At the entrance to the Post Office, a ceremony was held on Wednesday, July18 to honour six revolutionary leaders who were vital to the success of Anguilla’s separation from the tyranny of Colonel Bradshaw. The ceremony was attended by the Hon. Mr. Victor Banks, Hon. Mr. Evans Rogers, Hon. Mr. Alberto Hughes, members of the media, organizers, and family members of the six posthumous honourees. An opening prayer and speech was offered by Mr. John Harrigan. A poem titled The Revolution written by Patricia Adams was recited by Sherri-Ann Roberts which was given with much emotional feeling and was well read. Mr. Harrigan, during his speech highlighted many aspects of the revolution but one of the most outstanding was that it was by the medium of the stamp that Anguilla declared its independence forty years ago. He went on to explain that stamps travel all around the world and can be one of the best representations of a nation’s history.

Six of Anguilla’s Revolution Leaders

The Hon. Minister of Finance Mr. Victor Banks addressed the crowd, he said, “during the period of the revolution, stamps gave us the ability to have the revenue we needed. The revenue from the philatelic bureau was one of the major contributors to our national budget and we must never forget the contributions that this service has given to the development of Anguilla.” He added that he personally appreciated the efforts of the heroes and heroines of the revolution. When his speech was over, the stamps were unveiled by the reigning Miss Anguilla Amber Woodley who is also working at the post office this summer. Six stamps were unveiled with the faces of Hyacinth Carty, Edward Duncan, Jeremiah Gumbs, Connell Harrigan, Reverend Leonard Carty, and Atlin Harrigan.

A moment of silence was observed for the honourees and then shortly thereafter, relatives were asked to come up and receive a framed picture of all six persons on the stamp. Hyacinth Carty, better known as Miss Joseph, is recognized as being one of the main people responsible for rallying the people and being outspoken about Anguilla’s cause. Edward Duncan was the equivalent of a platoon leader in a conventional army. He transported Anguilla’s freedom fighters, manned the beaches at night, and helped to train young men. He was also the man who fired the warning shot on March 11th 1969 to signal that William Whitlock, a British Junior Minister should leave Anguilla without delay. Jeremiah Gumbs took Anguilla’s cause to the United Nations, Anguilla’s first ambassador to the UN. He was one of the pioneers of Anguilla’s economic revolution as well as he opened one of the first hotels on the island.

Connel Harrigan was one of the principal planners and strategists of the revolution as well as one of the leaders in the armed attack on St. Kitts on June 10, 1967. Reverend Leonard Carty was a very active member of the revolution as early as 1958 when he was advocating that Anguillians should sever links with St. Kitts. He was instrumental in setting up a peace keeping committee after police from St. Kitts were sent away and he also served as Anguilla’s treasurer from 1971-1974. Atlin Harrigan was the first in the difficult days of the 1960’s to propose that Anguilla break all constitutional and political ties with St. Kitts. He served as the Speaker of the House from 1985 to 1994. His contributions led to the House of Assembly, the symbol of Anguilla’s democracy, as the Atlin Harrigan Parliamentary Building. The stamps are now available at the post office for purchase.

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