Marie Clepha Descartes, better known as Sessenne of Patience was born on March 28, 1913 at La Pointe, Mon Repos, Micoud.
Sessenne’s father was the overseer on the Patience Estate in the Micoud area.He was the local King of La Rose, her mother La Reine.Sesenne is married and had nine children, and worked as a self-employed baker.
Sessenne has been singing publicly since the age of six.At eighteen, she became the Chantwelle of the La Rose Society of which her parents were King and Queen.During her performances at local hotels, and country festivals in the early fifties Harold Simmons and Daniel Crowley made the first tape recordings of her music.Besides singing, Sesenne excelled as a dancer and danced the traditional dances such as the Debot,La Comette and Belair at many local and national festivals and celebrations.
In 1967 she was chosen to represent St. Lucia at what is now the Carifesta celebration in Grenada, where her song Manmay-la-di-Why was a big hit.
In 1991 Sessenne recorded her first and only album - a collection of Folk Songs - which can be heard during the Christmas season and at La Rose festivals.
Sessenne is a staunch member of the Roman Catholic Church and used to be heavily involved in its activities: instructing candidates for first communion and confirmation.She helped at fetes, deaths, funeral, illness, etc.She always was a member of the La Woz Society.
She taught the people of Saint Lucia to appreciate the importance of their own traditions. In Amelle Mathurin’s words: “Sessenne could have been a millionaire and have all of us as her servants, but instead she gave her talents for free, sharing herself for free, sharing herself for cultural development”.
According to Joyce Auguste, in her book entitled Oral and Folk Traditions of St. Lucia, “Sessenne’s greatest asset was the warmth of her personality, her generous disposition and her attitude of service before self.She was truly warmhearted, outgoing and vivacious, a truly gracious woman with a creole eloquence that can be compared to the best in the land.”
Through the years a number of honours were bestowed on Sessenne including the BEM – British Empire Medal, publicly declared Saint Lucia’s Queen of Culture by the Folk Research Centre and in June 2000, Sessenne was awarded the D. B. E. Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to Folk Culture and Arts in Saint Lucia.
Sir Darnley Arthur Raymond Alexander
Written by Margot Thomas
Sir Darnley Arthur Raymond Alexander was born on the 28th January, 1920, at Castries, to the late Lucy and Pamphile Joseph Alexander (MBE).
He received his formal education at the Vieux Fort Boys' School from 1927-1929 and won a government scholarship to St. Mary's College in 1930. At the age of 18, Darnley was employed as Junior Master at St. Mary's from 1937. In 1938, Darnley travelled to the University of Cambridge in London to read for a degree in Law.
With the outbreak of World War II, he was evacuated to the University of Wales where he received his law degree in 1942 and was called to the famous Middle Temple bar later that year. After a short spell of legal practice in England he returned to St. Lucia and was transferred to Jamaica as Crown Counsel and Legal Draftsman in 1944. He later took up an appointment in the Turks and Caicos islands where he served as Resident Magistrate. He also served on the Legislative Council and various Boards, reaching the rank of Acting High Court Judge before taking up appointment in Western Nigeria in 1956.
Sir Darnley was married to Mildred in 1943 - a British Guianese student - and out of this union came two children Michael and Margaret.
Sir Darnley was made Legal Draftsman from 1956 to 1960 and later went on to become Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice in Nigeria. He was elevated to High Court Judge of Lagos State Judiciary in 1964 and went on to become Chief Justice of the southeastern state of Nigeria in 1969, where he laid the foundations of its judiciary. Sir Darnley became a Commander of the British Empire (C.B.E) in 1962 and was later knighted by Her Majesty the Queen.
After the Coup d'etat of July 1975, Sir Darnley was promoted to Chief Justice of the newly formed Federal Republic of Nigeria and retired in 1979. Upon his retirement he was made Chairman of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission where he served until late 1988.
Although he was not a Nigerian, Sir Darnley undertook the task of reforming Nigerian Law with tremendous zeal and ability. He was also a highly respected member of the Body of Benchers - the highest Body in the legal profession - and was elected Chairman between 1977 and 1978.
