0:00:12 > 0:00:17John Barnes is best known for playing football for Liverpool,
0:00:17 > 0:00:20and still lives with his family close to his former club.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27In a glittering career spanning nearly two decades,
0:00:27 > 0:00:31he represented England 79 times.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Yet John wasn't born in England.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37My father was a colonel in the Jamaican army
0:00:37 > 0:00:40and he was posted here as military attache,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43so I fully expected to go back to the Caribbean and Jamaica
0:00:43 > 0:00:47when I was 16, 17, and the family went back and I stayed to play football.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55John helped steer Liverpool to League and FA Cup success
0:00:55 > 0:00:58but like many black footballers of that time,
0:00:58 > 0:01:00witnessed racism at first hand.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06There is a great picture, and it was in the newspapers as well,
0:01:06 > 0:01:08of me back-heeling a banana off the field.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12Obviously things have happened which haven't been pleasant,
0:01:12 > 0:01:15but I tend to look at them as experiences that are necessary
0:01:15 > 0:01:18for you to grow, for you to be who you are.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22Because I came from Jamaica, and I'm from a middle-class Jamaican family,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25I was fully empowered as to who I actually was,
0:01:25 > 0:01:30so coming to England and experiencing racism and the prejudice,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33it really was water off a duck's back to me.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38Married twice, John has seven children -
0:01:38 > 0:01:42the oldest 27, the youngest 18 months old.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47John now works as a football pundit,
0:01:47 > 0:01:50well known for his honest and forthright opinions.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53'I do argue a lot and I'm fairly opinionated.'
0:01:53 > 0:01:56I try and be objective, so I try and see both sides,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59although my side I probably argue a little bit more for!
0:02:02 > 0:02:04My family are fairly political.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07My grandfather and his brothers in Jamaica
0:02:07 > 0:02:13were part of a trade union movement, and they argue about politics. They argue a lot.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16But my grandfather, Frank, wasn't the most exciting person,
0:02:16 > 0:02:19because he was always on the typewriter or reading books,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22so I'm hoping to go further down the line
0:02:22 > 0:02:24to find some more active, dynamic people,
0:02:24 > 0:02:28outdoors people, er, but Frank is the first point.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Now I'm going to head off to Jamaica and see my mother
0:03:09 > 0:03:13to get her to tell me some of the old stories she has already told me,
0:03:13 > 0:03:16which I wasn't listening to cos I was too busy playing football.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Hopefully I'll find out a little bit more about where I came from.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26- John!- How are you doing?
0:03:27 > 0:03:29- Long time no see. - Hello. How you doing, sweetie?
0:03:29 > 0:03:32- Very well.- Nice to see you, sweetie.- Good to see you.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34What have you done to the weather? How hot is this?
0:03:34 > 0:03:36- It's cool?- No, it's too hot!
0:03:36 > 0:03:40- I'm from the cold country. - This is good for July. - I know, this is good weather.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42It was hotter last year.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51The Caribbean island of Jamaica was captured by the British
0:03:51 > 0:03:54from the Spanish in 1655.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57Over the next two centuries,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01Britain's plantation owners exploited the trade in slaves
0:04:01 > 0:04:05to make Jamaica one of the world's largest exporters of sugar.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10Jamaica gained independence from Britain in 1962
0:04:10 > 0:04:13and this year is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18It is now one of the 54 members of the Commonwealth.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23Around 90% of islanders are directly descended from slaves.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27Just over half a million people
0:04:27 > 0:04:31live in and around the island's capital, Kingston.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39John spent his early childhood in Jamaica
0:04:39 > 0:04:42with his two older sisters, Tracy and Gillian,
0:04:42 > 0:04:44his mother Jeanne and father Ken,
0:04:44 > 0:04:49before Ken moved the family to England in 1976.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Well, my father played football for Jamaica.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55He captained the Jamaica national team, he managed the team -
0:04:55 > 0:04:58not at the same time - then became President of the Football Federation.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02He was just the greatest man, as far as I'm concerned.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Ken Barnes was a sportsman and soldier,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08trained by the British at Sandhurst.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11He rose to number two in the Jamaican Defence Force
0:05:11 > 0:05:15based at Up Park Camp in Kingston where the family used to live.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Ken died in 2009.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25My favourite picture of your father is that one on the wall, yes.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29- When was that? - That was taken 1988.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33We went to Up Park Camp when you were a couple of months old, in about '64.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36- You had some good times there, didn't you?- I had all the times!
0:05:36 > 0:05:41- You had the run of the place. - And the football field was opposite where we lived
0:05:41 > 0:05:43- and we had 18 mango trees in the garden.- Yes.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46And you used to play football there. That was all you used to do.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49This is the earliest picture I can remember of me.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Your father, when he was at staff college, he sent stuff home,
0:05:52 > 0:05:57and he sent a sweater for me and he sent this for you and some things for the girls,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00and we wanted to show that you were, even in this hot climate,
0:06:00 > 0:06:04- you were using the bathrobe. - Did he forget where we lived?! You got a big sweater,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07I've got a woolly bathrobe, when we live in Jamaica, 100 degrees.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09That was what they were selling in England.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11So this was what we took. And there you were.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15- He was very pleased when we sent those pictures to him.- All right.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19When we went to England in '76, we stayed nearly 4½ years.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22- Some of us who were deserted stayed longer.- Stayed longer.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27All right, well, let me show you some more members of the family.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31We're talking about our little family, but over here,
0:06:31 > 0:06:37this is the first thing I did when I moved here last November, set up this wall with all my pictures.
0:06:37 > 0:06:42- This is my father, your grandfather, Frank Hill.- Yeah. - You remember much about him?
0:06:42 > 0:06:45I remember Frank. Not too much because every time we went round,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48- he was inside, reading and typing. - Typing.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52- I was an outdoor kind of guy. - Yes, and he was an indoor kind of guy.- An indoor kind of guy.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56Oh, yes, he was a journalist. This is a bust of Frank...
0:06:56 > 0:07:00- Yeah.- ..when he was chairman of the National Heritage Trust, the Institute of Jamaica.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04- OK.- And this is his father, Stephen Hill,
0:07:04 > 0:07:06my grandfather, your great-grandfather.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10- Who you think I look like.- Yes. I think you look a lot like him.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12He was an associate editor of the Gleaner.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16I don't know too much about his journalistic career.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21All right, this is one of the 25th wedding anniversary of my father Frank and mother Monica.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25- Mm-hm.- December 20th 1959. I was in England at the time,
0:07:25 > 0:07:29so I wasn't here. But all the rest of the family in Jamaica are here.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34- That's Uncle Ken.- Right.- He and Dad were like peas in a pod.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37And all their political activities got them into a lot of hot water.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41And in fact, they were arrested and interned in Up Park Camp
0:07:41 > 0:07:46- for threatening to overthrow Her Majesty's Government.- Nice!
0:07:46 > 0:07:51Well, that is what they were doing, fomenting unrest among the masses,
0:07:51 > 0:07:53the working class of Jamaica.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57They were always nationalists. Loved Jamaica to death.
0:08:02 > 0:08:05As a boy, John was close to his football-loving father
0:08:05 > 0:08:10and paid less attention to the bookish men on his mother's side of the family.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Now he wants to find out more about his maternal grandfather,
0:08:14 > 0:08:19Frank Hill, who was a journalist and trades union leader
0:08:19 > 0:08:21when Jamaica was still ruled by the British.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27While I remember this picture of me in Up Park Camp, where I grew up,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30I had heard stories of course about my grandfather, Frank,
0:08:30 > 0:08:34and I know from the political aspect of the family that he was involved,
0:08:34 > 0:08:38and his brother Ken particularly, were involved in...shenanigans, shall we say?
