Guard of Honour and Wreath Laying at Monument
of Father of the Nation and First National Hero
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| His Excellency the Governor General His Excellency Dr. Sir Cuthbert Sebastian (right); Mrs. Etsu Bradshaw-Caines and Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas shortly after the unveiling of the Bradshaw monument on September 16th 2007 (Photos by Erasmus Williams) |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, SEPTEMBER 15TH 2008 (CUOPM) – St. Kitts and Nevis commemorates National Heroes Day on Tuesday with Governor General His Excellency Dr. Sir Cuthbert Sebastian and Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas among dignitaries laying wreaths at the monument in honour of the Father of the Nation and First National Hero, the Right Excellent Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw.
The Ceremony begins at 9:00 A.M. tomorrow Tuesday 16th September (National Heroes Day – a public holiday) at the monument, which was unveiled in St. Paul’s, birth place of Sir Robert, on National Heroes Day, last year. Sir Robert, who was born on 16th September 1916, would have been 92 on Tuesday. Premier Bradshaw died on May 23rd 1978.
Following the inspection of a Guard of Honour comprising members of the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force, the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force and the Cadet Corps, the bio of the St. Paul’s-born National Hero, who also served as Chief Minister and First Premier will be read by Mr. Crios Freeman.
Prime Minister Douglas, a cousin of Bradshaw and who also hails from St. Paul’s, will deliver brief remarks.
Wreaths will be laid by the Governor General, the Prime Minister, the Commander of the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force, Lt. Colonel Patrick Wallace; Commissioner of Police, Mr. Austin Williams, the Ambassadors of the Republic of Cuba, the Republic of China on Taiwan and the Republic of Venezuela; Mr. James Francis on behalf of the Bradshaw Family; the Chairman of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party, Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris; the President of the St. Kitts-Nevis Trades and Labour Union, Mr. Clifford Thomas and a visiting representative of the St. Kitts and Nevis Association in Leeds, England.
National Heroes Day was first commemorated in 1998, with the St. Kitts and Nevis Federal Parliament passing the National Honours Act, setting every September 16th the birthdate of First National Hero, the Right Excellent Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw, Knight Commander of the Order of National Hero, a public holiday. September 16th is also the birthdate of the Right Excellent Sir Joseph N. France, another National Hero.
The Act established three classes of award: The Order of National Hero, the Star of Merit and the Medal of Honour and a National
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| Mrs. Etsu Bradshaw-Caines (left), lone surviving daughter of Sir Robert L. Bradshaw speaking at the unveiling of the Bradshaw Monument on National Heroes Day 2007 |
Hero's Day.
The inaugural National Hero’s Day, on the 16th September 1998 saw the National Hero status bestowed posthumously on Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw and the renaming of the Golden Rock Airport, the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport.
In 2004, two other persons were elevated to the status of National Heroes, Former Chief Minister and Chief Minister, the late Sir Caleb Azariah Paul Southwell and trade union stalwart and former Minister of Government, Sir Joseph N. France.
The Order of the National Hero bestows the title - Knight Commander of the Order of National Hero on recipients.
Although not an honour under the National Heroes Act, Her Majesty the Queen accepted the recommendation of Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas on September 16th 2004 and bestowed the Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George on the First Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Right Hon. Dr. Sir Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds. ~~Adz:Left~~
