B.V.I. HERO AND FAMOUS ISLANDERS HONOURED ON STAMPS
The
Millennium Series 2000 honours the achievements of Virgin Islanders through
the centuries:
the 5c depicts the Sunday Morning Well, where the Emancipation Proclamation
was read in 1834;
the 20c. depicts a famous midwife, Nurse Mary Louise Davies;
the 30c. features the first building of what later became Cheyney University
of Pennsylvania, the first black university in the United States founded
by Tortola born Richard Humphreys;
the 45c honours Enid Leona Scatliffe, a former Chief Education Officer;
the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College is featured on the 50c to commemorate
its tenth anniversary;
and Sir Olva Georges is depicted on the $1 denomination, he was a nominated
member of the General Legislative Council of the Leeward Islands, and
in 1971 became the first British Virgin Islander to be knighted. The well-known
square facing the General Post Office in Road Town is named after him
By Giorgio Migliavacca©
A Virgin Islands hero, four famous Virgin Islanders, a truly important historic site and the local community college are the focal points of a set of postage stamps saluting the new millennium with a most impressive parade of achievements and achievers of the past. Indeed these stamps are of great historical significance to the people of the British Virgin Islands.
This is the second time a BVI set of stamps has honoured native blacks - the first time was in a 1993 series that included portraits of local historian and educator Dr. Norwell Harrigan and BVI teacher Stanley Nibbs.
The millennium set starts with a 5c. depicting the Sunday Morning Well, the site where, on 1st August 1834, the emancipation proclamation that gave freedom to 5,133 Virgin Islanders was read. The 20c. features Nurse Mary Louise Davies, a local midwife; and the 30c. stamp depicts the old building of what later became Cheyney University of Pennsylvania - the first black University in the United States. The founder of this historic institution was Tortola-born Richard Humphreys. He had emigrated to Philadelphia where he established himself as a successful goldsmith. At his death in 1832 he bequeathed a large sum to the Philadelphia Quaker Society with instructions to establish a college for blacks. He also left an additional trust fund to help the Shelter For Coloured Orphans. Nowadays, Cheyney University has over 7,000 alumni and a 275-acre campus situated in southeastern Pennsylvania. Its enrollment is over 1,700 graduate and undergraduate students, and in over 160 years Cheyney University has been able 'to reach the unreachable, embrace the rejected and be patient with the late bloomers' as Reverend Jesse Jackson put it. The philatelic gala continues with a 45c. value depicting former Chief Education Officer Enid Leona Scatliffe affectionately known and remembered as Teacher Enid. The 50c. stamp features the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College in celebration of the 10th anniversary of this local tertiary education institution. The $1 stamp depicts a portrait of Sir Olva Georges, who was involved in politics in the 1940s and also acted as Administrator in the absence of the substantive holder of that post. Olva Georges was a prominent figure also at a regional level, and in 1971 became the first British Virgin Islander to be knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Millennium
miniature sheet issued on 16th November 2000 to honour Samuel Hodge,
the first black man, and one of only two, to receive the Victoria Cross
in recognition of heroic deeds during the 1866 Ashantee War.
Topping this magnificent set is a $2 miniature sheet honouring B.V.I. hero Samuel Hodge. A native of Tortola, in 1866 Samuel Hodge became the first black man to be awarded the Victoria Cross. The Victoria Cross is the highest British honour for bravery, and is awarded to members of the Commonwealth armed services. Hodge received this important award in recognition of heroic deeds during one of the Ashantee wars. At the time, Hodge was approximately 26-year-old and was serving in the 4th West India Regiment as a Private. On 30 June 1866 at Tubabecelong, near the River Gambia, Private Hodge distinguished himself in the storming and capture of the stockaded town. Hodge and another volunteer who died in action succeeded in hewing down the stockade. The Victoria Cross is by far the world's most coveted medal for bravery. Samuel Hodge was the first black man to be awarded the Victoria Cross. The Victoria Cross is depicted on the stamp while miniature sheet that encloses it features the heroic deed of Samuel Hodge at Tubabecelong.
The Millennium Set was released on 16th November and will remain on sale at the General Post Office, Road Town, and the Branch Offices at East End, and West End, Tortola and The Valley Virgin Gorda until 15 May 2001 or until stocks are exhausted. The stamps are available at the BVI Philatelic Bureau, General Post Office, Sir Olva Georges Plaza, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.
Stamp collectors wishing to acquire earlier stamps, from
1866 to the mid-1990s may contact the BVI Philatelic Society,
P.O. Box 704,
Road Town,
Tortola,
British Virgin Islands.
Or e-mail: issun@candwbvi.net