0:08:38 > 0:08:43So I'm going to find out a bit more about them being, as my mother said, in Up Park Camp.
0:08:49 > 0:08:55In the early 1940s, Jamaica was a crown colony ruled from London.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01The island was controlled by a white colonialist elite.
0:09:01 > 0:09:06Day-to-day law and order on the island was the responsibility of the British Governor.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11In November 1942, during the darkest days of the Second World War,
0:09:11 > 0:09:15Frank and his brother Ken, along with two other union leaders,
0:09:15 > 0:09:20were imprisoned on the Governor's orders, and held at Up Park Camp,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23which at the time was a British Army base.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28It is now the home of the Jamaican Defence Force.
0:09:28 > 0:09:33John has come here to meet Lieutenant-Colonel Martin Rickman.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40So, John, we're now walking on the ground
0:09:40 > 0:09:42- where that internment camp was actually located.- Right.
0:09:42 > 0:09:47Now, the camp would have been maybe about ten or so wooden huts
0:09:47 > 0:09:52and it was bordered by barbed-wire fencing, with a guard at the gate.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56And there were internees, both local and also Germans,
0:09:56 > 0:10:00because it was at the time of the war,
0:10:00 > 0:10:03- and German merchant shippers were detained here...- Right.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05..for a period at that time.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10Well, I didn't realise it was so close,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13because this is where my football career started.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17- Oh, really?- I didn't realise that my grandfather was interned not far from here.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21We played football here on the way to swimming training at the national stadium, which is close,
0:10:21 > 0:10:23and this is where my career started.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28We're sitting where the internment camp was.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32I've come here so many times without knowing this is where it actually was, and this existed.
0:10:34 > 0:10:40So, really, next up is to find out more about that incident and why they were interned here.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46John has come to the Governor's residence, King's House,
0:10:46 > 0:10:50to look at colonial records relating to his grandfather's imprisonment.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55He is meeting Khitanya Petgrave,
0:10:55 > 0:10:59professor of history at the University of the West Indies.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02- Hi, I'm John.- Hi, I'm Khitanya. Nice to meet you.- And you.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08- Welcome to King's House, John. - Thank you.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13There are some wonderful, grand surroundings here. It's a very important house for 1962,
0:11:13 > 0:11:18when Jamaica gained independence. It would have been the main office and official residence
0:11:18 > 0:11:21of the British Governor during the period of colonialism.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26- This was where the movers and shakers were.- Exactly. And major decisions would have been made here.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28First of all, the Governor at the time of the internment -
0:11:28 > 0:11:32there's a picture here of Governor Arthur Richards.
0:11:32 > 0:11:37- Looks a very serious man. - Yes, he does, in his rather grand outfit, there.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39- Very grand.- Yeah.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43So here are the documents, actually, that I'd like to show you.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46You can see here that these are top-secret communiques
0:11:46 > 0:11:51- between the Governor and the Colonial Office in London.- OK.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54- Your grandad was detained on 3rd November.- Mm-hm.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58This is the first communique between the Governor of Jamaica at the time,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Sir Arthur Richards, and the Colonial Secretary of State.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05"Most Immediate. I have detained under Regulation 18
0:12:05 > 0:12:08"of Jamaica Defence Regulations, 1940, the following -
0:12:08 > 0:12:10"Richard Hart, Arthur Henry..."
0:12:11 > 0:12:15..somebody Barstow Hill, scribbled out to make Frank Hill,
0:12:15 > 0:12:18who's my grandfather, obviously, and Ken Hill.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21And they were collectively known as the Four Hs, right?
0:12:21 > 0:12:25They're kind of the most vehement anti-colonial critics at the time.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28And a lot of the ways in which they communicated their ideas
0:12:28 > 0:12:33- was through involvement in trade union groups.- Right.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42Frank and Ken Hill, and the two other union leaders,
0:12:42 > 0:12:45were collectively known as the Four Hs,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48and imprisoned for their political beliefs
0:12:48 > 0:12:51under emergency wartime legislation.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57"Frank Hill is a leading member of the Metropolitan group
0:12:57 > 0:13:00"of left-wing PNP, and a former group president."
0:13:00 > 0:13:02I'll stop you right there.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05First of all, the PNP was the People's National Party,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08a party which your grandfather was a part of,
0:13:08 > 0:13:14um, and, essentially, the remit of it was to fight for self-government or political autonomy.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22At the time, very few Jamaicans had the right to vote.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26Power lay with the predominantly white minority.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28The PNP was left wing
0:13:28 > 0:13:31and supported the poor black workers on the island.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Modelled on the British Labour Party,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37it was Jamaica's first serious political party
0:13:37 > 0:13:39to challenge colonial rule.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45Frank's involvement soon brought him to the attention of the authorities.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49- If you just read it for me, please. - OK.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51"He owns The Worker printery.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55"From this printing press emanates all the subversive literature
0:13:55 > 0:13:58"and objectionable newspapers in the island."
0:13:58 > 0:14:02Frank Hill was a journalist, so he's being accused here
0:14:02 > 0:14:06of being the main propagandist of the PNP at the time.
0:14:06 > 0:14:11They actually seized documents from The Worker printery, and if you read along here...
0:14:11 > 0:14:14"We want public mass feeling aroused.
0:14:14 > 0:14:19"All that wealth of anti-imperialist feeling bred by years of British evil rule.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22"For this is not our war, it is Tory England's war.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26"Be it resolved that the PNP in the name of the people of Jamaica
0:14:26 > 0:14:29"demand declaration by the British Government of Jamaica's independence."
0:14:29 > 0:14:33So these are some of the words that your grandfather wrote.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37You know, this is the during the wartime, the Second World War,
0:14:37 > 0:14:39and he's using the conditions of wartime
0:14:39 > 0:14:42to really further fuel and spur on the nationalist movement,
0:14:42 > 0:14:47using it as a condition to declare, "This is a time for independence for Jamaica."
0:14:47 > 0:14:51This is very interesting. I've seen similar words before, similar words,
0:14:51 > 0:14:56but obviously not knowing that my grandfather obviously felt the same way.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04At the time Frank was campaigning for political change,
0:15:04 > 0:15:08Britain was at a perilous point of the war.
0:15:08 > 0:15:13By 1942, Hitler had occupied Europe and pushed on into Africa.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20The colonies were being asked to do their bit,
0:15:20 > 0:15:24and many Jamaicans had signed up, but some, like Frank,
0:15:24 > 0:15:26questioned Jamaica's role in the war.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29His views worried the Governor.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34OK, I'd like to show you the Governor's real opinions
0:15:34 > 0:15:38of Frank Hill and his colleagues, the ones he detained.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40If you just read right here...
0:15:40 > 0:15:45"I have long desired for the public safety to curb this man's activities.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49"Information now at my disposal shows that it is imperative to exercise control over him
0:15:49 > 0:15:55"before he has further opportunity of disseminating such dangerous opinions amongst the ignorant masses here,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58"who are unusually receptive to such propaganda."
0:15:58 > 0:16:02This particular Governor was very intent on keeping things under control
0:16:02 > 0:16:06and he saw Frank Hill and his brother and colleagues as destabilising forces.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09Of course, this time is when a new educated elite,
0:16:09 > 0:16:14a black elite or Indian elite, or Asian elite in Asia, then started to question...
0:16:14 > 0:16:18- That's right.- ..you know, their own humanity, and ask for independence themselves, so...
0:16:18 > 0:16:24And you're quite right about this idea of a well-educated elite of which Frank Hill was a part.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28This would have definitely upset the status quo.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37While the Governor of Jamaica was busy jailing dissidents,
0:16:37 > 0:16:41some members of the wartime coalition back in the UK
0:16:41 > 0:16:44were becoming alarmed by growing unrest in the colonies.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47They didn't want to upset the war effort
0:16:47 > 0:16:53and were beginning to recognise a legitimate desire for self-rule throughout the Empire.
