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Prime Minister Mottley Remembers Former MP, Mark Williams

This morning, when I received the news of the passing of Mark Williams and reflected on the man I knew, I could not help but think that were he in a position to speak now he would declare that his life was full and complete.

In fact, Mark was involved in so many aspects of the life of this country over the years that I would not be taking too much poetic licence if I said: “If it has not been done in Barbados it is only because Mark Williams did not do it.”

Mark was a “boss” at sales; he was a show promoter at the top of the class; he was a politician who could hold his own against the biggest names; he lived to showcase the Bajan culture and was a social influencer long before social media was even conceived.

And if you had the heart to pick a verbal battle with him, but were not prepared for a war, then clearly you came prepared to lose. He was a small man, but just as you do not judge the power of a stick of dynamite by its size, it would have been a mistake to judge Mark by his physical stature.

While many Barbadians knew the more mature Mark Williams because of the success of his two-decades-old “Looking Back” programme on CBC radio, he was making waves long before that. He started as a salesman in the 1950s with C.F. Harrison, worked with London Transport and merchant marine as well as sold insurance, but one of his most fundamental contributions to the development of Barbados occurred away from the limelight.

In its adolescence days, when its Editorial independence was perhaps at its highest and its fearlessness unmatched, Mark was one of the primary driving forces in the Nation Publishing Company’s Advertising Department. By ensuring, with his colleagues, that the Nation’s advertising portfolio was robust and diverse, the company was able to stand as a strong voice for democracy and change in Barbados, knowing that no single advertiser, no matter how powerful, could constrain its independence.

Then there was the other side of Mark; the young man who helped to promote Bajan legend Jackie Open — both before and after his death. There was the Mark Williams and Al Gilkes duo that organised and promoted calypso shows before the National Cultural Foundation came on the scene, and of course, there was the Mark Williams who filled every seat in the National Stadium, with hundreds more trying to storm the perimeter wall to see the biggest names in international wrestling do battle there.

Closer to home, there was Mark Williams the politician: The man who boasted of convincing National Hero Sir Frank Walcott to contest the St. Michael West seat for the Democratic Labour Party in 1971, handing him the victory, and after a falling out the following year “took the seat from him” in 1976. Interestingly, Mark played the spoiler’s role by joining Al Gilkes and the late Eric Sealy to form the People’s Political Alliance. While he only secured 80 votes, the campaign ended with Sir Frank being defeated by the Barbados Labour Party’s Vic Johnson.

Twenty years later, in 1996, with the resignation of an ailing Speaker of the House of Assembly, Lawson Weekes, Mark was back in the political race, this time as a member of the BLP, contesting the St. Michael North-West seat. He lost to Clyde Mascoll but was not daunted, for three years later he entered the election as the underdog and emerged victorious. Mark was now a member of the House of Assembly.

I wish publicly to thank Mark for the support he has given to me and the Barbados Labour Party over the years, and while I readily admit that his independence of spirit led him to be publicly critical when he felt it necessary, I also confess that it has helped to sharpen my focus. I will always be indebted to him.

On behalf of the Government and people of Barbados, I extend sincere condolences to his entire family.

May his soul rest in peace.

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley

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SPECIAL POLLING DAY NOTICE

Local

FundAccess To Host Legal Clinic Workshop from May 13th

Entrepreneurs will soon get another opportunity to learn about critical legal matters that are key to the operation of their businesses.

FundAccess will be hosting The Legal Clinic Workshop, which will commence on Tuesday, May 13, and continue each Tuesday, until May 27, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The workshop will be facilitated by Attorney-at-law Ondene Kirton and participants will discuss Understanding Business Legal Structures; Contracts & Agreements; Employment Law & Compliance; and Examination of the Various Laws Relating to Small Business.

