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Senators Pay Tribute to Ambassador Dudley Thompson

February 15, 2012

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Members of the Senate, on February 10, paid tribute to former Cabinet Minister and Senator, Ambassador the Hon. Dudley Thompson, who died on January 20.

Government Senator, Lambert Brown, described the late Ambassador Thompson, who was laid to rest last Friday (February 10), as “the burning spear,” who served his country with distinction and honour.

“Though he was small in stature, he stood as tall as a giant in his defence and promotion of the interest of the masses of people nationally, regionally and internationally,” Mr. Brown said.

He said the former Cabinet Ministerwas one of the first Senators appointed to serve Jamaica, following its Independence from Colonial rule, 50 years ago. He pointed out that Hansard records show that on August 7, 1962, the very first sitting of Parliament of Independent Jamaica, Dudley Thompson was present.

“He was therefore among the first 21 Senators appointed to serve this beloved nation of ours,” he said.

Mr. Brown further described Ambassador Thompson as a nationalist, a Pan-Africanist, an internationalist and a quintessential champion of the non-aligned movement, who had the courage of his convictions.

“He stood for justice and fair play. He vigorously opposed colonialism and the evil it did to the people of the colonies. He was fiercely anti-imperialist in his philosophical postures,” he added.

The government Senator also noted that the late Ambassador was a friend to the trade union movement. “He was an ardent advocate and defender of the working class. He was a reliable friend of the trade union movement,” Mr. Brown said.

Senator Imani Duncan-Price also paid tribute to the former Senator, describing him as “a man of courage, a man of faith.”

She noted that as a patriot, the late Ambassador volunteered to join the Royal Air Force in Britain to fight in World War II at the age of 24.    

“That was a time when airplanes did not have technology-driven navigation, and so Dudley (Thompson) served as a navigator in those two-seater planes identifying targets across Europe and weakening German bases, contributing to the victory that was achieved in 1945,” she recalled. 

Mrs. Duncan-Price also cited the way in which Mr. Thompson “built and utilised his networks, his fluency in Spanish and genuine friendships formed amongst leaders in Africa and the Caribbean to the benefit of Jamaica”.

“This contributed significantly to Jamaica’s pre-eminence in international affairs, which was of course consolidated by Michael Manley’s philosophical approach to building alliances and exerting influence on a global scale,” she said.

Opposition Senator, Arthur Williams, said Mr. Thompson was not only a remarkable flight lieutenant in the air force, an expert at matters of foreign affairs and foreign trade, a gifted barrister, but was also a legendary scholar. “He was an erudite and distinguished man. A man of great intellect,” he said.

He informed that Mr. Thompson entered Mico Teachers’ College at the age of 16 years, and remained an honour student throughout his entire time at the institution. After graduation, he went on to become the youngest principal in the public school system, after taking up an offer at the Retreat Primary School in St. Mary at the age of 21.

“He did not remain very long in the profession, because he won the Rhode Scholarship and went off to Oxford (University) to study law, and he remains today the only Mico graduate that has won the Rhode Scholarship,” he added.

Ambassador Thompson was laid to rest at the Briggs Park Military Cemetery, Up Park Camp in Kingston, immediately following a thanksgiving service at the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity, downtown Kingston. His final resting place is reserved for service men and members of the Jamaica Defence Force.

He was conferred with the Order of Jamaica in 1989, having given outstanding service in the fields of international law, governance and foreign affairs.

 

By Athaliah Reynolds, JIS Reporter

Last Updated: July 31, 2013

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