0:16:56 > 0:17:01Chief among those in Government was the socialist minister Sir Stafford Cripps,
0:17:01 > 0:17:04who now took up the cause of the Four Hs.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07Ken Hill, your great-uncle,
0:17:07 > 0:17:11wrote to Stafford Cripps while he was in detention.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Let me show you the response from Stafford Cripps
0:17:14 > 0:17:17to our Colonial Secretary at the time, Oliver Stanley.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21"I am sending you a letter from a very nice young Negro I met out in Jamaica
0:17:21 > 0:17:24"with whose ability I was much struck.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28"He seems to have got into an internment camp for no explained reason.
0:17:28 > 0:17:33"This is exactly the type of man that good, sensible handling can make a real asset to Jamaica,
0:17:33 > 0:17:36"whereas shutting him up will only make him bitter and vengeful and won't do any good.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39"I daresay this matter has been straightened out - I hope so."
0:17:39 > 0:17:44I don't know what your impressions of that are. First of all, "very nice young Negro" - that's...
0:17:44 > 0:17:49- That's nice language at that time. - Exactly.- A bit condescending, but what do you expect? It's 1942.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52I would rather stay in prison, to be honest with you!
0:17:53 > 0:17:58- But anyway...- But what this shows is really that Stafford Cripps understood that it was really good
0:17:58 > 0:18:01to have Ken Hill and the Four Hs on their side.
0:18:01 > 0:18:07And I'd like to bring into the view the fact that they really subscribed... The Four Hs
0:18:07 > 0:18:11and the leading members of the PNP really believed in Fabian socialism,
0:18:11 > 0:18:14which is the same thing that the British Labour Party stood for.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17The idea of that, yes, change should come about,
0:18:17 > 0:18:22but it should be through gradual reform and not revolutionary change, as such.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28The Governor in Jamaica now found himself at odds
0:18:28 > 0:18:33with the Secretary of State for the Colonies back in London,
0:18:33 > 0:18:36who accepted that some limited self-rule
0:18:36 > 0:18:38would be inevitable for the island.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41The next thing that happens
0:18:41 > 0:18:45is a letter from the Secretary of State to the Governor.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49And it says, "Increasing Parliamentary interest is being taken in cases of four men
0:18:49 > 0:18:55"whose detention under Defence Regulation was reported in a telegram, number 889.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58"Even if these men have not exercised their right of appeal,
0:18:58 > 0:19:03"you will no doubt think it is desirable to consider from time to time how far the circumstances
0:19:03 > 0:19:07"in which it was found necessary to detain them have changed by reason of the improved political situation
0:19:07 > 0:19:11"and the likelihood that the People's National Party, will now turn its energies
0:19:11 > 0:19:14"to constructive effort within new constitution."
0:19:14 > 0:19:17Right. So you can see that the Colonial Office realises
0:19:17 > 0:19:22that the PNP are completely on board with this idea of constitutional reform
0:19:22 > 0:19:25and are willing to work... This culture of negotiation, mediation, working together...
0:19:25 > 0:19:29- Even if the men haven't asked to be released, release them? - Yes, release them.
0:19:29 > 0:19:35- They're saying, even if they haven't made representation, you know, get them out.- Right.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38And this is the reply to the Secretary of State
0:19:38 > 0:19:41from the Governor, the following the day, 16th March. OK.
0:19:41 > 0:19:46"I have decided to suspend, unconditionally, the orders against four internees,
0:19:46 > 0:19:50"Frank Hill, Ken Hill, Richard Hart and Henry.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54"I am convinced that the risk is worth taking, to give them a chance of turning their activities
0:19:54 > 0:20:00- "towards making the new constitution a success."- So even he realises that it's pointless
0:20:00 > 0:20:03to have the Four Hs continue to be detained.
0:20:03 > 0:20:09On 18th March 1943, after just over four months in detention,
0:20:09 > 0:20:15Frank and the rest of the Four Hs were eventually released on the orders of the Governor.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Sir Arthur Richards, he was a little bit problematic
0:20:18 > 0:20:22and actually he was replaced very soon after this, in July 1943.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25- Yeah.- Yes, so... But Frank Hill was at the centre...
0:20:25 > 0:20:29Your grandad was at the centre of all this political activity,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33- at a very critical moment in Jamaican history.- Mm.- Yeah.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45Knowing more about my grandfather, he's going up in my estimation, Frank.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48He's much more exciting than I thought.
0:20:48 > 0:20:53Which then leads me to thinking about my love of football coming from my father,
0:20:53 > 0:20:58and I'm just wondering if Frank's love of politics and writing,
0:20:58 > 0:21:03whether that would have been from his father, my great-grandfather, Stephen Hill.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06And that's what I aim to find out next.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21To find out more about Stephen Hill,
0:21:21 > 0:21:24John is contacting his mother's cousin Robert Hill,
0:21:24 > 0:21:26who is professor of Caribbean history
0:21:26 > 0:21:30at the University College of Los Angeles.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38John's great-grandfather, Stephen, was also a journalist,
0:21:38 > 0:21:42but at a very different kind of newspaper from Frank's The Worker.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51The Daily Gleaner, founded in 1834,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54was very much an Establishment newspaper,
0:21:54 > 0:21:56owned by white merchants.
0:22:00 > 0:22:01"Dearest John,
0:22:01 > 0:22:04"I'm really pleased you got in touch with me about your research.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07"Your great-grandfather, my grandfather, Stephen,
0:22:07 > 0:22:10"is a rather enigmatic figure in the family.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12"Perhaps one of his greatest achievements
0:22:12 > 0:22:16"was that he rose to the rank of associate news editor of the Daily Gleaner.
0:22:16 > 0:22:21"The fact that he was a black man in such a prominent position at this time in Jamaica is quite remarkable.
0:22:21 > 0:22:26"During my research a few decades ago, I came across an interesting document you might wish to see.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30"I had forgotten all about it until I got your message.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34"I have attached the document to this e-mail and hope you find it useful."
0:22:34 > 0:22:38The reply John receives from Robert Hill comes with an attachment.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42"Re activities of Mr Marcus Garvey.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44"I beg to report as follows...
0:22:44 > 0:22:47"On Friday 14th, instant,
0:22:47 > 0:22:50"he conducted a meeting in the Ward Theatre
0:22:50 > 0:22:53"under the auspices of the People's Political Party.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57"The object of this meeting was to protest against the Daily Gleaner's method
0:22:57 > 0:23:01"of inciting the public mind against an unfortunate section of the community."
0:23:01 > 0:23:04It doesn't really make much sense to me, to be honest.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07So, I shall have to try and find out some more details.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14The mystery document appears to be an account of a protest meeting
0:23:14 > 0:23:18held in Kingston by the black nationalist leader, Marcus Garvey.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24Garvey was a Jamaican-born early pioneer of black civil rights.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28"Politically, the Marcus Garvey African Nationalist Movement
0:23:28 > 0:23:31"with a following of tens of thousands,
0:23:31 > 0:23:33"emphasise African-ness for Afro-Americans."
0:23:35 > 0:23:39Garvey toured the United States extensively and recruited
0:23:39 > 0:23:44thousands of supporters, before falling foul of the FBI.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47He was imprisoned and then deported in 1927.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52Back in Jamaica,
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Garvey set out to represent the poor black community,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58who had no right to vote,
0:23:58 > 0:24:01and to challenge the ruling white elite on the island.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13It seems that, in 1928,
0:24:13 > 0:24:17Garvey held a meeting to protest against the Daily Gleaner.
