Pamphlet released on Barbados’ lone heroine

Following the launch of the book Ann Gill: The Making of a Barbadian National Hero at the Barbados Museum & Historical Society (BMHS) on April 27, the organisation has been on a mission to ensure that knowledge learned about Ann Gill in the pamphlet is made accessible to all Barbadians.

Written by Professor Alan Cobley, Ann Gill is the latest instalment in the MHS/UWI’s Re(w)riting History series which is dedicated to sharing the stories of people and events that have been either relegated to the margins of history or providing more insight into the nuanced complexities
of past lives and happenings.

Speaking at the recent presentation of Ann Gill’s book to the church which bears her name, the Ann Gill Memorial Methodist Church, Reverend Ezra Barker expressed his gratitude on receiving the gracious donation from the BMHS and UWI to the church’s library, he stated; “We are indeed grateful to you Professor Cobley for your interest in Sarah Ann Gill and for giving yourself the task of documenting her life. Her life is indeed very interesting and I am sure that your book will make for very compelling reading.”

Director of the Barbados Museum & Historical Society Alissandra Cummins noted: “Professor Cobley’s publication was a great renewal of a joint project between the Department of History and Philosophy (UWI) and the Barbados Museum. It has served to rejuvenate that connection alongside the longstanding connection that we have with the annual lecture series.”

Cummins further encouraged persons in attendance to tune into the BMHS/UWI 2021 lecture series entitled: “Fighting for souls: Religion and Spirituality in Barbados”, which is hosted every Wednesday at 5 p.m. It is continuing on May 26 where Archirri Adams will explore Emancipatory Religions including Quakers, Methodism and Moravians in Pre-Emancipation Barbados. The lecture, will be broadcast live via Zoom and Barbados Museum’s Facebook page (@barbadosmuseum).

In accordance with the Museum’s mandate to ensure that all Barbadians have the opportunity to learn and access information about their history, a further presentation of the Ann Gill publication was made to Carl Adamson, Senior Librarian at the National Library Service on Friday, 21, May 2021.

“On behalf of the National Library Service I want to say thanks to the Barbados Museum & Historical Society. I’m sure that our patrons will make use of them. Writers are so few nowadays and I hope that people will continue writing so that we can share information, not just at the Barbados Museum but at the Barbados National Library Service also,” Adamson said.

In addition to the Re(w)riting History pamphlet, the Museum also donated copies of their recently published book From Invitation to deportation: 70 years of the Windrush Generations Selected Essays’ and “Reflections, response & resilience” which is the companion reader to the EULAC Museums Project, Migration and Gender component, the execution for which the Museum was responsible. Both of these publications were published under the EU-Horizon 2020 fund.

Copies of the Ann Gill pamphlet are available for sale at the Barbados Museum Shop, located in St. Ann’s, Garrison, St. Michael. For more information, contact the Barbados Museum & Historical Society at (246) 538 0201 or info@barbmuse.org.bb. (PR)