During those sessions, the participants will be exposed to sole proprietorship, partnerships, corporations – pro and cons; how to choose the right legal structure for a business; the importance of contracts in business operations; avoiding common contract pitfalls; and employee rights & employer responsibilities, among others. Some of the pieces of legislation to be examined include the Employment Rights Act and National Insurance and Social Security Act.

Interested persons may attend the workshop in person at FundAccess’ Pinfold Street, Bridgetown location, or online via the Zoom Platform. To register, click on the following link: https://bit.ly/3Fu09Jv.

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Centenarian Built On Firm Foundation Set By Grandmother

“Trust God first” is the mantra of one of Barbados’ newest centenarians, Athelstan Browne, who celebrated his 100th birthday on April 29, 2025, at his home in Montrose, Christ Church, surrounded by family and friends.

One of his specially invited guests was President of Barbados, Her Excellency, The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason.

Mr. Browne shared that he grew up “not knowing a mummy” as his mother passed away at age 23, when he was two years old, and his brother was only one year old.

Crediting his grandmother for his upbringing, Mr. Brown remarked: “I had a real good, good grandmother that raised two of us, and everything we learn before we went to school, she taught us.”

Pointing to a humble yet deeply religious upbringing, Mr. Browne said: “I and my brother slept on the floor. Our grandmother spread things down there, and she just put the pillow under our head.”

He recalled that they had to sing the hymn “Under the Blood” before going to bed, and first thing in the morning before they had breakfast, which usually consisted of “a cup of tea and two biscuits”. Adding that the hymn was “our song”, Mr. Browne sang the hymn from memory.

Stressing that his grandmother was a great provider, he noted: “My grandmother had land, and she would work the land…. We would eat raw potato, raw okras, (green) peas, cucumbers…. The only thing we did not eat was raw yams and eddoes.”

Mr. Browne continues to enjoy his ground provisions “with a little rice”, as he likes his rice with green peas, and if available, chicken boiled with the rice. “I am a fish man,” he remarked, eating it either fried or with a “stew sauce”.

Continuing to nurture his Christian beliefs, he joined the Mount Ararat United Holy Church (currently in Dayrell’s Road, Christ Church) in 1967, at age 33, and has continued there ever since.

Once the Superintendent of the Sunday School at the church, Mr. Browne is still instrumental in providing leadership to the youth there. “I have a crowd of young people at church that love me…especially when I have to talk to them…. It is what they should hear and what they should have,” he said.

The centenarian was raised in Montrose, Christ Church, and attended the Christ Church Boys’ School (now Milton Lynch Primary School). After leaving school, Mr. Browne initially took to agriculture but then worked cutting soft stone in two quarries in Christ Church.

In 1947, at the age of 22, he decided to join the US Farm Labour Programme and took the first Pan American Airlines flight out of Barbados. Over 10 years later, Mr. Browne returned to Barbados and married Monica Browne (deceased). Together, they built the house where he currently resides.

Returning to his roots in agriculture, the centenarian worked at the Ridge Plantation, Christ Church, until retirement. He also planted and reaped ground produce at home, as well as planted and cut canes.

Mr. Browne, who is generally in good health and has a sharp memory, still works around the home and enjoys reading, which he does without glasses. He also keeps in touch with his family in New York and North Carolina, and will do some travelling, but he is always ready to return home.

After toasting the centenarian, Her Excellency remarked: “You are in the midst of a lot of love, and I am sure you are going to enjoy the rest of your birthday. I am really happy to have met you. I am grateful for the work that you still continue to do with our young people because a lot of them lack direction, and we, nowadays, don’t take enough time to sit down and speak with them…. We don’t remind them that they are important, that they are somebody.”

Mr. Browne responded: “You got to make them understand what … the Lord expects of them… We have to acknowledge the Lord.”

Mr. Browne has two children, 10 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. (PR/GIS)

Caption: President of Barbados, Her Excellency, The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason, and Barbados’ newest centenarian Athelstan Browne take a walk outside during his birthday celebrations in Montrose, Christ Church