0:24:17 > 0:24:22John needs to know how this relates to his great-grandfather, Stephen,
0:24:22 > 0:24:24who was associate editor of the paper at the time.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31John has come to the University of the West Indies
0:24:31 > 0:24:36to meet Prof Clinton Hutton, an expert on black nationalism.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39- Professor, how are you?- Hi, I'm good, man. How are you, John?
0:24:39 > 0:24:42- John. Nice to see you.- Yeah, nice to see you too. Good, good.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47Professor Hutton, I'm trying to find out information
0:24:47 > 0:24:49about my great-grandfather, Stephen.
0:24:49 > 0:24:55My cousin Bobby sent an attachment which I couldn't really understand.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58So I thought you maybe could shed some light on it.
0:24:58 > 0:25:04This is in relation to a meeting that was held by Marcus Garvey,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07and this meeting was held
0:25:07 > 0:25:12to protest reports in the Daily Gleaner newspaper.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Your great-grandfather was one of its editors
0:25:16 > 0:25:21and in two reports said that Garvey was in a conspiracy
0:25:21 > 0:25:25to attack a number of prominent persons,
0:25:25 > 0:25:28um, who were regarded as his political enemies.
0:25:28 > 0:25:33- This is...the first of them. - Right.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37"Hooligans set upon Mr John Soulette.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42"The incident occurred just as Mr Soulette was closing his establishment.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45"He was in the act of bolting one of its windows,
0:25:45 > 0:25:48"which opened into Tower Street, when the hooligan came from behind
0:25:48 > 0:25:50"and administered a couple of blows with his fist.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53"The attack on Mr Soulette was premeditated
0:25:53 > 0:25:54"and there was good reason to believe
0:25:54 > 0:25:56"that it was arranged in certain quarters.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59"We are fully a year off the general election
0:25:59 > 0:26:02"and if this exhibition of hooliganism commences already,
0:26:02 > 0:26:06- "one can conjecture what will be the situation next year."- Yeah.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10This...this is the second...
0:26:10 > 0:26:12the second one.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15"Gleaner hears beating-up of Mr Soulette part of plot."
0:26:15 > 0:26:20- Which is really a development of... - Or just the same.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23- ..but now we're saying that it's definitely part of a plot.- OK.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Marcus Garvey believed
0:26:28 > 0:26:32that Stephen Hill was the author of the articles in the Gleaner.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35These articles suggested that the attack on Mr Soulette,
0:26:35 > 0:26:39a watchmaker and local politician, was not random,
0:26:39 > 0:26:43but organised by Garvey and his supporters
0:26:43 > 0:26:46to intimidate Soulette ahead of elections in 1930.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50The articles also claimed attacks were planned
0:26:50 > 0:26:51on other prominent citizens,
0:26:51 > 0:26:55including John's great-grandfather, Stephen.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59Now, Garvey called this meeting to protest the report,
0:26:59 > 0:27:04- and this is part of it.- And this is Marcus Garvey speaking?- Right.
0:27:05 > 0:27:10"Whereas the Daily Gleaner of the island on the 10th and 11th days of December 1928
0:27:10 > 0:27:13"published a certain untruthful statement with respect
0:27:13 > 0:27:15"to an assault committed on a Mr John Soulette of this city
0:27:15 > 0:27:18"and where such statements were fabricated
0:27:18 > 0:27:21"for the purpose of endeavouring to discredit and hold up to public ridicule and contempt
0:27:21 > 0:27:25"certain citizens of this island and prejudice their political career."
0:27:25 > 0:27:29Yeah. The meeting was, um, said to have been attended
0:27:29 > 0:27:31by over 3,000 persons,
0:27:31 > 0:27:34essentially to put pressure on the Gleaner
0:27:34 > 0:27:37and your great-grandfather,
0:27:37 > 0:27:40- and actually blamed him for this report...- OK.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43..that they considered... that they denied
0:27:43 > 0:27:46to have any validity at all.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52Marcus Garvey retaliated by publishing a pamphlet
0:27:52 > 0:27:55accusing Stephen Hill and the Gleaner
0:27:55 > 0:27:59of smearing his campaign to win seats for Garvey's candidates,
0:27:59 > 0:28:01including a Mr Simpson.
0:28:02 > 0:28:08Marcus Garvey announced Simpson as one of his speakers.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10"The greatest hooligan in the world is that man
0:28:10 > 0:28:14"who can stick in one suit of clothes from Christmas to Christmas, he's the biggest hooligan,
0:28:14 > 0:28:16"and that man is to be found at the Gleaner.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20"Talk about anybody striking Hill. Why, you would have to have
0:28:20 > 0:28:23"a Euphrates to wash your hands after you've done it. Laughter.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26"Look at that man's bloodshot eyes and dribbling mouth,
0:28:26 > 0:28:31"look at his lips, but don't attempt to draw a match near his mouth to avoid an explosion."
0:28:31 > 0:28:33Well, we know he liked a drink. THEY LAUGH
0:28:33 > 0:28:35- You know that?- Yeah.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38- So the attack was quite personal. - Mm-hm.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40It's part of trying to... to discredit him.
0:28:40 > 0:28:45They are saying that somehow Hill...
0:28:45 > 0:28:48is not a representative of black people,
0:28:48 > 0:28:54is a representative of those classes of people who own the Gleaner.
0:28:59 > 0:29:04Stephen is a much more complex character, even than Frank.
0:29:04 > 0:29:09I don't know if he's been swept away because he's working for the paper, so he has to take this stance,
0:29:09 > 0:29:14but it seems that he has made a few enemies in Jamaica.
0:29:14 > 0:29:20Stephen Hill died in 1937 at the relatively young age of 54,
0:29:20 > 0:29:24just before the struggle for Jamaican independence really took off.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37John wants to know whether Stephen's reputation was damaged
0:29:37 > 0:29:40by his public spat with Marcus Garvey.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49He's heading for Spanish Town, the old capital of Jamaica,
0:29:49 > 0:29:52where the national archives are located.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56He's meeting research consultant, Dianne Frankson.
0:29:58 > 0:30:02- Hi, Dianne, I'm John.- Hello, how are you, John?- Nice to meet you.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06Well, here's a picture of my great-grandfather, Stephen Hill,
0:30:06 > 0:30:08and I'm just really here to try and find out
0:30:08 > 0:30:12whether the altercation with Marcus Garvey ruined his reputation,
0:30:12 > 0:30:17or whether he was viewed in a different light after that.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20Well, that would not have been unusual for the time.
0:30:20 > 0:30:25- Mm-hm.- Mainly because Marcus Garvey
0:30:25 > 0:30:28was considered a radical, an extreme radical.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32He was basically a person who appealed at the time,
0:30:32 > 0:30:35mostly to the working class, not to a middle-class person.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39And not only that, the Gleaner has traditionally
0:30:39 > 0:30:44- been a very Establishment-based paper, even till today.- Mmm.
0:30:46 > 0:30:51This is entitled "The tragic death of SA Hill of the Gleaner."
0:30:51 > 0:30:53"Some time after midnight
0:30:53 > 0:30:56"he was down in the vicinity of the Victoria Market pier,
0:30:56 > 0:30:59"and presumably went for a stroll on the pier itself.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02"At about quarter to one o'clock, a boatman who was in his boat
0:31:02 > 0:31:05"heard a splash and, shortly after, saw a hat floating on the water.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09"At 6 o'clock, a body was seen floating near the western side of the pier.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12"It was speedily identified as that of Mr Stephen Hill
0:31:12 > 0:31:14"of the Gleaner's editorial staff."
0:31:14 > 0:31:16How do you feel about that?
0:31:16 > 0:31:20There was a rumour, and I've heard the rumour about his drinking habits
0:31:20 > 0:31:22and, um, he probably was wandering
0:31:22 > 0:31:27a little bit too close and a bit inebriated and fell into the water.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30Let's now look at...