Darnley Arthur Raymond Alexander received many awards for his outstanding work in the legal field, among them includes Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR), and Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON). The degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D) Honoris Causa was conferred on Sir Darnley by the University of Maiduguri on the 4th of February 1989, in appreciation of his dedicated contribution to the development of the judicial system in Nigeria.
Though he resigned as Chairman of the Law Reform Commission in 1988, he still continued to serve as a consultant in the Federal Ministry of Justice until his death on 12th February 1989.
Marie Grace "Petite" Augustin
Written by Margot Thomas
The name Marie Grace “Petite” Augustin has become a symbol of female achievement, progressiveness, ingenuity, bravery and daring to the Saint Lucian female population.
The seventh of eleven children, Marie Grace was born on 2nd June, 1897 to Jean Marie and Blanche Augustin. Her father was a planter and he owned Daubayan Estate in Patience, Micoud, in the days when cocoa was the chief money-making crop. She was a very inquisitive child and enjoyed a happy and carefree life. She loved animals specifically the cows and horses and was a very good horsewoman to the point where she could ride the cows bareback and even considered a career as a jockey. Her parents had other ideas for her and sent her to attend High School in Antigua. She applied herself to her studies and gained an external certificate from the University of Cambridge in July 1912. On her return to Saint Lucia she embarked on a career in nursing and by October 1918 she had gained her General Nursing certificate and also a certificate in Midwifery.
By that time her brother Elwin Augustin was a well-known Barrister and Marie Grace became enamoured of the law and decided to make a career change. Therefore, she became articled to her brother and studied with him for four years with the intention of becoming a lawyer. In 1923 she went to the Registrar’s Office to sit her bar exams but was refused by the Acting Chief Justice J.E.M. Salmon who informed her that the Legal Profession in Saint Lucia made no allowances for the inclusion of women. Frustrated but undaunted she turned her back on law and went back to Daubayan where agriculture and all it entailed became the centre of her world. She experimented with growing different crops and she was the first person to grow coconuts on a large scale and to develop a copra industry. When she learnt about refrigerated ships she immediately went into banana production for the U.K. Market.
In those days the journey to and from Castries took two days but an ingenious Marie Grace ordered a motor cycle from England and cut down the time to only four hours. She tried different enterprises including setting up a Grocery store, a hotel and a clinic.
When a disease affected the banana industry Marie Grace chartered a sail boat and went to Guadeloupe where she obtained a shipment of banana plants. These she planted and started all over with disease resistant plants.
Like everything else that she did she put her all into it and developed such an interest in agriculture that she read everything she could obtain on the subject and became an expert in that area. Soon Government Officials were calling on her for advice and she was made a member of the Saint Lucia Legislature, becoming the first woman to hold such a position.
After the disastrous fire of 1948 people could hardly get furniture and it was Marie Grace Augustin who brought unemployed Cabinet-makers to her estate at Daubayan to train the local men in furniture making. This became quite a large industry for the Augustins and gave employment to several men.
In 1955 Marie Grace was awarded an O.B.E. by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth for her contribution to the development of Saint Lucia. She was sought after by many companies to be part of their organizations and she ended up as Director of: Coconut Growers Association, Banana Growers Association, Sugar Manufacturers’ Ltd., Copra Manufacturers’ Ltd., Agricultural Credit Fund and the Augustin Sisters Investment.
On March 30th 1996 Marie Grace died at the age of ninety-eight. Her life was definitely not that of a typical woman of her day. She stood at five feet and weight ninety-five pounds but though small in stature was a giant among women and exhibited an indomitable spirit.
Sir George Frederick Lawrence Charles
Written by Margot Thomas
George Frederick Lawrence Charles was born on 10th June 1916. After pursuing his secondary education at the St. Mary's College, George entered the field of business with his uncle J.Q. Charles in 1934. Four years later, after gaining some much needed experience, he migrated to Aruba, where he obtained employment with the Largo Oil and Transport Company. In 1938, he returned to Saint Lucia and one year later, joined the firm of Frank H. Johnson and Sons Ltd. as a Commercial and Shipping Clerk.
