Recently I was sorting through old files and papers in my library in the process of sending them for deposit at the Special Collections Division of the UWI Library in St Augustine. I came across a batch of obituaries of relatives of mine published in the West India Circular magazine – my grandfather, my grandmother and their eldest son, my uncle Arthur.
They were important people in my life long ago but I had not thought about them very much for decades. It was fascinating to be reminded of what noteworthy and vividly interesting lives they led. Here are extracts from their obituaries to give a flavour.
Dr W M McDonald
‘Dr W M McDonald, OBE, died recently at his residence at Cliff House, Hodges Bay, Antigua, in his 82nd year. Dr McDonald, who was born in Antigua, received his medical education at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London. He qualified in 1896, and returned to Antigua, where he was in active practice for more than 50 years. It was he who discovered and reported the presence of ankylostomiasis (hookworm) in Antigua in 1899. He did much valuable work on malarial parasitology, and his work on malarial nephritis particularly in association with quartan malaria attracted much