0:31:30 > 0:31:34tributes that were paid to your great-grandfather.
0:31:34 > 0:31:39"Next to his love for newspaper work, he loved the thoroughbreds
0:31:39 > 0:31:42"and few indeed were the race meetings in Kingston and St Andrew
0:31:42 > 0:31:44"he missed in the past 35 years.
0:31:44 > 0:31:46"Years ago, he owned a couple of thoroughbreds
0:31:46 > 0:31:48"with which he won several races
0:31:48 > 0:31:52"and his familiar figure will be missed at Knutsford and the Kingston course
0:31:52 > 0:31:55"when his devotees gather together for the king of sports."
0:31:55 > 0:31:58He actually raced horses.
0:31:58 > 0:32:01So, you're talking a black man
0:32:01 > 0:32:06achieving the status of going into the upper-middle class.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09Now, you're starting to understand why Marcus Garvey
0:32:09 > 0:32:11would definitely have not been his best friend.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14Well, it wasn't financial. Maybe he moved in those circles,
0:32:14 > 0:32:18but he didn't have any money to move in those circles, I tell you that!
0:32:18 > 0:32:22Well, but you know, actually, class has very little to do with money.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26- If he managed to work himself there...- Mmm.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29..and get accepted,
0:32:29 > 0:32:31- that was an achievement in itself.- Mmm.
0:32:31 > 0:32:32Let me tell you that.
0:32:38 > 0:32:40Although both journalists,
0:32:40 > 0:32:44father and son were clearly very different politically.
0:32:44 > 0:32:48Stephen would appear to have become a member of the Establishment,
0:32:48 > 0:32:52whereas his son, Frank, was taking a more radical path.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03So, just how did John's grandfather, Frank,
0:33:03 > 0:33:06become part of the Jamaican independence movement?
0:33:12 > 0:33:15John has come to the Ward Theatre in downtown Kingston
0:33:15 > 0:33:17to meet Dr Raphael Dalleo.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20- Hi, I'm John.- Hi, Raphael. Great to meet you.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22Nice to meet you too.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29Raphael, an expert in Caribbean political writing,
0:33:29 > 0:33:32has documents relating to Frank's early political life.
0:33:34 > 0:33:38In 1937, he's working at the Water Commission here in Kingston,
0:33:38 > 0:33:42and one of his colleagues there is a man named OT Fairclough.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45So Fairclough is someone
0:33:45 > 0:33:48who has very strong political beliefs in self-governance
0:33:48 > 0:33:51and he and Frank are talking about what to do about this.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54So the two of them decide they're going to launch a newspaper,
0:33:54 > 0:33:56titled Public Opinion.
0:33:56 > 0:33:58"New wine in new bottle.
0:33:58 > 0:34:02"Is it inevitable that Jamaica will remain forever a crown colony
0:34:02 > 0:34:04"with scant voice in her own destinies?
0:34:04 > 0:34:06"Are her people as a whole incapable of reaching
0:34:06 > 0:34:09"the level of civilisation which guarantees equilibrium
0:34:09 > 0:34:12"and progress of adaptation to the requirements of a changing world?"
0:34:12 > 0:34:17OK? So this is not a signed article, but we think this is something that Frank would've written.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19"To represent the new opinions of the present time,
0:34:19 > 0:34:22"its ambitions and its hopes, there must be a new voice.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24"And for this reason, Public Opinion has appeared."
0:34:24 > 0:34:27- So this is the...- That's why he started the newspaper.- Exactly.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30It was strange, because as much as he was a quiet man,
0:34:30 > 0:34:35- he was always inside, from my mother, I always knew he had strong views and strong opinions.- Hm-mm.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38So while he wasn't outside playing football with me,
0:34:38 > 0:34:40that's why I thought he was boring,
0:34:40 > 0:34:43I knew that he was a very strong-minded man.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46Why don't you take a look at the headline here?
0:34:48 > 0:34:53"34 strikers hurt, 60 arrested in clash with police in St Thomas."
0:34:53 > 0:34:55- So this is January 1938.- OK.
0:34:55 > 0:34:591938 is especially important in Jamaica
0:34:59 > 0:35:02as this year in which there are all of these labour uprisings.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04We have them spreading throughout the island.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07"1,000 labourers halt Tate & Lyle in Westmoreland."
0:35:07 > 0:35:10So Jamaica's still a crown colony under British rule,
0:35:10 > 0:35:12a place where there's a lot of poverty and inequality,
0:35:12 > 0:35:15and 100 years after the abolition of slavery,
0:35:15 > 0:35:18many Jamaicans are still living on the same estates
0:35:18 > 0:35:20their ancestors lived on as slaves,
0:35:20 > 0:35:23they're working for below living wages,
0:35:23 > 0:35:26- so this is going on at the beginning of 1938.- OK.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30'Just 100 years ago, Great Britain abolished slavery.
0:35:30 > 0:35:34'Today, the Jamaican Negro is a happy, enlightened law-abiding citizen,
0:35:34 > 0:35:37'loyal to his government, of which he is very proud.'
0:35:39 > 0:35:43But Frank Hill was all too aware that the reality for Jamaicans
0:35:43 > 0:35:47was very different from that portrayed by newsreel at the time.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49The production of sugar cane
0:35:49 > 0:35:52was an essential part of Jamaica's economy,
0:35:52 > 0:35:55but in the late 1930s, world markets were depressed,
0:35:55 > 0:35:59unemployment was rife and wages were low.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03The workforce began a series of strikes.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07Hundreds were arrested and at least 12 people killed.
0:36:07 > 0:36:12What initially started as a strike at one sugar factory
0:36:12 > 0:36:14soon became an uprising across the island,
0:36:14 > 0:36:17as witnessed at first hand by Frank Hill.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23This is Frank being interviewed later in the 1970s,
0:36:23 > 0:36:25talking about 1938.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27"Arthur Kitchin interview with Frank Hill.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29"The breaking of the storm in 1938
0:36:29 > 0:36:32"to those of us who were involved in it,
0:36:32 > 0:36:34"was so close that we hardly saw the woods because of the trees,
0:36:34 > 0:36:39"so although I remember covering for the Jamaica Standard rioting in front of the Coronation Market,
0:36:39 > 0:36:42"and running for cover from police bullets coming down the lane,
0:36:42 > 0:36:46"actually, the social significance never fully broke over us until two months later."
0:36:46 > 0:36:49So Frank is a journalist in this time period
0:36:49 > 0:36:52and one of the things he's doing is he's covering these riots.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55It seems there are two passions he has at this part of his life.
0:36:55 > 0:36:59- On the one hand, he really wants to be a writer, you know, an artist in some way.- Yeah.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02Then the other thing is that he has the social conscious,
0:37:02 > 0:37:06that he really wants to help the people who are suffering in Jamaica.
0:37:06 > 0:37:08And so that brings us to the Ward Theatre.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12So you can take a look at this headline.
0:37:13 > 0:37:17"Upheaval has much merit as dramatic work.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21"Frank Hill's play opens at Ward Theatre. Standard of acting, high."
0:37:21 > 0:37:23So this is July of 1939
0:37:23 > 0:37:26and this is Frank having a play performed here in the Ward Theatre
0:37:26 > 0:37:30and here's a description in the review in the Gleaner of that play.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34"Whatever one may think about the labour problems propounded in Frank Hill's Upheaval,
0:37:34 > 0:37:37"there can be only one opinion about the play itself
0:37:37 > 0:37:40"and that is it is extremely well written and well balanced.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44"Produced and acted as it was on Saturday night when it opened at the Ward Theatre,
0:37:44 > 0:37:47"it's without question the most outstanding all-Jamaican play ever."
