There is no doubt that George “Giggy” Morris Brooks would have been one of the main contractors now busily building and rebuilding a number of Government projects, under the UK Government-funded Anguilla Programme, were he alive and actively engaged in his trade.
In his day, his name was one of the biggest in the island’s construction industry which took him to the US Virgin Islands in the booming building years there in the 1960s. When he eventually returned to his native Anguilla in 1971, he had amassed a great deal of building experience. With this background, he gained the confidence and trustworthiness of many homeowners and businessmen who readily employed him as their builder. Today, a number of homes and commercial buildings stand as legacies of his work and memory.
Giggy George became a decorated builder and contractor when, most deservedly, he was awarded the Anguilla Medal of Honour and Queen Certificate on Anguilla Day 2019 for his contribution to Social Development. It was this distinction that his passing on October 14, 2019, at the age of 75, was marked by the flying of flags at half-mast. The Thanksgiving Service, on Saturday, November 16, at St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, where he was a regular and dedicated worshipper, was a crowded scene from the rank and file of the island.
The words of his daughter, Gina Brooks, in her lengthy Eulogy, captivated the attentive minds of the congregation with nodding approval. “We are grateful to the Almighty for loaning him to the universe for these 75 years,” she said. “His integrity, principled nature, generosity and community spirit, knew no boundaries and will forever be etched in the minds of all who knew him.” She further summed up her father’s life with two other statements: “There is no corner of Anguilla that the echo of Daddie’s kindness, humility, trustworthiness, honesty, peace and selflessness has not been heard”; and “he lived by his simple motto – you get what you get in this life through hard work and dedication.”
In his sermon, the Right Rev. Errol Brooks, said in part: “Giggy supported the work of God in this Church. This was a very important plank in his life. He was regular a worshipper on Sundays, and at special services and programmes, because he felt that the ministry of presence is a critical part of witness to one’s faith. He insisted on making tangible contributions whenever there was a fund-raiser. Each year, on August Monday, for the Church’s breakfast, Giggy would contribute an enormous amount of eggs; and on Easter Monday he would not only support the fair and lunch, but would spend the day with fellow parishioners on the grounds of the Ruthwill Auditorium giving jokes and encouraging people. Apart from the fair and lunch on Easter Monday, the friendly cricket match between Anglicans and Methodists has become a regular feature.
“On occasions when the Anglicans failed to have a full team, Giggy would volunteer to play in the match. He was always willing to identify with whatever was happening among God’s people – not just the Anglicans – but on the political level as well. And it pleases the heart that my good friend, the Rev. Dr. Wycherley Gumbs, Superintendent Minister of the Methodist Church, along with other members of the Clergy of the Methodist Church, and the congregation are participating in the service.” In commenting on Giggy’s contribution to the construction industry, the Bishop commended him for his role as Building Advisor, without (remuneration) to the Anglican Church.
Rev. Dr. Gumbs assisted Bishop Brooks in conducting the Thanksgiving Service. This signified the close relationship that Giggy had with the Ebenezer Methodist Church – not only during the August Monday cricket match – but that he attended that Church for many years and rebuilt the Wesley Hall there without charge.
