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Sir Frank Walcott (1916 - 1999)He was born on September 16, 1916, in the parish of St. Peter. His father, who was a policeman, died when Frank was quite young and therefore he was raised in Bridgetown and attended Wesley Hall Boys' School.A skilled mathematician with an unflinching personality, abounding craftsmanship and phenomenal debating skills, Sir Frank Walcott not only only led the way in implementing the many laws and practices for which Barbados currently has a reputation for but he was also very influential in his role as a political trade unionist. Walcott was invited to join the labour movement by Hugh Springer and Grantley Adams who both led the Progressive League, which was formed in 1938. His potential and show of competence was so great that from January 1, 1945 he became an assistant to Springer who was also General-Secretary of the Progressive League. After March 10, 1946, he was fully employed by the Barbados Workers' Union and spent 45 years as an employee. Sir Hugh left the union in October 1947 to take up the post of Registrar of the University College of the UWI and Walcott was appointed to act as General-Secretary on November 5 of that same year. On July 25 of the following year, he was elected General-Secretary at the Annual Delegates' Conference. His respect and prominence as a leader of the trade union was gained as a result of him understanding all too well that Barbados could not possibly progress at a meaningful rate, unless critical attention was paid to the growth and development of its work force.
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