0:37:47 > 0:37:51So it's based on the events of the riots of 1938
0:37:51 > 0:37:55and the people coming to see the play probably are a fairly well educated,
0:37:55 > 0:37:57middle-class audience, so he's translating
0:37:57 > 0:38:01- what's happening in these riots for this audience.- Right.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05It seems like seeking to build sympathy for the strikers,
0:38:05 > 0:38:08having people see them as having legitimate demands
0:38:08 > 0:38:10and Upheaval is one of the ways he does that.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14So you can see this description of him in the play.
0:38:14 > 0:38:18"But the most dramatic bit of acting of the entire play was by the playwright himself.
0:38:18 > 0:38:22"Frank Hill played the part of Brattle the Obeah man,
0:38:22 > 0:38:26"and the scene where he interpreted the Almighty's will on Mrs Gordon
0:38:26 > 0:38:29"ranks as one of the best pieces of acting seen locally."
0:38:29 > 0:38:32What do you think of the part that he chooses to cast for himself?
0:38:32 > 0:38:35If people know what an Obeah man is, it would be the voodoo witch doctor.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37Mmm-hmm. In playing it,
0:38:37 > 0:38:40we have to imagine that he must be humanising this character.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43Again, this sort of lower-class, rural Jamaican character
0:38:43 > 0:38:46who he is making more human for this audience.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49Yeah. It's also to do with, as it says here,
0:38:49 > 0:38:52the interpretation of the Almighty's will on Mrs Gordon.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54Obviously, at that particular time, um,
0:38:54 > 0:38:57and even before that, people felt that, er, the manifest destiny
0:38:57 > 0:39:00- of a certain group of people was God's will.- Mm-hm.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02And unfortunately, if you were black,
0:39:02 > 0:39:04it was God's will to put you at the bottom.
0:39:04 > 0:39:07So he's challenging those ideas of the Almighty's will. I wish I could have seen it...
0:39:07 > 0:39:11- Yeah, exactly.- ..to see exactly what he was...how he interpreted it,
0:39:11 > 0:39:14- but I can imagine.- It would be great to be able to see that.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18And imagine having it staged here, in the theatre here.
0:39:24 > 0:39:29Throughout its history, from the opening production of Pirates Of Penzance in 1912
0:39:29 > 0:39:33to Frank's play Upheaval in 1939,
0:39:33 > 0:39:36the Ward Theatre has been a barometer of Jamaica's political life.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44Sadly, after the destruction wrought by two hurricanes,
0:39:44 > 0:39:47it now lies abandoned and awaiting restoration.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51All of this is building up to this event that's the other reason
0:39:51 > 0:39:55we're here in the Ward Theatre, which is here in the Gleaner, so...
0:39:55 > 0:39:58"Theatre packed at launching of People's Party.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01"Mr NW Manley and Sir Stafford Cripps
0:40:01 > 0:40:04"keep great audience enthralled for hours."
0:40:04 > 0:40:08OK. So this is the launching of the People's National Party here in the Ward Theatre.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12This is the party that moves Jamaica towards independence,
0:40:12 > 0:40:16and, of course, at this launch we have Stafford Cripps,
0:40:16 > 0:40:21- who was one of the people that you learned about, I guess, in 1942, right?- That's right,
0:40:21 > 0:40:23who helped to get the Four Hs released.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26- This is where Cripps gets first involved... - Probably where he met him.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29..with the PNP, and then we have, of course,
0:40:29 > 0:40:32the big star of the event, Norman Manley, right.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36Manley is this very charismatic, very smart political figure,
0:40:36 > 0:40:39but the public opinion folks, they're the ones
0:40:39 > 0:40:43who are the kind of intellectual framework of what's going to be the party.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46So Frank is basically one of the thinkers
0:40:46 > 0:40:48who was really behind the People's National Party
0:40:48 > 0:40:51and the launch of the party.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54The leader of the People's National Party,
0:40:54 > 0:40:57launched that night in the Ward Theatre,
0:40:57 > 0:41:02was the young and charismatic lawyer, Norman Washington Manley.
0:41:02 > 0:41:03Of mixed-race origin,
0:41:03 > 0:41:06his grandmother was descended from slaves,
0:41:06 > 0:41:10Norman Manley was Oxford educated and spent much of his time
0:41:10 > 0:41:13defending workers caught up in the uprising.
0:41:14 > 0:41:18Under Manley's leadership, Frank would play a key role
0:41:18 > 0:41:21recruiting grass-roots membership for the party.
0:41:22 > 0:41:27As 1938 ends, he becomes even more involved in labour organising.
0:41:27 > 0:41:31So that's where he's devoting his energy. Here's another part of that interview.
0:41:31 > 0:41:33- The Arthur Kitchin interview? - Mm-hm.- Yeah.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36"So the party was formed and there was tremendous enthusiasm
0:41:36 > 0:41:38"among young people like myself and Ken, my brother,
0:41:38 > 0:41:42"Richard Hart and older heads like Arthur Henry,
0:41:42 > 0:41:44"and we threw ourselves into the work of organising the party.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47"We had an excellent arrangement with Manley in those days.
0:41:47 > 0:41:51"He gave up his car for the weekend, he gave us his driver,
0:41:51 > 0:41:54"and about six of us would go out and talk to working-class audiences,
0:41:54 > 0:41:57"specifically working-class audiences. Our message was social reform,
0:41:57 > 0:42:00"or self-government based on social reform."
0:42:00 > 0:42:02He's now out meeting with workers,
0:42:02 > 0:42:03trying to get them organised into unions,
0:42:03 > 0:42:07but also trying to get them organised into the People's National Party.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10So he's doing a lot of the practical matter of building the party
0:42:10 > 0:42:12and creating popularity and support for it.
0:42:19 > 0:42:24This fledgling political and trades union movement had great success
0:42:24 > 0:42:27in recruiting members from the island's poor workers.
0:42:28 > 0:42:33By the early 1940s, the PNP, as well as a number of trades unions,
0:42:33 > 0:42:36were openly challenging the status quo,
0:42:36 > 0:42:39leading to the Governor's imprisonment of the Four Hs.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44But by jailing them, the Governor simply made them heroes
0:42:44 > 0:42:47of a movement that was becoming unstoppable.
0:42:50 > 0:42:56In 1944, two years after the Four Hs' imprisonment,
0:42:56 > 0:42:59all Jamaicans were granted the right to vote.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02Later, though, when Frank and his comrades
0:43:02 > 0:43:05should have been reaping the reward of their sacrifice,
0:43:05 > 0:43:07events took a shocking turn.
0:43:11 > 0:43:17If we go ahead to the 1950s, we have these headlines from 1952.
0:43:20 > 0:43:25"Secret communist group led by Hills, Hart, Henry, tribunal finds.
0:43:25 > 0:43:27"Quit-party call on the Four Hs."
0:43:27 > 0:43:30Yeah, so, Frank is one of the founding members of the PNP
0:43:30 > 0:43:33and then this is 10 years later...
0:43:33 > 0:43:36- Mm-mm.- We see that he's being asked to leave the party.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39I don't know if you know anything about these headlines.
0:43:39 > 0:43:43And this is when there was a lot of scaremongering with communism
0:43:43 > 0:43:46going ahead in the '50s, but, um, I don't know the dynamics of it.
0:43:46 > 0:43:49- OK.- Um, so we'll have to find that out.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52Yeah. So you probably will need to talk to somebody, you know,
0:43:52 > 0:43:56- who works on the PNP in this time period who could tell you more.- OK.
