ALLAN George St Claver Coombs, affectionately called “Father” by the masses of the people not only in Montego Bay but throughout Jamaica, is one of our outstanding trade union and political representatives and we must never allow our memory of him to fade into oblivion.

It is therefore appropriate that the highway named in his honour, and leading from Reading to intersect with Alice Eldemire Drive in St James and the indicative signage, be respected and protected by us. Father Coombs, a native of the parish of St Ann and a building contractor, formed the first national general trades union — Jamaica Workers and Tradesmen Union in 1935.

Alexander Bustamante’s first exposure to trade unionism was at the feet of Coombs and St William Grant, during which time Coombs made Bustamante treasurer of the union. Bustamante stayed on until Coombs’ union began an irretrievable collapse, then left and founded the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union in 1938.

Coombs’ spectacular career as an advocate for the lost, the least, and the leftouts — particularly in Montego Bay — is worthy of note and emulation by some of these latter-day politicians, nationally. For the blessed exceptions among them, on both sides of the political divide, setting a good public example can be easily identified and counted. But A G S Coombs, working in the mould, manner and shared vision of David Areleus Corinaldi (1896-1920) and Phillip Lightbody (1920-1935) both members of the Legislative Council, achieved much for our beloved city of Montego Bay.

As minister of communication and works and Member of Parliament for Montego Bay, it was he who removed and rebuilt the present terminal building at Donald Sangster International Airport between 1955 and 1959. The airport terminal was situated then at the seaward side of the runway and much closer along the Whitehouse old main road. He remained tenacious in the face of mounting criticism that the new airport terminal building was too large and a waste of taxpayers’ money back then. Interestingly, what was built by Coombs was named after Donald Sangster, who, along with Dr Herbert Eldemire as senior Jamaica Labour Party opposition representatives in western Jamaica, engineered the protests against the airport project. The removal of the airport terminal building from the seaward side to the landward side provided for the multiple expansions of the airport over the years, as a consequence of the solid vision of A G S Coombs.

The present courthouse in Montego Bay was built by Coombs, who removed the courts from upstairs the now Montego Bay Civic Centre to its present location next door to the St James Parish Library and the Number One Post Office. The Number Two Post Office across from the clock on Barnett Street and that lovely Anchovy Post Office were built by A G S Coombs.

In the area of housing, the two oldest housing schemes in Montego Bay — Rose Mount Housing Scheme #1 and the Francis Isabella Housing Scheme in Mount Salem — were constructed under the direction of then Minister and Member of the House of Representatives (MHR) AGS Coombs, the People’s National Party representative for Montego Bay. The Mount Salem All Age School and Satellite Library Unit were also built by him.

At the ground — breaking ceremony in May 1959, held on the beach at the property of the Saxham Great House by Norman Washington Manley build Negril Highway to open up the Negril area for development, Manley in his speech said: “Honourable Minister of Communication and Works A G Coombs, ladies and gentlemen, the act of opening up the Negril morass will make this area the future breadbasket of Jamaica”. Those were prophetic words, as Minister Coombs moved with alacrity to complete the Negril project, from which Montego Bay and the rest of the country continue to benefit in many ways. But equally ominous was a very incensed Alexander Bustamante, who, two weeks later, called a meeting in Green Island square to lambast Coombs and Manley for wasting taxpayers’ money by building a highway through a swamp and morass.

Despite the bitter and actively mobilised opposition to the project, Minister Coombs was not swayed. Such was the measure of the man, Allan George St Claver Coombs — who earlier in his trade union and political career in the late 1940s led a hunger strike throughout Montego Bay, bringing the courts in session at Sam Sharpe Square to an abrupt end and forcing the then Resident Magistrate Justice Rollie Phillips to walk from his chambers to have dialogue with the inimitable and militant Father Coombs. The outcome of the meeting was a victory for Coombs and the throng of marchers. Money was immediately allocated by the authorities to provide relief work for the people, particularly at Meagre Bay — Montego Bay’s first inner-city community. This ghetto was situated on the lands presently occupied by the Number One Post Office, the courthouse, and the St James Parish Library. And its name tells it all. Meagre Bay was the economic metaphor for poverty, hunger and deprivation, while further along and from those streets…Fort Street, Gloucester Avenue, McCatty, Thompson, Tate Streets etc, lived the much more well-to-do folks, including then Custos of the parish of St James the Honourable Walter Fletcher (after whom a popular beach is named) residing in “Fat Bay”, if you may.

It is timely to mention here that McCatty, Tate and Thompson were the surnames of the three medical doctors who habitually bathed by the sea at a cave located on Gloucester Avenue which became internationally know as Doctor’s Cave Beach. The land was owned by one of the three — Dr Alexander McCatty.

