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It’s important we record our ‘history’ correctly
Dear Editor,
I refer to the article (SN, November 18th), where it was stated that the Building on High Street, opposite the Parliament Buildings being torn down was the Terminal of the Mackenzie Airport – while the headline of that article read it was “The former Airport Terminal at what is now the CJIA.
In attempting to set the records straight – the following is proffered:
a) The Mackenzie Airfield was built as a ‘back up’ to Atkinson Airfield during WW11 – in the event of attack, especially since the Bauxite from Mackenzie/Wismar was vital to the Allies War effort then. After the sneak attack at Pearl Harbour December 7th, 1941, the US would not have had their eggs in one basket – and another landing facility for seaplanes was also available at Makouria off Bartica.
b) No commercial flights were possible at Mackenzie until after the war – and that terminal building was merely a shack ‘barn’. The building being torn down this week did not come from Mackenzie Airfield.
c) The Timehri Airport was destroyed by fire May 1959, and the Old US Terminal building was used until a new airport was built, which became the CJIA later.
The old US Terminal reactivated after the fire, must have received major renovation to be ‘functional’.
d) The building now being torn down was erected in the mid fifties to accommodate the New Ministry of Communication for example – when I worked at the Public Buildings from 1955 to 1960. This is a fact.
I invite other readers to ‘throw’ some light on this matter. It is very important we record our ‘history correctly.
Godfrey Chin
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