Dear Editor,
Former Speaker of the House, Ralph Ramkarran, has recently spoken out against the failure of the PPP/C administration to announce national awards annually as was done under the Forbes Burnham and Desmond Hoyte PNC administrations.
The recent knighthood bestowed on three former Test players last Friday by the Antigua and Barbuda Government prompted me to write this piece. Andy Roberts, Richie Richardson and Curtly Ambrose are not the only cricketers to be knighted by the Antiguan government; the Master Blaster Viv Richards got his in May 1999, and several other Antiguan nationals including politicians, lawyers and diplomats were similarly honoured. Even non-Antiguans were included in the highest national knighthood group, including prominent and outstanding Guyanese Fenton Ramsahoye for his outstanding legal work; Brian Alleyne of Dominica who acted as Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court; and Guyanese Ronald Sanders who served as High Commissioner in the UK under the Lester Bird administration.
I should point out that Sir Ronald was also knighted by Her Majesty the Queen in her 2002 birthday honours.
Knighthood is an English tradition dating back several centuries, and Antigua and Barbuda, a former British colony, adopted the ‘knighthood’ in 1998, but this honour is not conferred by the Queen, but by the government of the twin island state. It is handed out by the Governor General, who is the head of state and the Queen’s representative. There are also honours for outstanding females called Dames.
There is a disparity because the wife of a Knight is called ‘Lady… but the husband of a Dame does not have a title.
Barbados, also a former British colony which gained independence in 1966, on July 25, 1980 included Knights and Dames of St Andrew in their national honours and since then have bestowed knighthoods on a large number of their outstanding citizens, including politicians, cricketers and academics. Among them were former Prime Minister Erskine Sandiford; cricketers, Clyde Walcott, Seymour Nurse, Wes Hall, Conrad Hunte and a few others; academics Keith Hunte, Hilary Beckles and several others; and jurists David Simmonds, Henry Forde and Richard Cheltenham. Among the Barbadian Dames were Nita Barrow and Billie Miller.
Two world class cricketers from Barbados, Sir Garfield Sobers and Sir Everton Weekes were knighted by the Queen.
Yours faithfully,
Oscar Ramjeet