Internationally renown osteopath Dr Herbert Barker declared his healing from tuberculosis (TB) after bathing in the waters of the cave. As news spread around the globe about the healing properties of the waters of Doctor’s Cave Beach, bearing in mind that there was no cure in the world then for TB … people from all over the globe flocked to Montego Bay and Doctor’s Cave bathing beach, giving a great fillip and trigger to Montego Bay and Jamaica’s tourism. The expansion of Montego Bay International Airport by A G S Coombs between 1957 and 1959 became of crucial imperative to the tactical and strategic development of tourism in Montego Bay and across Jamaica. But as economic growth driven by tourism, banana and bauxite industrial activities moved apace across the country, the old fault lines of racial prejudice and discrimination characteristic of the prejudices of the old Jamaica slave society, began to raise their ugly heads again.

To compound this pernicious cultural and social problem, and even worse than the prejudice of race, was the prejudice of social classes which existed. One hotel on Gloucester Avenue, for 20 years, had a sign warning that: “All persons who live within a three-mile radius of the hotel should not drink at the bar nor eat at the restaurant”. A G S Coombs led a march against that property, demanding the removal of that sign.

The hotel industry of today has come a long way and while there are some simmering problems, much improvements have undoubtedly been made to forge dynamic partnerships between all peoples involved with the delivery of service within the sector. We need just to join hands and hearts, recognising the importance of tourism to our country’s survival so that we do not cut off our nose to spite our face, as the old Jamaican saying goes. We must protect our touristm industry which is most sensitive and vulnerable, even as it remains a labour-intensive industry providing, more than any other industry except agriculture, additional jobs, with better pay, for our people.

But more victories were to follow in which the lives of the oppressed, distressed and dispossessed black underclass would have improved. The Minister of Communication and Works A G S Coombs moved to end racial discrimination with respect to employment, particularly at the Bank of Nova Scotia and the Montego Bay airport where to the service delivery front.

In the case of the bank, the blacks were the janitors and porters only. Coombs began arguing in support of a palpable need for change in employment practice, if not employment policy, in and out of the House of Representatives along with the Honourable Wills O Issacs who was fighting the same causes from the city of Kingston. In respect to Montego Bay, A G S Coombs pointed to the fact that many black graduates from Montego Bay High School and Cornwall College possessed the necessary qualifications to work on the front of service delivery at these institutions instead of on entering the Bank of Nova Scotia and the airport terminal building. “We feel like we are in China or Singapore”, he said. Coombs’ arguments and petitions were vehemently opposed by councillor for the Fort Street Division Walter Fletcher — later to become custos of St James, arguing that who employed and where they were deployed within a company is a right of management and therefore no one external to the company could tell management what to do.

Over in Kingston, Wills O Issacs and others continued to lead the charge for change even as we recall, for example, journalist Evon Blake being responsible for the Myrtle Bank Hotel incident. A G S Coombs sprung into action once again and brought an end to the employment discriminatory practices towards black people. In 1956, following incessant marches by the people of Meagre Bay on the Bank of Nova Scotia in Sam Sharpe Square, the Bank of Nova Scotia employed its first black teller — Esroy Hamilton of Mount Carey and a graduate of Cornwall College. The glass ceiling against blacks in respect to employment in white-collar jobs in Montego Bay was irrevocably and conclusively shattered.

The Bank of Nova Scotia opened its doors in Montego Bay in 1902 and it was 54 years later, arising from public marches and pressures, that the first black teller was employed around the counter. Hamilton became a novelty, as passersby would stop to look at him around the counter at the bank. It is to be noted that the Bank of Nova Scotia long ago acquired and embraced a new and progressive employment policy and remains one of the most forward-looking and visionary institutions in respect of customer care and the respectful treatment of people generally, regardless of class, colour or creed. And that is just wonderful.

Allan George St Claver Coombs, trade unionist and politician extraordinaire, played his part before his departure. We commended him to the keeping care of his maker, even as we copy those good qualities (and he was no saint) that he possessed and adopt them as our own. Thank you “Father Coombs”, your name is written upon our hearts!

EDITOR’S NOTE: A G S Coombs’ body was exhumed from the May Pen Cemetery in Kingston in July 2013 and reburied at Oaklawn Memorial Gardens in Manchester on Wednesday, August 14, 2013. Operators of the private cemetery, Sylvia and Calvin Lyn, spearheaded the move to give Father Coombs “a proper burial” based upon his contribution to Jamaica, particularly as it relates to road and other structural improvement, the Lyns said. Sylvia also described herself as the “adopted” daughter of Coombs.

Shalman Scott, a political commentator and historian, is the first mayor of the city of Montego Bay