Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, The Second, has bestowed the honour of Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) on two Anguillians: Dr. Oluwakemi Linda Banks and the late Reverend Dr. Wycherley Gumbs.
Their names were published in The Gazette, the United Kingdom’s Official Public Record, on October 10, 2020. They were among several hundred honourees, in various categories of the award, throughout the Commonwealth.
Dr. Banks was honoured for her services to social and cultural development in Anguilla. She is a Clinical Psychologist and an Associate Professor at Saint James School of Medicine. She has a background as an educator; communication specialist; book author; poet; cultural bearer; and Lay Reader in the Anglican Church.
Rev. Dr. Gumbs was honoured for his services to the spiritual community and the cultural heritage of Anguilla. An early educator in Anguilla, he went on to become an influential Methodist Minister. He ministered in various parts of the Caribbean and also served in the field of education.
He returned home in 2013 as Superintendent of the Anguilla Methodist Circuit, and later became Chairman of the Anguilla Christian Council – and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School. He was a book author, prolific poet and a proponent of Caribbean and Anguillian history and culture.
Rev. Dr. Gumbs suddenly passed away on September 4, 2020. He has been accorded a National Funeral by the Government of Anguilla, as announced by the Government’s Protocol Unit. It is scheduled for Thursday, October 29, at the Ebenezer Methodist Church in The Valley, commencing at 3.00 pm.
