The Executive Council has approved the following persons for the 2014 Anguilla Day Awards. The nominees were recommended by the Honours and Awards Committee following a three month long nomination process. They are:
1. Mr. Edgar Harrigan (Posthumously) – Revolution
2. Mr. Caleix Alfred Lake (Posthumously) – Revolution
3. Mr. Carlos Gumbs – Revolution
4. Mr. Homer Fitzclarence Brooks – Revolution
5. Mrs. Ann Benjamina Edgecombe-Newton (Posthumously) – Social Development
6. Mrs. Eudora Eugenie Hughes – Social Development
7. Mr. John C. Connor – Social Development
8. Mr. John C. Lake – Social Development
It is to be noted that the Awards have been categorized as follows:
a. Anguillians and/or non-Anguillians who have played a critical role during the Anguilla Revolution of 1967-1969; and
b. Anguillians and/or non-Anguillians who have made outstanding contributions to the social, economic and political development of Anguilla since 1969.
Notes:
1. Mr. Edgar Harrigan (Posthumously) – Revolution
Mr. Edgar Harrigan was a foot soldier of the Anguilla Revolution. He was a fast driver who would travel the length and breadth of Anguilla taking messages to West End and East End informing the people about the whereabouts of the St. Kitts policemen. On many occasions, the late Edgar Harrigan would travel to Navigation Hill, one of the highest points on Island Harbour, looking out for the St. Kitts policemen, and when he saw them in the distance down by the Office Hill (Fort Hill) he would blow his conch shell and the other foot soldiers, along with Mr. Webster would go in hiding.
2. Mr. Caleix Alfred Lake (Posthumously – Revolution
Mr. Caleix Alfred Lake was a foot soldier of the Anguilla Revolution and was well known for his role in guarding the island’s beaches. He was also part of the group of Anguillians at the airport when the St. Kitts policemen were sent out. In post revolution times he became a farmer and fisherman.
3. Mr. Carlos Gumbs – Revolution
Mr. Carlos Gumbs was intimately involved in the Anguilla revolution and after. As a foot soldier, his roles included searching and guarding Anguilla’s beaches from the threat of invading forces. He was instrumental in blocking the airport with tanks to stop the entry of St. Kitts policemen. His face was also a familiar one in the many demonstrations of the day.
4. Mr. Homer Fitzclarence Brooks – Revolution
Mr. Homer Brooks played a pivotal role in the 1967 Anguilla revolution. He is credited with seizing guns from police, searching and guarding beaches, blocking the airport with tanks and taking part in the many demonstrations of the day. He also acted as a messenger getting information from one area to another.
5. Mrs. Ann Benjamina Edgecombe-Newton (Posthumously) – Social Development
Mrs. Ann Benjamina Edgecombe-Newton affectionately called Teacher Ben was a certified teacher who gave over 40 years of dedicated and loyal service to the teaching profession in Anguilla. She won the prestigious Leewards Island Scholarship to attend the Leeward Islands Teacher Training College which was by no means an easy feat in those days as the scholarships were administered out of Antigua and so she was competing against every teacher in the Leewards. She served as Acting Principal and later Principal at the Road Primary School now the Adrian T. Hazel Primary School in an era when there were no female Principals. Teacher Ben was a woman of high moral character and was well known in the community for her selfless nature. She was a founding member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Anguilla, and later became a preacher.
6. Mrs. Eudora Eugenie Hughes – Social Development
Mrs. Eudora Hughes has excelled as an educator, (classroom teacher, head teacher, primary school principal, Primary Schools Coordinator/Education Officer Primary and substitute teacher) for more than sixty-one years. She is regarded as being one of the stalwarts and leading pioneers with regards to women in the field of education in Anguilla and was the first female head teacher at the Road Primary School now the Adrian T Hazell Primary School (ATHPS). She remained in Anguilla during the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s to provide stability and to help build and strengthen the education system. At the age of 79 she is currently serves as a sporadic substitute teacher for the Ministry of Education in Anguilla. She has also excelled in the development of music in Anguilla in particular her contribution to the development of music choirs in the Methodist and Anglican churches and to various school choirs at West End Primary School now the Alwyn Allison Richardson Primary School (AAPS) and Adrian T Hazell Primary School. She was the organist and then the senior organist in the Methodist Church in Anguilla, and a piano teacher in Anguilla for more than sixty years. She is a founding member of the Anguilla Soroptimist club, and also a former president of the same club. She is a member of the Methodist Women’s League. She has made a sterling contribution to the development of Anguilla in particular and therefore to the region and the world by extension.
7. Mr. John C. Connor – Social Development
Mr. John Connor was employed as a Police Constable by the Peace Keeping Force in 1968. He remained in the Force until his retirement in 1992. In the early years Mr. Connor witnessed the arrival and expulsion of Mr. William Whitlock and the invasion of Anguilla by British forces in 1969. He worked alongside Carmen Woods Mona, Joseph Brooks, Matina Lake and the late Thomas Ryan (Commissioner) among others. Mr. Connor kept the peace at political meetings in the various districts of Anguilla and more generally ensuring that the community was protected at all times. In those years there was always a strong police and community working relationship. Respect, law and order was his motto as it was carried out in all aspects of his job. Mr. Connor continues to make a meaningful contribution to his community.
8. Mr. John C. Lake – Social Development
Mr. John C. Lake has contributed significantly to the national HIV Agenda. He founded the Anguilla Community Action Network, ACAN, in 2006 driven by a desire to use his life experiences as an example to eradicate HIV on Anguilla. He diligently volunteers his time organizing and participating in HIV prevention activities and has been instrumental in bringing a voice and face to HIV on Anguilla. Recently he was instrumental in securing funding from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in support of Project Hope which aimed to provide sustainable community, family and psycho-social support in an effort to reduce stigma and discrimination within the Anguillian community. He also participated in the reorganization of the Cayman AIDS Foundation, CAF, a support group for persons living with HIV in the Cayman Islands last year. He was subsequently appointed Advisor to that organisation.
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
