This is the first of a two-part series on the life of PJ Patterson, former prime minister of Jamaica.

The traditional narrative of PJ Patterson’s contribution to Jamaica’s development focuses almost exclusively on the major projects conceived and implemented during his tenure, first as Cabinet minister and later as prime minister.

What remains underdocumented is the early years of his life’s journey, which prepared him for his major role in nation-building, as well as the range of programmes he initiated to enrich the lives of the Jamaican people and make them the centrepiece of the country’s development agenda.

Genes and Environment

Patterson’s life started in the rural community of Dias in Hanover. In the two generations which preceded him there were six teachers, including his grandparents, William and Eliza James, who entered the teaching profession as early as 1881. His mother, Ina James, remained in the classroom for over 40 years. Both generations also produced leaders of the Baptist Church. Two were lay preachers and his maternal grandmother was a celebrated organist in the church. Their Christian walk predictably led to their deep involvement in the life of the community.

Science informs us that genes and environment are the fundamental factors in the shaping of the human personality. On both counts, the young Patterson was well served. Patterson was nurtured in a home environment that inculcated Christian values, established the primacy of education, and provided a sterling example of community leadership.

From his years at elementary school Patterson showed an insatiable appetite for reading which enhanced his scholarship and resulted in his winning the Purcell Scholarship tenable at Calabar High School.

At Calabar he confirmed his academic potential. In his final year he was first in the Cambridge Higher Schools Examination. However, as the record shows, he was never narrowly focused on academics. He also demonstrated a capacity for leadership which was evident in his elevation as a prefect and as the leader of both the scout troop and the school’s debating team. His sixth form colleagues, from other high schools, also recognised his leadership by electing him president of the Sixth Form Association.

After graduating from Calabar in 1953, PJ enrolled at the University College of the West Indies in October 1954. There he combined studies with a range of activities that prepared him for public life. These included covering the 1955 General Election for the Institute of Social and Economic Research. The exercise provided him with an invaluable political orientation.

Patterson also seized the opportunity for part-time employment as a sports reporter for the Daily Gleaner. Coverage of the major sports competitions brought him into contact with the sports personalities of the day and indulged his passion for sports.

As a university student, Patterson also demonstrated the emerging advocate and intellect which would underpin his professional life. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), in one of its overseas radio programmes, requested the participation of two undergraduates. PJ Patterson and Ramsey Blackwood were selected. They answered the questions with such facility that the BBC called from London to protest that the undergraduates had been given the questions in advance and had been allowed to read the answers from a prepared script. It took the intervention of the director of the Extra Mural Department to satisfy the BBC that the students had not been so prepared for the interview.

In 1956, the position of external affairs chairman was added to the Guild Council and Patterson was elected chairman. In this capacity he represented the Guild of Undergraduates at the international students conferences in Ceylon (1956) and Nigeria (1957). He was also invited to serve on the executive of the International Students Conference, and was a member of the team which visited Nicaragua in 1957 to investigate the freedom of students.

Patterson’s next initiative was the establishment of a Political Club, which brought the campus a number of regional political leaders, including Grantley Adams of Barbados, Eric Williams of Trinidad and Tobago, and Forbes Burnham of British Guiana. By 1958, when Patterson graduated, he had further demonstrated the breadth of his scholarship and his capacity for leadership. He had also created a regional network of friends and contacts.

Called to the Bar and the People’s National Party

In his final year at the University College of the West Indies, Patterson’s standing as a scholar and leader in the university community came to the attention of OT Fairclough, a founder of the People’s National Party (PNP). Fairclough made it his mission to recruit the best and the brightest for political service, and introduced Patterson to party President Norman Manley. Both men immediately recognised in the young graduate the talent and commitment that the party needed.

The discussions with Norman Manley led Patterson to postpone his law studies to take on the job of party organiser. For the 1959 General Election he was assigned to the parish of St Elizabeth. The PNP won 58 per cent of the popular vote and three of the four seats, losing the fourth by 13 votes. In 1960 he enrolled at London School of Economics. He broke his studies twice: first, in September 1961, to campaign in the Referendum of the West Indies Federation and again, in 1962, to assist the PNP in the general election held that year.

He still completed the Bar finals by June 1963, having been awarded the Leverhume Scholarship and the Sir Hughes Parry prize for Excellence in the Law of Contract. The dean of the Law Faculty had assumed that his prize pupil would be proceeding to postgraduate studies and was at a loss to understand why Patterson had chosen the uncertainties of political life over a professorship.

The Decisive Decade 1963-1972

PJ returned to Jamaica in 1963, and the next decade would prove decisive in his climb to the top of both the legal profession and the PNP, as he combined a rapidly growing law practice with full-time involvement in politics.

The PNP, to which PJ committed himself in 1963, was still recovering from the loss of the 1962 General Election. However, there were no prospects of an early recovery, as the party reached an all-time low after losing the 1967 General Election.

His response to the demoralisation in the PNP was to revive party spirits with a week-long party. “For Days”, the name given to the event, was organised by himself and Tony Spalding, with whom he shared chambers. It went a long way in reviving the Comrades and brought into activism a wide range of supporters to rebuild the party islandwide.

At the post-election PNP conference, Patterson took on the challenge of chairing the party’s Appraisal Committee, which was mandated to review and make recommendations for rebuilding the party organisation. His report to the 1968 conference was approved by acclamation and Norman Manley’s response was, “The future of our party is secure, and I can now depart with the confidence that our vessel is in good shape for the journey ahead.”

Patterson was appointed a senator and then leader of opposition business in that Chamber. In 1970 he succeeded Maxie Carey as the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Westmoreland South Eastern.

In 1969 Norman retired as president of the PNP, and at the party conference that year, Patterson, as campaign manager, ensured the election of Michael Manley to succeed Norman as the president of the PNP. The conference also elected Patterson as a vice-president. Percival James Patterson had arrived and was the unanimous choice to lead the party’s campaign for the 1972 General Election.

Arnold Bertram is a historian, teacher, journalist, and former minister of local government, youth and community development.