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Oral history recording with Timothy Nathaniel Hope from the Back-a-Yard project. Part 2 of 3 (AV 11795/1-3). This project collected stories from older African-Caribbean people who came to live in Newport from the 1940s onwards, including their recollections of the Caribbean and reasons for coming to the UK. The eighteen-month project was run by the South East Wales Racial Equality Council (SEWREC) and supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund. The project ran from October 2014 to March 2016.

Hurricane memories On 30 August 1949, a tropical storm killed seven and destroyed 27 homes in Bridgetown. Timothy’s home in Martindales Road was in a low-lying area and was badly flooded; the family had to scramble into a neighbour’s roof to survive.
The man – a Mr Lord – put boards up in the gables of his home so both families could escape to safety. Timothy remembers scrambling onto the roof to get away from the water. When Hurricane Janet hit Barbados in September 1955, it was the most powerful of the season – and an experience Timothy will never forget. He remembers there was a radio warning, but when the hurricane actually arrived the wind was unbelievable. Many families ran to the shelter – and lost their properties – but Timothy’s father was determined that his family would stay to look after the house. Timothy was instructed to hold a door tightly shut while his father tied down the gables with rope to stop the top of the house being blown off. It was scary but his brave actions paid off. Working in Barbados Timothy’s first job was in a clothes store. From there, he got a delivery job with an electrical company called Emtage Electric [the company is still trading in 2016] – his mode of transport was a bicycle with a little tray at the front and some trips could take over two hours. After that, Timothy went to work in the hotel trade. His first job was as a waiter at Gordons, one of the best Bajan hotels at the time. Timothy worked at the Barbados Hilton hotel when it first opened in the early 1960s and also worked at the Holiday Inn, first as a bell hop boy [a porter] and later as a night auditor, looking after the guests overnight. The Queen’s visit to Barbados The Queen has visited Barbados several times. Timothy remembers one visit [probably at the end of the Silver Jubilee tour in 1977] when she visited with Prince Philip. He was one of many who were chosen to perform a play in the Royal couple’s honour at Government House in Bridgetown. The play was called ‘Today he is coming’ and everyone dressed in traditional Bajan costume. The performers sang songs with lyrics like: ‘Today, today’s the day he’s coming Look me snowball car Gosh she paint up purty Purty as a lark.’ Barbados gaining Independence.