Fifty-four years a mystery…Who bombed the Son Chapman ?

Jul 09, 2018 News

Friday, July 6, 2018, marked 54 years since the ill-fated Son Chapman launch was bombed on its journey with passengers traveling from Georgetown to Linden. The launch sank immediately and some 43 persons lost their lives. This was one of the gruesome acts of political violence which was perpetrated during the 1963 to 1964 disturbances.
The Son Chapman was a wooden launch owned by the late Mr. Norman Chapman that plied the Mackenzie/ Georgetown route transporting passengers and cargo. The Son Chapman left Mackenzie at around 11:30 a.m. on Friday July 3, 1964 with a five-man crew and 63 passengers traveling to Georgetown, but no one, including the crew members, Captain Herman Softleigh, engineer Astes Cooper, purser Charles Lewis and sailors Alphie and Harold Cummings, knew that it was the last time it would make that journey.

Flashback: President David Granger lays a wreath in the Demerara River for the 49th anniversary of the Son Chapman tragedy

Some two months before that tragic day, rumors were heard that the Son Chapman would never return to Linden, but they were dismissed as propaganda. On that fateful day, the Son Chapman left the Stabroek Market wharf with passengers and cargo consisting of paddy, flour, sugar, green vegetables and ground provisions. Evidence during the inquest that was subsequently held revealed that the boat later stopped at the Fish Koker near Sussex Street where five bags of rice were loaded on the vessel.
The launch did not leave with a full complement of passengers as some were scared because of the rumour. Some passengers opted to travel with another launch, The Emperor, or the regular Sprostons owned steamer, The RH CARR.
At approximately 4:30 p.m that day when the launch was about 300 yards from Hooradia, approximately one-hour’s traveling time from Linden, there was a loud explosion. Persons were flung into the river, while some appeared to have died instantly. Others jumped into the Demerara River as the launch sank within minutes of the explosion. Survivors told the sad story of the scene thereafter with some persons swimming to the shore, others clinging on to floating objects such as bags and tins while others were screaming for help as they sank to the bottom of the river.
Sixty-two witnesses testified during the six days of the inquest which began on March 16th 1965. Among those who testified were survivors. Some testified that they had heard the rumor prior to the bombing of the launch. According to one witness, a woman was warned not to travel on the launch that day but she insisted on traveling. Regrettably she was one of those who perished in the tragedy. Another witness testified that he had heard a conversation in a hotel room in Lombard Street, and that he knew the voices, and later saw the same men he identified the following morning. Some witnesses testified that they saw three suspicious men on the Son Chapman who came off the vessel at a stop shortly before the launch was blown up. The theory that a bomb was thrown into the launch was refuted as it was established that the bomb had to be placed with the cargo in the boat for the vessel to have sunk the way it did.
Dr. Robert Klautky testified before Coroner, Mr. PM Burch- Smith and the five-man jury, that persons died from mutilation following an explosion. There were about 20 survivors and forty-three who perished, including a four year old child. Eleven bodies were never recovered. At the end of the inquest, while fingers were clearly pointed to a political plot, no one was charged, according to the coroner, due to lack of sufficient evidence.
The scars which the Son Chapman tragedy left on the people of Linden cannot be erased. They are painful reminders that Guyana needs a political solution that would be long lasting and for the benefit of all.