However when renovation and extension work commenced on the Vigie Airport he was able to gain employment as Time Keeper on that project from 1944 to 1946. Two years after he commenced work on the project, the workers took strike action and George found himself at the centre of this activity, having joined the ranks of the newly formed Saint Lucia Workers Co-operative Union. Later, that year, he was elected Secretary of the Union branch and a year later rose to the position of General Secretary.
While being an active member of the Trade Union movement, George Charles was elected to the Castries City Council in 1948, which was then known as the Castries Town Board. In 1950, he played a central role in the formation of Saint Lucia’s first political party, the St. Lucia Labour Party (S.L.P.). Following the formation of this party, General Elections were held for the first time in 1951 based on Universal Adult Suffrage. The St. Lucia Labour Party won the elections with George Charles representing South Castries, elected to the Legislative Council, where he campaigned for the legal recognition of the right to paid leave for the working class.
In 1952, he was appointed President of the Workers' Co-operative Union and the following year, a Justice of the Peace.
In order to better serve the Trade Union movement, Mr. Charles proceeded to the University of the West Indies, Jamaica where he attained a Certificate of Merit in a Trade Union Course in 1954. He was, during that same year, re-elected to the Legislative Council after the St. Lucia Labour Party defeated the Peoples' Progressive Party (P.P.P.) a second time. He was appointed the first Minister of Education and Social Affairs, with the partial introduction of the ministerial system in 1956. Following full Ministerial Government in 1960, he rose to become Saint Lucia’s first Chief Minister, serving in that position for approximately four years.
The St. Lucia Labour Party went through a period of intense internal friction with John Compton defecting from the party with some members in tow.
In 1964 the St. Lucia Labour Party lost the General elections to John Compton’s newly formed United Workers Party (U.W.P.) and George Charles found himself as Leader of the Opposition. George Charles went on to lose his seat in the 1974 election and bowed out of active politics. However, his political involvement never dwindled, since he reverted to trade union activities, becoming head of the Agricultural and Workers Trade Union.
Apart from his political activities, Mr. Charles found time to serve in other spheres. He rendered much needed service as a member of the Labour Advisory Board, the Labour Welfare Committee, Central Housing and Planning Authority, Price Control Board and the Saint Lucia Volunteer Force. He was also a member of the Council of International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and represented the West Indies on the Administrative Committee of the Caribbean Area Division.
In recognition of his efforts and achievements, a secondary school at Cul de Sac was named after him and the Vigie Airport where he had laboured during its construction was re-named in his honour.
In June 1998 he was awarded the KCMG - Knight Commander of the most distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, by the Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to politics in Saint Lucia on recommendation by the St. Lucia Labour Party Government of Honourable Kenny Anthony, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia.
Sir Frederick Joseph "Jim" Clarke
Written by Margot Thomas
A Medical Doctor by profession, Dr. Clarke held a number of key positions in St. Lucia’s medical service, as well as in sports organizations. He will forever have a place in the island’s history books for becoming, in 1967, its first native born Governor.
Born in Castries on May 21st 1912 Frederick “Jim” Clarke received his early education at the RC Boys School, Castries, and later attended Wesley Hall School in Barbados. His secondary education was received at the St. Mary’s College and the St. Vincent Grammar School in St. Vincent. He then went on to study medicine at the School of Medicine in Edinburgh, Scotland and, after graduating in 1944, started his medical career in the British Midlands.
In 1946, Dr. Clarke returned to St. Lucia and was appointed a District Medical Officer in the district of Soufriere. By the time he retired from the Government Service in 1963, he had attained the position of Chief Medical Officer.
An avid sportsman, he captained the St. Lucia Cricket Team in the Cork Cup Tournaments in 1946, 1950 and 1953. Later, he represented the Windward Islands o the Cricket Board of Control for many years.
In 1964, when the United Workers Party gained political office, Dr. Clarke became Speaker of the House of Assembly. He held this position until 1967 when he was appointed the island’s first native Governor, when Saint Lucia attained Statehood in Association with Britain.
In 1968, he was awarded a Knight Bachelor and the following year the esteemed honour of Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint John was bestowed on him by Queen Elizabeth II. Sir Frederick Clarke passed away on 27th October, 1980.
