BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, FEBRUARY 28TH 2011 (CUOPM) – St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas is to lead the Federation’s delegation to the Friday’s official of late Caribbean statesman Sir Fred Phillips CVO, QC.
The delegation, which includes Ministers of Government and platoons from the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force and the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force, will join mourners from Antigua and Barbuda and the Caribbean at the funeral service at the Spring Gardens Moravian Church.
Sir Fred, the first black Administrator and Governor of St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, a barrister-at-law and Queen’s Counsel who practiced in Civil Litigation, Contract Law, Banking and Constitutional Law died at his Hodges Bay home on February 21, at the age of 92.
The Funeral Planning Committee headed by Antiguan Member of Parliament, Dr. the Hon. Jacqui Quinn-Leandro has already met and a special sitting of the High Court will be convened on Thursday, the day before the funeral, when lawyers and members of the legal fraternity will pay tribute.
Sir Fred’s body will lie in repose at Government House for public viewing from noon on Friday, before being taken to Spring Gardens on St John’s Street for the 2 pm Service of Thanksgiving.
Antigua Bishop Kingsley Lewis will present the sermon while the service will be officiated by Reverend Dr. George Mulrain, Connexional President of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas. The lessons will be read by Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Baldwin Spencer and Archbishop Orland Lindsay.
Sir Fred will be interred at St John’s Public Cemetery. Sir Fred will be accorded a three-volley gun salute at the interment.
The late Sir Fred Phillips is perhaps best known to the public because he was the first Black man since the English took control of St. Kitts in 1650 to be appointed Administrator and then Governor of what was then known as St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla from 1967-1969.
He was of that generation of pioneers who were the “first” of the Caribbean people to hold positions which were the exclusive preserve of the British colonial masters for 300 years. These “firsts” were momentous changes which most people could not even contemplate let alone aspire to accomplish.
His appointment was a watershed in the history of the 40,000 citizens of St Kitts which had had English governors and administrators for hundreds of years. Only those who were born in the colonial era can fully comprehend the social, psychological and political significance.
The Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, recalls: “Having, for the first time, a son of the Caribbean as the Governor of these islands was a moment rich with symbolism, promise, and import. It was, indeed, a moment that none of us will forget.”
Sir Fred Phillips, distinguished jurist and outstanding public servant, died at the age of 92 after a lifetime of unstinting service to the West Indies. He was the quintessential West Indian public servant. He was born in St. Vincent and during his career he lived and worked throughout the region. He spent 1946/47 in Jamaica on a training course administered by the Jamaica Social Welfare Commission and the following year in Grenada and later in Dominica and St Kitts. He spent his last years in Antigua.
An ardent believer in the oneness of the West Indies, Sir Fred was an advocate of the indispensable value of a united Caribbean region and dedicated his life to building a politically and economically integrated region.
He served as cabinet secretary of the West Indies Federation from 1960 to 1962, was also senior registrar of the University of the West Indies from 1966 to 1967, and served on the boards of several private, public and regional institutions.
From 1969 to 1997, he was chief legal advisor to Cable and Wireless in the Caribbean, chaired Grenada Telecommunications Limited and Telecoms of Dominica, serving as a director of Barbados External Telecommunications, the Barbados Telephone Company and St Kitts and Nevis Telecommunications Limited.
Sir Fred was trained as a lawyer (LLB, MCLL, Hons) and was called to the Bar at Middle Temple in 1951. His pre-eminence in the legal profession was recognised as Queen's Counsel and is evident in his numerous authoritative publications, in particular, West Indian Constitutions: Post-Independence Reform (1985), Commonwealth Caribbean Law (2002), Ethics of the Legal Profession (2004), The Death Penalty and Human Rights (2009), and The Modern Judiciary: Challenges, Stresses and Strains (2010).
Sir Fred retained throughout his life a humility which belied his many illustrious achievements. His bearing was always one of dignity, calm and self-assurance. He was a dedicated family man and a true West Indian. In his autobiography Caribbean Life and Culture, he laments: "To the extent that they fail to discern that unity is strength, a thick chauvinistic cloud envelops our leaders and we must look to a new generation to dispel the encircling gloom."
His peroration penned in 1991 is most apposite to current affairs in the Caribbean.
