BASSETERRE, St.Kitts (Friday 18th September 2020)- “It is not to say that no one else has contributed to the tremendous achievements we have made as a young nation. However, these five have been exalted above the rest of the citizenry because of their extraordinary contributions, and sacrifices for the advancement of the cause of an independent St. Kitts and Nevis.”
So said Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris, in his remarks at the annual ceremony for the observance of National Heroes Day held on Wednesday 16th September 2020 at the National Heroes Park located in Conaree village within the vicinity of the Airport Roundabout.
The five National Heroes of St.Kitts-Nevis are: Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw, Caleb Azariah Paul Southwell, Joseph Nathaniel France, Sir Dr. Simeon Daniel and the only living honouree- Dr. Sir Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds.
Dr. Harris disclosed that having been established by an act of Parliament in 1996, The National Honours Act honours individuals recognized to have made the greatest contribution to our country’s advancement.
He went on to say that since its enactment in 1996, which made the late Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw our Country’s first National Hero, our country has bestowed the title of National Hero on four other citizens.
Dr. Harris highlighted: “Our five National Heroes are listed in chronological order: The Right Excellent Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw, first Premier of Saint Kitts and Nevis who was acclaimed on the first National Heroes Day on 16 September 1998, two years after being named posthumously as our first National Hero. In 2004 former Premier and Chief Minister the Right Excellent Sir Caleb Azariah Paul Southwell, and former Minister of Social Services and Trade Unionist The Right Excellent Sir Joseph Nathaniel France were awarded the honour.”
He continued: “In 2013 the first Premier of Nevis, The Right Excellent Sir. Dr. Simeon Daniel joined the pantheon of National Heroes. All these awards were bestowed posthumously on these four heroes. In 2015 The Right Excellent and the Right Honourable Dr. Sir Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds, the first Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis became the first living person to receive this honour. As Prime Minister, I was delighted to have had the opportunity to bestow upon Sir Kennedy this superlative honour while Sir Kennedy is still alive to experience the love, adoration and appreciation of our people for his years of service. I am proud too that this sacred site was inaugurated as National Heroes Park hosting the statues of all our national heroes.”
He added: “Lifted onto the shoulders of those who would have worked with and for them, we have attempted to immortalize them at our National Heroes Park commissioned in 2017. The hope is that we have expressed in a tangible way, the great respect and honour abiding in our hearts. Great they were, and are, to have so solidly laid the foundations of an emerging and subsequently new nation, in a politically hostile and tumultuous world.”
Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition St.Kitts-Nevis Labour Party Dr. Denzil L. Douglas speaking at the SKNLP’s annual wreath laying ceremony held at the Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw Memorial Park in St.Paul’s, on the occasion of National Heroes Day, commented: “We laud the significance of this day when we consider the milestones that we have attained in our own development as a people and a proud progressive nation.”
“We are compelled to pay homage to them for being the trailblazers of progressive policies and strategies that have shaped our thinking and projections and in particular to the first National heron, the father of our nation, the Right Excellent Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw whose visionary leadership laid the foundation for conditions for prosperity that the Labour Party Administration has brought to fruition during my tenure during the period 1995 to 2015. This year, our focus is on resilience, innovation and security as the overarching theme of the 37th year of our independence is quite relevant to our owner experience and story,” he added.
Speaking further about the Independence theme ‘Resilience, Innovation and Security for Independence 2020’, Dr. Douglas outlined that “When a people demonstrate resilience, they possess the capacity to adapt and overcome challenges and withstand great diversity. They preserve and they preserve through difficult times and rise above oppressive forces and debilitating circumstances. This was an enduring trait of the men and women who proceeded us on the pathway of nation building and in whose footsteps we followed when we received the mantle to govern this our beloved country.”