‘Bowtie’ Taitt, dies at 94

Prince Albert Taitt, stalwart of the tourism industry for more than 60 years as taxi driver in his trademark uniform bowtie, cap and white shirt has died at age 94.

Taitt who began operating from the Pierhead, and then the Bridgetown Port when it opened in the 1961, died at his Free Hill, Black Rock home from natural causes, last Saturday.

Affectionately referred to as Bowtie, Taitt ferried passengers up until age 85. He was remembered as an outstanding figure who advocated for fairness and equality for taximen, as one of the founding members of the Independent Seaport Taxi Union

He received an award from the Barbados Tourism Authority for his service to the industry.

Up until four years ago, he continued to visit and spend quality time with his taxi comrades outside the Port after his daily routine visit to the beach.

Taitt’s close friend Fred Harewood, known as Bob in the taxi industry, told Barbados TODAY: “He always believed in fairness. He believed that everybody should be fairly treated; first come first serve at the time it was, and he fought for those values.

“I remember years ago at the Bridgetown Port when the police used to call the traffic to come in and the police would dispatch the work and Mr Taitt and a police inspector had their differences and he told the inspector I am going to take you to Mr [Errol] Barrow who was the Prime Minister at the time and he said to Mr Taitt, ‘you think Barrow want to see you?’

“So Mr Taitt get a message to Barrow through Captain George Fergusson and Mr Barrow told Mr Fergusson to tell the gentleman to write a report and he will deal with the matter.

“Mr Taitt went to the Advocate at the time and get a sheet of paper and get a letter and get it off to Mr Barrow and the officer was transferred to Crab Hill Police Station and that was the end of one of Mr Taitt’s fights down there.”

Harewood also recalled that on another occasion Taitt was taken to court by a Police Sergeant because he “turned up for work in a Bermuda shorts and a vest coat”, accused by the officer of being dressed inappropriately.

He said: “Mr Taitt turned up to court in the same dress code, the Bermuda shorts, and he won the case against the police. The magistrate determined that he was well-dressed so he won the case.

“He used to say that he is a five-star general, so whenever you see he dress up going out he would always got his five cigars in the top pocket. And you could not touch his clothes. He never went to work without a tie.

“He told me he got the name Bowtie because he and one of his customers back in the earlier days had a quarrel and the customer told him ‘you and that bowtie keeping noise’ and one of his colleagues passed and heard and that is how he got the name bowtie. Everybody around town knew him as Bowtie.”

Taitt was proud of the fact that he built his home, which he referred to as his empire, with money earned from taxi work, Harewood said.

Taitt was one of eight children born in Horse Hill, St Joseph.

Harewood said: “He came to town and never went back home. He would say he come to town bare feet and now he could wear shoes.

“He was never shy about where he come from and boasted about what he had achieved. His wife’s name was Rita and she died a couple years now. He never had children.”

President of the Bridgetown Port Taxi Co-op Society Limited Adrian Bayley told Barbados TODAY he particularly admired Taitt’s deportment.

Bayley said that even when Taitt was in his early 80’s, tourists who returned to the island after many years, requested that “Prince Albert Taitt be their driver”.

“He was a man highly respected in the Bridgtown Port by the Bridgetown Port management. Former CEO [Chief Executive Officer] of the Bridgetown Port Everton Walters highly respected Mr Taitt. Divisional Manager of the Bridgetown Port Inc Kenneth Atherley had the utmost respect for this guy. This is a guy that these two men would have looked up to for years,” Bayley said.

When contacted, Taitt’s close relatives did not have much to say about his life, but indicated that he would be buried sometime next week wearing a bowtie.

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb