bush for that matter, is a significant source of chlorophyll. In fact, we were working scientifically, even if we didn’t know it. There was a big mango tree at the foot of Rosemary Lane in the yard, which I think was owned by the Davis family, and that tree hung over into the street. The National Bank is now located right on that spot. And as young fellows, we enjoyed the mangoes from that tree. We couldn’t go over into the yard, but we certainly could go on top of the wall to ensure that we collected mangoes. And we got to be very good, too, at knocking them out of the tree, or as we would say, Stoning mangoes out of the tree.

THE NEVIS CONNECTION

An important aspect of my growing up was connecting to my grandmother’s connections to people in Nevis. My grandmother, in fact, was from Brown Hill. She was born in Nevis. She was a Samuel from Brown Hill, and there were some persons who came down from Nevis frequently, they were very good friends. There was a Ms. Smithen, who was related to my grandmother. Ms. Smithen used to come down to St. Kitts from time to time. Whenever Ms. Smithen came, she brought ground provisions, and she’d probably take back some breadfruit from our tree, if they were in season. There was another person, who was a fisherman named Luther from Nevis. He would go out fishing from Nevis, then come straight to St. Kitts, pull his boat up on the seashore, and he would sell fish there. Then he would stay overnight, and then sail back to Nevis, fishing all the way. And Luther used to stay overnight in the house right across the street from ours. That was where Ms. Holder used to live, and she was also a member of the Norwich Holiness Church and a close friend of my grandmother. That’s where Luther used to stay. And when Luther came, he’d come up the street and he would announce himself. He’d call out, Ms. Clarke and he would stop, and he’d have a string of fish for my grandmother.

As I said, there was quite a connection between us and Nevis. Before I went to grammar school, every summer they used to send me to Nevis to stay with Reverend and Mrs. Herbert in Bath village. The Nevis boat then was named the Ursula, and it was operated by Captain Anslyn—not brother Anslyn but his father, Captain Anslyn. They’d take me down to the pier in Basseterre, hand me over to Captain Anslyn on the Ursula, and on arrival in Charlestown he would turn me over to Reverend Herbert or Mrs. Herbert on the pier over there. I would live with the Herberts for the summer vacation. They were both pastors living in Bath village. Our next-door neighbour was the Tyson family in Bath village, Eston Tyson, Halsted Tyson, Shirley Tyson. They were my Nevis playmates every summer in those early days. And I always looked forward to going to Nevis and playing with my friends. Eventually, Reverend and Mrs. Herbert moved to Brown Hill and were in charge of the Pentecostal Church there. So, when I went to Nevis, it was then to Brown Hill rather than Bath village. Every summer, it was Nevis for me, and I looked forward to it, and it was really a very interesting part of my life, so it’s not surprising that later on when I got into politics, I used to tell them, Look, my grandfather and my father are from Nevis, my grandmother is from Nevis, I spent a lot of my boyhood days in Nevis, so, I have as much right as anybody else to make my views known about what can happen between St. Kitts and Nevis. Needless to say, I am very happy with where we are today.

Cyril Warner, next door on Rosemary Lane, was my closest playmate. We just found ways to make do with what was available to play with. We were never short of balls, for example, because we had a breadfruit tree in our yard, and Cyril had a breadfruit tree in his yard. We’d make our own tops for spinning. We had to buy marbles or beg marbles, for example, from people working at the factory. We loved to get what we called an iron duke which was a metal ball bearing from some of the equipment at the factory. So, that was a source of getting marbles. We also used to make a spinner by flattening a cola stopper, then boring two holes in the middle of it using a nail and a stone. Then we would run a string through one hole and back through the other and tie it. Then we would spin it until the string got taut and then we would pull it back and forth and that spinner would spin at high speed. Very often we fought our spinners to try and cut the string on the other person’s spinner. We had a lot of fun with the things we had or made and looking back over the years I can’t recall ever feeling deprived. We grew up at that time having to do a lot for ourselves. These days, with commercialization, children get all sorts of toys. We had to make our own toys. We had to make our tops out of guava wood. Cyril and I even got together to make a scooter. And I believe to this day, if I really was put to it, I could make a scooter because I haven’t forgotten that early local technology.

As young fellows, we played cricket in the street. We improvised, trying to get a stave from a barrel or a coconut bough as a bat, a kerosene pan, or a barrel cover, which we would put in the middle of the street as a stump. Of course, there was hardly any traffic, because there were very few cars in St. Kitts at that time. We also played cricket in a little narrow alleyway, which is still there, just below our house.

THE ALLEY. There were no slabs or pipe back then, only dirt.

It is amazing to me even now to think we played cricket in that alley. One thing about it, it made sure that you had to learn to play straight. because the walls were so close that your most successful strokes were those that headed straight back down the alley. The other thing we learned to do was to protect our legs. Nobody used pads in our street and alleyway cricket. We took the breadfruit off at the appropriate size for cricket balls and also for footballs, using a slightly larger size for football. The other system we had of getting balls was knitting balls with string. You’d get a macaw seed or something small, hard and round, and you’d knit twine around it and that ultimately would be a very hard ball. You learned to play with that and to protect yourself accordingly. So, we had to be resourceful and do a lot of things for ourselves and make toys for ourselves. I enjoyed that.

THE HOUSE WHERE I WAS BORN AS IT LOOKS TODAY.

It was very different back then. The house was much smaller. It was enlarged to eliminate the yard with the stone bleach and the large copper. The doctor occupying the downstairs is my brother, Dr. Leroy Richardson. The entrance to the alley now has a gate. The green house below is where my Headmaster, Mr. Malone, played bridge. The upstairs is now concrete. It was wood back then.

Rosemary Lane produced some outstanding sportsmen. There was Dr. Ross, Sinclair Philip and his brother, Carlton, who was closer to my age. Hugh Martin, who became captain of cricket and football at Grammar School, and played cricket for the Island along with his older brother, Cedric, also lived in Rosemary Lane for a considerable time. Then up at the top of the street, in Temple Alley, which was like a continuation of Rosemary Lane, you had Clement Rogers—nicknamed Rundown—and Crossley who later became stalwarts on the St. Kitts cricket team. It’s not surprising therefore, that sport really has been a significant part of my life.

STARTING SCHOOL

My first school was Ms. Matthew’s Infant School as it was called at the time (we’d say preschool today). Ms. Matthew’s School was located in Upper Market Street through the first alley on the left side of Upper Market Street. She had several students, but the people that I remember particularly, and who have always remained great friends of mine throughout my life were Mavis and Malcolm Phillip. Mavis subsequently became one of my most ardent supporters and a constituency organizer. Malcolm used to work in the Daily Bulletin newspaper, but subsequently went on to become a pastor. Can you imagine, we had a daily newspaper over 80 years ago and we don’t have one now. In Ms. Matthew’s School, the concentration in those days was on reading, writing, arithmetic, dictation, and she set such standards that we had to be on the ball. I mean, simple or careless mistakes in arithmetic were not tolerated.

After Ms. Matthew’s School, I went to the Basseterre Boys’ School, and the next big influence in my life was the headmaster, the famous Mr. Beach. As a matter of fact, the Basseterre Boy’s School was just called Mr. Beach School.

I was skinny and small, but I always liked to be around the bigger fellows. I would play football and cricket with them. During recess we went over to the park to play. Even though you had people from different walks of life, some came to school in shoes, some didn’t. But when you entered the park to play, there was one common denominator: you had to take off your shoes; you couldn’t get in the game unless you took off your shoes, and we would use the shoes to make the goal posts.

Mr. Beach was a serious disciplinarian, both for students and even for teachers. His objective, it appeared, was always to have order and discipline. We had school assembly every morning, and would assemble outside most of the time unless it was raining, then we assembled in our various classes. He would come around—he always had his belt either over his shoulder or in his pocket—he’d come around and he’d inspect. You had to pass the test, to make sure that your hair was properly combed that morning; you don’t want that comb to stop when it’s going through your hair. Also, your fingernails had to be clean. You were expected to be on time to line up. Fellows who came late had to go to see Mr. Beach. Then, sometimes there were some fellows whom we suspected weren’t coming at all, playing hooky, but Mr. Beach somehow always seemed to have an idea where they were likely to be. Now, once school got started, sometimes he would leave the school, with his belt in his pocket, and go out to look for them, and he would find them, and he would bring them back. He was that serious about it. He set standards for every student, and we had to meet those standards. In those days mostly it was reading, writing, arithmetic, dictation, comprehension, and a little geography dealing mainly with Country Capitals, produce and exports of various countries. Arithmetic, though, was a key subject.

When I went to the boys’ school, they first put me in junior standard. I didn’t stay very long there, just a few days. Then they figured that I was too advanced for that, so they put me in first standard. I didn’t stay very long there, either—another few days, perhaps a week—then they put me in second standard, and from there began the normal progression through Basseterre Boys’ School. My life there was very special, and I have fond memories of that time. I also have memories of feeling the strap from Mr. Beach over my back because I got three sums out of five right, when in his mind, I should have got all five right, but for careless mistakes. At the same time, there were others in the same class who got by with a word of encouragement to try harder next time. I recall that when I was in either third or fourth standard, there was a prize-giving ceremony and I was scheduled to receive a prize. I came down with chickenpox and could not attend, so my aunt went to collect the prize for me. When she came home, she told me that Mr. Beach had told the audience that he was sorry that they could not see the little fellow who was to get that prize. To boys and girls who are considered little when they are growing up, I say don’t worry about it. You are going to get bigger and if you strive for excellence in all you do, somebody is going to take notice, and your size would not matter.