0:44:07 > 0:44:11Well, it's the perception you have of people, and I should have known better,
0:44:11 > 0:44:15because people have a lot of misconceptions about me and about all kinds of things,
0:44:15 > 0:44:18and the perception - misconception shall I say? - of Frank is, erm,
0:44:18 > 0:44:21getting much more interesting by the minute.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25Here we can see Frank being a playwright
0:44:25 > 0:44:28and I knew that he was actively involved in the PNP,
0:44:28 > 0:44:31I didn't know he was so heavily involved in forming the PNP.
0:44:31 > 0:44:35Um...he's getting to be very intriguing, Frank.
0:44:54 > 0:44:57The PNP is currently the ruling party in Jamaica.
0:44:58 > 0:45:01John has come to their headquarters to meet Prof Trevor Munroe,
0:45:01 > 0:45:04who, he hopes, can shed further light
0:45:04 > 0:45:07on his grandfather's expulsion in 1952.
0:45:09 > 0:45:10Hello, sir. I'm John. How do you do?
0:45:10 > 0:45:13Good to meet you, John. I'm Trevor Munroe. Welcome.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16- Nice to meet you. Thank you.- Please. - Thank you.- Come right in.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20Well, Trevor, yesterday I learnt that the Four Hs
0:45:20 > 0:45:22had been asked to quit the party,
0:45:22 > 0:45:25and I know nothing about the dynamics
0:45:25 > 0:45:27of how that came about or why that happened.
0:45:27 > 0:45:32Between 1942 and the end of the '40s,
0:45:32 > 0:45:38the challenge that the PNP faced was taken up by Frank and Ken
0:45:38 > 0:45:41and the two Hs, to give the party roots.
0:45:41 > 0:45:46And, quite interestingly, that group, they were left-wing people,
0:45:46 > 0:45:50socialists, and what eventually happened as the '40s progressed
0:45:50 > 0:45:54and as the left grew in influence amongst the workers
0:45:54 > 0:45:59and brought the workers into the PNP, the right became very worried.
0:45:59 > 0:46:01- The right of the PNP? - The right of the PNP because...
0:46:01 > 0:46:03- Right, so the same party but...- Exactly.- OK.
0:46:03 > 0:46:08And then, of course, to complicate matters, the Cold War then really began.
0:46:15 > 0:46:21After World War II, the fragile alliance between the West, led by the United States,
0:46:21 > 0:46:25and the communist world, led by the Soviet Union,
0:46:25 > 0:46:27began to disintegrate.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30Tensions increased as both sides
0:46:30 > 0:46:33armed themselves with atomic weapons.
0:46:35 > 0:46:40With waning powers, Britain feared communist revolution in the colonies,
0:46:40 > 0:46:45while in America, people like Senator Joseph McCarthy
0:46:45 > 0:46:47hunted communists closer to home.
0:46:47 > 0:46:52In Jamaica, the leader of the PNP, Norman Manley, was facing pressure
0:46:52 > 0:46:56to hunt for his own "Reds under the bed".
0:46:56 > 0:46:58The Americans who have influence
0:46:58 > 0:47:01with the Caribbean and Central America
0:47:01 > 0:47:05were becoming very concerned that pro-Soviet sympathies
0:47:05 > 0:47:08were becoming too strong in many of the Caribbean colonies,
0:47:08 > 0:47:11and therefore that would have been signalling to Manley,
0:47:11 > 0:47:14"I not only have to face the right internally,
0:47:14 > 0:47:19"but I'm going to have to face external pressures from the US,
0:47:19 > 0:47:21"and that's something more than I can manage."
0:47:21 > 0:47:27And hence, when the charge was made by the right
0:47:27 > 0:47:30that the left were really not PNP,
0:47:30 > 0:47:34in fact were communists in disguise,
0:47:34 > 0:47:37that charge, um, resonated.
0:47:42 > 0:47:49In early 1952, a PNP tribunal heard accusations made against the Four Hs,
0:47:49 > 0:47:53including John's grandfather, Frank Hill.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56Norman Manley then published the findings
0:47:56 > 0:47:58in a newsletter to party members.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02He says here,
0:48:02 > 0:48:06"The charges of which these party members have been found guilty
0:48:06 > 0:48:09"is that they sought to set up a secret group within the party
0:48:09 > 0:48:12"pledged to political aims not those of the party,
0:48:12 > 0:48:16"and to teach others to subscribe to these aims.
0:48:16 > 0:48:20"On evidence which I and all the other members of the tribunal
0:48:20 > 0:48:22"found overwhelming, we reached a decision
0:48:22 > 0:48:25"whereby Ken Hill, Frank Hill,
0:48:25 > 0:48:28"Richard Hart and Arthur Henry have all been called upon
0:48:28 > 0:48:32"to resign their membership or face expulsion."
0:48:32 > 0:48:36So that's basically what he regarded as charges that were proven.
0:48:36 > 0:48:39- They're becoming communists. - These are external PNP...
0:48:39 > 0:48:41- They were becoming... - ..but internal communists.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43- Inside communism.- Not to be trusted,
0:48:43 > 0:48:45because even though they're doing all this wonderful work
0:48:45 > 0:48:49and the party would never be where it was without them...
0:48:49 > 0:48:50Yeah.
0:48:50 > 0:48:55..we can't really trust them because they really have a large allegiance.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58And so, to be fair to Norman Manley,
0:48:58 > 0:49:02he was also very distressed, because he had a considerable liking
0:49:02 > 0:49:06for the energy and the commitment and the work that had been done.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20Well, going up to see Rachel Manley, who is Norman Manley's granddaughter.
0:49:20 > 0:49:24She will have more of an idea as to the ins and outs.
0:49:24 > 0:49:26I've learnt about the split in the party
0:49:26 > 0:49:28between, obviously, the right wing and the left wing,
0:49:28 > 0:49:33and I know that the Four Hs, my grandfather would have been really a man of the people
0:49:33 > 0:49:34and wanted to help the workers,
0:49:34 > 0:49:38which really wasn't necessarily the agenda of the right,
0:49:38 > 0:49:42who were more capitalist, so maybe she can tell me a little bit more about Frank.
0:49:52 > 0:49:54Rachel was brought up by her grandparents,
0:49:54 > 0:49:57Norman and Edna Manley.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00She has agreed to meet John at the old family cabin,
0:50:00 > 0:50:02high in the mountains overlooking Kingston.
0:50:04 > 0:50:05Nice to see you.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08How are you? Welcome. Welcome.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12I was at the PNP headquarters trying to find out a little bit more
0:50:12 > 0:50:15about my grandfather Frank and the Four Hs
0:50:15 > 0:50:18- after their being asked to leave the party.- Yeah.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22But of course, you will know a little bit more about the dynamics of it.
0:50:22 > 0:50:25It was an interesting time
0:50:25 > 0:50:29because you really have once in the history of any country
0:50:29 > 0:50:33where they are going to be fighting for self-determination.
0:50:33 > 0:50:37So you're dealing with completely idealistic people.
0:50:37 > 0:50:41But you are dealing with the whole McCarthy era,
0:50:41 > 0:50:43the suspicion about communism.
0:50:43 > 0:50:48And they were basically trying, at that stage, to convince England
0:50:48 > 0:50:54to give us not independence but levels of internal self-government.
0:50:54 > 0:50:56And Trevor was saying at that particular time,
0:50:56 > 0:50:58the external pressures, the McCarthy era
0:50:58 > 0:51:00- and people worrying about communism.- McCarthy...
0:51:00 > 0:51:03- ..rather than the inner pressures from the Right...- Yeah.
0:51:03 > 0:51:07- ..but outer pressure from America and England.- England. But think of England.
0:51:07 > 0:51:12Are England going to give up, um, their dominance,
0:51:12 > 0:51:15their colonial Empire for people who they feel
0:51:15 > 0:51:18are going to end up being communists?
