Reflecting on the most remarkable period of British Guiana

Apr 13, 2025 Letters

Dear Editor,

The period of 1950 to 1970 must have been the most remarkable years of British Guiana, now Guyana, with Georgetown being known as one of the most beautiful cities in the West Indies.

First of all, in British Guiana, you’d hardly see a vendor on the street. The roads might have been old, but they were well kept, and the city had the best drainage system anywhere in the world.

I can name four of the most beautiful buildings in the West Indies that were in Georgetown. The St. Barnabas Church, at the corner of Orange Walk and Regent Street, was one of them. Sadly, due to a lack of vision, it is now a parking lot. City Hall was very impressive with its architectural designs. I’m seeing now that they are trying to replace it. Hats off to City Hall! Then there’s Brickdam Cathedral— fantastic to this day and well-kept by the Catholics.

Finally, there’s the St. George’s Cathedral, with majestic beauty and entwined to this day. I once heard someone say it is among the tallest wooden buildings in the world.

Editor, let me conclude by telling you a story.

I learned it from a respectable gentleman who was from Trinidad & Tobago and attended the prestigious Royal Queen’s College of Trinidad, that there were three scholars from Trinidad attending Oxford University- and as you can recall, Oxford and Cambridge Universities were the best in the world at that time.

The professor invited the students, along with their parents and a friend, to a dinner in recognition of their achievements. When the boys arrived, they were very brave and boastful of what they would achieve when they returned to Trinidad. The professor silently watched them as they walked around, boasting about how intelligent they were.

At the end of the dinner, the professor called them aside. A student who was present told this story: The professor spelled out to them, “Congratulations on your achievement and your journey to Oxford. But when you reach to Oxford, look out for the boys from B.G. [British Guiana]”

Guyana was known in those days. The students laughed and replied, “We ain’t frightened of no one from B.G or the world!”

But when they arrived at Oxford, within one month, the boys realized that they were bright Trinidadians— but the boys from B.G (British Guiana) were brighter. The period of 1950 to 1970 must have been the most remarkable years of British Guiana and Guyana.

Sincerely,

Frank Debreu

(Reflecting on the most remarkable period of British Guiana)

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British Guiana, Georgetown, majestic beauty, St. Barnabas Church, St. George's Cathedral

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