The school was next to Warner Park, and I recall that Mr. Beach insisted that certain classes—around fourth and fifth standard—had to develop and maintain a garden, a vegetable garden. That vegetable garden for the school was located over at the northern part of Warner Park in the area where the Pam Tyson netball stadium is located. We grew cauliflower, kohlrabi, lettuce, tomatoes, and so on. During recess in the afternoons, we went over there and had to take care of it. Those early lessons were very important to many of us. Of course, when the produce came, we got some of it. But it was, I think, more about instilling in us the importance of using our resources and of growing some of what we needed to use. That was one of the striking things about being in Mr. Beach’s School.

The other thing was the kind of discipline that he imposed in that school. And I use the word imposed because Mr. Beach was such a strong character that in a sense, he dominated the whole school, including teachers. We used to have some sessions that were called moral instruction and Mr. Beach was assisted by teachers like Ms. Kathleen Frederick, Ms. Estelle Earl, Mr. Maurice Woods. Moral Instruction included things like punctuality, duty, honesty, trustworthiness, truthfulness. Mr. Beach was talking to the top classes, six and seven, about going out into the workplace: You are going out to work, you’re not children anymore, you must give full value for money. His admonition was, If you arrive exactly on time, you are already late. When you’re going to work, you are supposed to reach ahead of time, prepare yourself, and you have to get out the books, or whatever, and be ready to start working at the prescribed time, and don’t be always watching the clock. So, when it is four o’clock or five o’clock, whatever is your prescribed closing time, you are supposed to work right up to it, and that is when you stop to put away your things, then leave a little after. Of course, it has now become standard procedure to actually put away everything, say within 15 minutes before, just to be ready and leave on the dot. That was not what we were taught in Mr. Beach’s School.

Another influence that Mr. Beach had on the direction of my life occurred when I was nine years old and in sixth standard. I’m going along pretty well. I’m still small, still a little fellow in stature, and I’m just looking forward to getting to seventh standard, which was the highest grade. While I was in sixth standard (Mr. Beach didn’t talk to me about this, but my aunt told me), Mr. Beach called her and came to see her in fact, and told her that she should enter me in the scholarship examination for grammar school. I didn’t have such a thought in my head at that time. Normally, every year, Mr. Beach would prepare the seven standard boys who were age eligible, to take the examination. Other primary schools were doing the same thing. Mr. Beach decided that at the age of nine-and-a-half I should take the examination for a scholarship to grammar school.

So, I went and I took the examination for the scholarship to grammar school, and then eventually the results came in. It would have been nice to say that I came in first. No, but I came third in the Island. Desmond Ottley of Sandy Point came first. I did not know him before, but we ended up going to grammar school at the same time and we became good friends. We used to call him DERO. Those were actually his initials. Desmond came first. Joseph Archibald came second, and I came third. So, right away I started looking forward to going to grammar school in January. The exam was about the end of November or early December. However, there was a problem which could delay my access to the scholarship. The practice at that time was, if you were in grammar school on a scholarship, you took the Senior Cambridge examination. In those days, the examination was taken in December, and those who passed would be looking for work, mainly in the civil service. But some would want to wait and see if they’d passed because if they didn’t pass and they were young they would be allowed to continue in school on the scholarship in order to make another attempt to pass. So, I was told that the first two scholarships were available immediately, but the third scholarship was not immediately available because the person holding that scholarship was returning to school for the first term, at least, to await the Senior Cambridge results.

So, I was facing this dilemma. My parents didn’t like the idea of me not going to school for the first term, that was not going to fly. Mr. Beach retired in December of that year, 1945. So, he was no longer going to be at Basseterre Boys’ School, and the word was out that the headmaster from Sandy Point, Mr. Hanley, was being sent to Basseterre Boys’ School. Mr. Hanley’s reputation, that he liked to beat even more than Mr. Beach, had preceded him. I didn’t want to go back to Boys’ School and run the risk that I’m going to do something, or in some way run afoul of this new man and receive licks again, especially as I used to hear from some grammar school boys that you don’t get a lot of licks in that school. I told my aunt I did not want to go, and I wrote and told my mother I did not want to go back to Boys’ School for the term, but I was fighting a losing battle. What nine-year-old, especially in those days, was going to be allowed to stay out of school for a whole term? That situation was not unusual, but usually the parents would pay until the scholarship became available. The fee for grammar school at that time was $16.80. I didn’t know what my aunt was working for at the time, but I knew we couldn’t afford it. Finding the money to pay was not an option, and the decision was already made that I was going back to Boys’ school for the term, and I was going to move up to seventh standard. Then, literally and figuratively, divine intervention came to the rescue.

My aunt was a stalwart member of the Methodist church, she was a member of the women’s league. When the church was doing any event she would be there, and as a little boy I had to be involved in everything, too. On Friday nights, there was a boys’ club that met in the downstairs of the Methodist Manse in Basseterre. The club was run by the minister, an Englishman named Rev. Beckett, and accommodated boys from my age group up to the big boys who were already in grammar school and preparing for work. We played games, including table tennis, football (the board game), darts, draughts, dominoes, etc. The Friday night club was a popular venue for Methodist boys.

So next thing I know, my aunt came and told me—I don’t know how Reverend Beckett knew about it, but then those days, everybody tended to know everything that was