0:51:18 > 0:51:21What people I think don't know
0:51:21 > 0:51:25was, I think, the deep heartbreak of my grandfather,
0:51:25 > 0:51:28was that he had this split party.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30I think it affected him.
0:51:30 > 0:51:33And that's borne out by the fact he remained friends with these men,
0:51:33 > 0:51:37particularly your grandfather, who I saw often.
0:51:37 > 0:51:43He...he used to bring me a sweet which took forever to suck...
0:51:43 > 0:51:48- Yeah.- ..and I think it was cos I chatted so much, he figured if he kept me quiet with his sweets,
0:51:48 > 0:51:51- he'd get a chance to talk to my grandparents, you know.- Yeah. Yeah.
0:51:51 > 0:51:56Through the years, it is Frank who would keep returning to our home
0:51:56 > 0:52:01and the friendship, personally, was not interrupted to any great degree.
0:52:05 > 0:52:09By the time Jamaica gained independence from Britain
0:52:09 > 0:52:15on August 6th 1962, Frank had been marginalised,
0:52:15 > 0:52:19and Norman Manley was destined never to become Prime Minister.
0:52:20 > 0:52:24Manley's cousin, Alexander Bustamante
0:52:24 > 0:52:26of the rival Jamaican Labour Party,
0:52:26 > 0:52:29won the election by the narrowest of margins.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33And his party would hold power for the next ten years.
0:52:34 > 0:52:39Norman Manley was forced to retire in 1968 due to ill health
0:52:39 > 0:52:41and died the following year.
0:52:42 > 0:52:46After their expulsion, Frank returned to journalism.
0:52:46 > 0:52:51Ken was eventually readmitted back to the PNP in 1968.
0:52:51 > 0:52:53Arthur Henry continued as a trades union leader
0:52:53 > 0:52:56right up until his death in 1966.
0:52:58 > 0:53:02Richard Hart became an noted writer, before moving to England.
0:53:05 > 0:53:08As this journey's going on, I'm finding out
0:53:08 > 0:53:11that he's a little bit more dynamic than I thought he was.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely.
0:53:14 > 0:53:18I think your grandfather had a certain amount of heartbreak.
0:53:18 > 0:53:24I have an entry in my grandmother's diaries which may really surprise you.
0:53:26 > 0:53:27Here we are.
0:53:29 > 0:53:31- August 1968... - "Norman. August 1968,
0:53:31 > 0:53:34"and Norman had been ill and we were visiting for a quiet moment
0:53:34 > 0:53:37"on the patio at about 9 pm, before he went back to bed,
0:53:37 > 0:53:39"when suddenly car lights flashed
0:53:39 > 0:53:42"and Frank Hill called out, 'What about the dog?
0:53:42 > 0:53:44" 'I'm terrified of dogs.' "
0:53:44 > 0:53:45Sounds like Frank!
0:53:45 > 0:53:48"I went out and got him out of the car
0:53:48 > 0:53:50"and as I put my arm around him, I felt him skeleton thin.
0:53:50 > 0:53:52" 'How's Norman? I want to see Norman.'
0:53:52 > 0:53:55"We went in and he put his arms around Norman and said,
0:53:55 > 0:53:57" 'I've come to apologise for what I said at Pine Grove,
0:53:57 > 0:53:59" 'that you were wrong to retire.
0:53:59 > 0:54:01" 'Since you've been ill, I've been regretting it ever since.'
0:54:01 > 0:54:04"And he put his arms around Norman and kissed him three times
0:54:04 > 0:54:07"and said, 'Rest well and get well. We need you.'
0:54:07 > 0:54:10"He stopped at the car door and said, 'You know what I should have done?
0:54:10 > 0:54:13" 'Long ago I should have done it. I should have shot Richard.
0:54:13 > 0:54:17" 'Yes, I should have shot Richard and nothing would have gone wrong.'
0:54:17 > 0:54:20"I said, 'Frank, don't think of those things, my dear, just keep well.'
0:54:20 > 0:54:22"He drove off and Norman said,
0:54:22 > 0:54:25" 'Frank was in a very emotional mood, wasn't he?'
0:54:25 > 0:54:28"And I said, 'Yes, come to bed, you look all-in tired.' "
0:54:28 > 0:54:32He didn't mean literally that he should have shot Richard with a gun.
0:54:32 > 0:54:37You know, you have to realise, John, it was just how the politics fell.
0:54:37 > 0:54:41- Yeah.- You know? You should be very proud.
0:54:41 > 0:54:42- I am very proud.- Yeah.
0:54:58 > 0:55:01This would make a very interesting political thriller
0:55:01 > 0:55:04because it's a critical time in Jamaica's history
0:55:04 > 0:55:07in terms of, er, self-determination, independence.
0:55:07 > 0:55:09You have a group of four people
0:55:09 > 0:55:12who would feel that they're fundamental to that,
0:55:12 > 0:55:16going through so much self-sacrifice for the country,
0:55:16 > 0:55:19and then ten years later, being asked to leave the party
0:55:19 > 0:55:23by probably the most charismatic man, who is a good friend of theirs.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26I'll tell you what it makes me think of.
0:55:26 > 0:55:30I did an interview with Nelson Mandela many years ago,
0:55:30 > 0:55:33and in the conversation I was talking about the change in South Africa.
0:55:33 > 0:55:37And what he said was, "Many good men, better than me, have not lived to see this day."
0:55:38 > 0:55:41He says there were people greater than him
0:55:41 > 0:55:43who were more influential in the change
0:55:43 > 0:55:45that weren't around to see that day.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48And I suppose a lot of people may view the fact
0:55:48 > 0:55:50that Frank and Ken and the other two Hs
0:55:50 > 0:55:53were probably more influential in the change
0:55:53 > 0:55:56but they weren't around to benefit from it.
0:56:12 > 0:56:17After a long career as a newspaper journalist and noted radio broadcaster,
0:56:17 > 0:56:22Frank Hill died on June 8th 1980 aged 69.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27By that time, John had left Jamaica
0:56:27 > 0:56:31to pursue his dream of playing professional football.
0:56:53 > 0:56:58The two gentlemen who we've seen, Frank and Stephen, I can see myself,
0:56:58 > 0:57:02in terms of my character, in both of them.
0:57:02 > 0:57:05More surprised about Frank than Stephen,
0:57:05 > 0:57:08'because he's not the person I thought he was.
0:57:08 > 0:57:11'How instrumental he was and how involved he was with the PNP,
0:57:11 > 0:57:13'that came as a surprise to me.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16'I always knew him as a feeble old man by a typewriter.
0:57:18 > 0:57:20'So learning about him
0:57:20 > 0:57:24'was probably the most revealing and surprising aspect of it.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30'Because of my father's sporting prowess,
0:57:30 > 0:57:34'I've always felt that I'm a Barnes, that I'm my father's son.
0:57:34 > 0:57:36'Sad as it is for me to say it,'
0:57:36 > 0:57:39I have never really looked up to the Hill men, if you like.
0:57:39 > 0:57:43You know, my mother's brothers and grandpa and all the Hills that I know
0:57:43 > 0:57:46aren't my type of men, if you know what I mean, whereas my father was.
0:57:48 > 0:57:50'From a character point of view,
0:57:50 > 0:57:54'growing up with my cousins, aunts and everyone,
0:57:54 > 0:57:58'there was a lot of noise, a lot of arguments,
0:57:58 > 0:58:02'and I suppose from that part of my character,
0:58:02 > 0:58:05'as much as I would like to deny it, that comes from that side,
0:58:05 > 0:58:07'and looking at Frank and Stephen,
0:58:07 > 0:58:10'I think that I really am a Hill in all but name.'
0:58:12 > 0:58:13I'm finally admitting it.
0:58:19 > 0:58:22Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd