Dear Editor,
Dr. Carole Bishop, widow of the late and revered former Chancellor of the Judiciary, Aubrey Bishop, called me on Wednesday 29th April to say that she had learnt that Dr. Frank Mongul had died in the United States of America earlier in the week.
The significance of this announcement lay in the fact that the two ‘Gentlemen’ never outgrew their boyhood friendship. Indeed there was a brotherhood which blossomed into what became perhaps the most honoured fraternity in the history of this country – The Penumbrians.
The following abbreviated quote speaks of the first Gentleman Convenors by Gentlemen Frank Mongul (2011):
“What I am about to tell you are Facts NOT Fiction. First of all you may find this hard to believe – Aubrey Bishop and myself are the Co-Founders of Penumbria. It occurred in this manner.
Aubrey and I were sitting on the Sea Wall, that now famous evening in February 1953, discussing our future plans – as only two very close friends could do – friends who have been close for the past 73 years. At least. We were observing the horizon ahead of us and the sky above when we noticed that the Moon was in eclipse – that is in the Penumbrian state. Our conversation at the time was about the Y’s Men Club 21 which was run by Mr. Shepherd who was in charge of the YMCA on Camp Road. You had to be 21 years of age before you could apply for membership.
We were of the opinion that we could form an Organisation to cater for a specific group of individuals of our age group. We would provide a forum for the intelligentsia of this group so that we could meet and air our views on important matters of the day, hold lively discussions and debates if you will, but we were not going to be a Debating Society or another political organisation.
So what should we name this organisation? – Penumbria, of course, in honour of the special moment that we conceived the idea. We were dreamers with our heads full of ideas just ready to burst forth on the scene and show our prowess in our various fields of endeavor – real or imaginary.
Next was to find a suitable meeting place. The bottom flat of Leo Owen’s home was ideal. We sought and obtained permission to meet at least once per week. Our meetings lasted from 8:00 pm to as late as 11:00 pm and beyond. We offered the Patronage of the Organisation to Mr. J.E. Owen and he accepted – our first Patron.”
But that is just the beginning. From amongst The Penumbrians emerged some of the most illustrious achievers of our time:
Desmond Hoyte, President of Guyana
Rashleigh Jackson, Permanent Representative to the UN; Minister of Foreign Affairs
Rudolph Insanally, Permanent Representative to the UN; Minister of Foreign Affairs
Rudolph Collins, Ambassador; Permanent Secretary; Director, Caricom Secretariat
Winston King, Economist, World Bank
Neville Linton, Senior Executive Officer, Commonwealth Secretariat
Vibert Lampkin, Justice of the Court of Ontario
But the list hardly ends there, including as it did six Permanent Secretaries, and notables in other significant professional areas:
Roy McArthur, Chairman, Public Service Commission
Robert Stephenson, Lieutenant Colonel, GDF after whom Camp Stephenson was named
Amongst educators were:
Carl Benjamin, Professor of French Language and Literature, University of Western Ontario
Arnold Gibbons, Professor of Communications, New York University
Telemarcus Lowe, Chief Education Officer; Principal of Queen’s College
Where it came to the sciences Frank Mongul himself was a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, and once Principal for the Regional Programme for Animal Health Assistants, while there were at least three other Medical Doctors, five Civil Engineers, and an Agricultural Specialist of the World Bank.
Of course there was no shortage of pastors, while there were at least three qualified accountants, and senior players in Business and Corporate Services.
But we excelled in Sports at the same time:
Glendon Gibbs, who opened batting for the national team and played one test match
Sven ‘Charlie’ Stayers, Masters in Community Health, opened the bowling for the West Indies in four Test matches, and also played County cricket.
Frank’s spiritual co-founder Aubrey Bishop also represented the country at cricket as a left arm spinner, and was accompanied in that team by batsman Leroy Jackman. Aubrey also became President of the National Football Association.
Meanwhile Maurice Moore outshone us all by representing B.G. at football (captain), table tennis (captain) and hockey; and while Roy McArthur would have won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Weightlifting, Frank Mongul dominated the athletic field as Queen’s College Champion Athlete, while bestriding the hockey court as well.
But these are but a sample of the shining stars of Penumbria.
Those of us who have been lucky to survive pay tribute to the physical and spiritual prowess of the late Dr. Frank Mongul.
Yours faithfully,
E.B. John
