Today in Bajan History| April 1st 1950 Fires and vehicular accidents

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Stockholm Network and the Department of History and Philosophy, University of the West Indies, Caveill campus present today in bajan history. [00:00:08] Speaker B: I'm Acheri Adams, history teacher at the Coleridge and Parish School and a graduate student in the Department of History and Philosophy at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill today in bajan history. April 1, 1950 fires and vehicular accidents on this day, April 1, 1950, the Barbados Advocate reported on a series of fires and vehicular accidents that occurred in the island during the past week. During this era, it was customary for news items of this nature to provide a comprehensive summary of the reported incidents with factoids which would be considered superfluous by contemporary journalistic standards. In the first news item, the public was informed that a small shop with all of its stock was completely destroyed at St. Simons St. Andrew on Thursday night at about 11:30 p.m. The uninsured shop owned by Mister Alfonso Medford was valued at $500. On the same day, at 08:30 a.m.. A cane fire of unknown origin was reported at Moncrief Plantation in St. John. This blaze destroyed two and a quarter acres of insured second crop red Keynes and one and a quarter acres of third crop red Keynes owned by Mister Wi Webster. The third blaze took place at Firehill St. Thomas. It burnt a small portion of the eastern side of an uninsured house owned by Martha Banfield. A vehicular accident happened at the corner of Spice street and Dottings Alley. A motorcar owned and driven by Louis lynch of Roebuck street collided with a car owned and driven by Mister Kenneth Hutchinson of Deakins Road. Both cars sustained minor damages. An accident also occurred on Lightfoot Lane between a motor car owned by Patrick Godfrey of White Park Road and a donkey drawn cart owned by Mister F Alleen of Station Hill. The rear fender of the car was damaged. In the parish of St. John at Coleton Road, a motor car owned and driven by Benjamin Vaughan of St. Simons St. Andrew struck a motor lorry owned by CN Rees of society St. John and driven by Carlton Knight, also of St. John. As a result of the collision, the left side of the cure and the radiator of the lorry were damaged. On this day, April 1, 1950, the Barbados Advocate, in its compendium of local news, gave an account of the fires and vehicular accidents which transpired in the intervening week. Some 74 years later, barbadian authorities publicly bemoaned the frequency of both events and plead with Barbadians to adhere to fire prevention measures and to exercise due care and attention on our roads. [00:03:17] Speaker A: Today in bajan history with Starcon Network and the Department of History and Philosophy, University of the West Indies Cavill campus.