A. L. Walcott
The "Booker T. Washington" of Jamaica.
BIRTH
Jamaica Times, April 24, 1909
Manchester gave him birth 50 years ago next October,
though his father was a native of St James and his mother
of Trelawny.
Jamaica Times, August 6, 1910
Born in Manchester 51 years ago. Father native of St.
James; Mother, native of Trelawny.
Daily Gleaner, May 29, 1916
This well known educator was born in the parish of
Manchester and received his early education in
the parish of Trelawny, Jamaica.
EDUCATION
Jamaica Times, April 24, 1909
Young Walcott like many another Jamaica youth who has risen gloried in hard work from
early in life, and very soon the spirit of enterprise and the desire to succeed manifested itself.
It was not always his teachers that rendered his early training of such marked importance.
Some of these men were as a fact poorly equipped educationally. But it was in the boy to rise,
and he did so despite disadvantages. His progress was rapid and he was soon at the top of his
class and primus of his school. One of these teachers was Mr. Peter Allen of Whitby in
Manchester, who Mr. Walcott says seems to have been one of the best of his day, and of whom
he cherishes grateful memories. On the removal of this gentleman from the school, young
Walcott's parents placed him under Mr. J. Scholefield, an Englishman, who then held the
position of Catechist and schoolmaster of the St. Andrew's station, Albert Town, Trelawny.
Mr. Scholefield was succeeded by Mr. C. C. Douce now Anglican Minister [Black priest,
ordained March 1881] at Highgate, who recognizing his pupil's intelligence and aptitude for
teaching directed his energies towards preparing him for the teaching profession.
IN COLLEGE
Mr. Walcott entered the Government Training College then at Stoney Hill, as a student in
January, 1875. His College contemporaries were Hugh John McKay, G. A. Ashby, late
Wesleyan Minister, Herbert F. Miller, Geo. Swaby, Samuel Matthias Johnson. The Rev. Ed.
Pierce was Superintendent and H. M. Cox Esq., Tutor.
On the removal of the Training College to Spanish Town in the summer of July, 1876 Mr.
Walcott was brought under the influence of the late Bishop C. F. Douet M. A. and of T. P. Cox
Esq., Superintendent and Tutor respectively of the College. Here also he gained the favour of
his teachers. Confidence in his ability as a teacher, and in his general good conduct was
shown in his frequent employment while still a student to fill the place of the Headmaster of
the Model School whenever that official was ill, or absent from duty.
EARLY CAREER
Jamaica Times, April 24, 1909
IN THE FIELD.
His first appointment after a successful three years' course was to the headmastership of
Meylersfield Trust School, Westmoreland, under the management of C. P. Bovell Esq.,
Attorney for Paradise Pen. This was in February 1878. Here he had quite uphill work. The
School house and Teacher's residence were erected in a locality unfavourable to the
maintenance of good health, owing to the presence of lagoons and marshes. The School was
but newly erected, and none but the children of the peasantry of the Estates, and those of East
Indian immigrants could at this early stage attend. The Highest Standard was only the Third
Book. Second standard was unrepresented. The remaining children are placed in Junior or
First Standard. Still, in July in the same year School made 30 marks at the Government
Inspection, and 46 marks second class in April of the following year. The Rev. P. Williams of
Bethel Town was the examiner. The young teacher left to fill the post of Assistant Master,
Government Training College, Spanish Town, to which he was appointed in September 1879.
Some students at this time were S. A. Bowen, (Portland), W. H. Plant, (Titchfield), R. A.
DaCosta, (Bermuda), A. I. Hopwood, (late Headmaster Hope Industrial School), J. N. Swaby,
(Rector St. Andrew's, Albert Town), Archdeacon Swaby (Bocas del Toro).
In 1881 Mr. Walcott was appointed to the Mission Station, St. James, Gibraltar, St. Ann. In
addition to his duties as Catechist, he conducted the Day School, and gave occasional help at
St. Thomas' Church, Stewart Town. The Mission that was dwindling received fresh vigour
and the school, a struggling third class of 30 marks, advanced to 52 marks in a single year.
Every thing gave promise of a successful future when Archbishop Nuttall directed that a
change should be made to West Branch School, Kingston. There he has been ever since
August 1882.
WEST BRANCH SCHOOL
Daily Gleaner, October 17, 1901
Mr. A.L. Walcott.
A CHARACTER SKETCH
The following is an extract from a sketch of the career of Mr. A. L. Walcott (twice [once
confirmed] president of the Jamaica Union of Teachers) in the October Journal of Education.
Any one passing down West Street, twenty years ago,
would hardly notice the little mission school on his left
and the ugly looking little square building which stood
facing the gate some distance in the teacher's house. The
clamour of quarrelling men and women, the noise of rude
urchins, the dirtiness of the street, a dead fowl here, and
a dead dog there, and the dinginess of the houses formed,
rather, the object of sober thought for your would-be
moralist who little thought that the little school was
destined to be the means of changing the whole
neighbourhood.
Were he to visit now the former scene of his musings he would find a fine church consecrated
to All the Saints, with a fine organ, a good congregation, and a regular officiating priest. In
the place of one school he would find three departments each bigger than its parent, and
instead of one certificated teacher, several who have their parchment. At first his complaint
might have been that there was too much room, now it is that there is too little. The little
insignificant West Branch school of twenty years ago has become, if not the foremost, one of
the foremost schools in the Island.
After teaching at Myersfield in Westmoreland and subsequently in St. Ann, he [A. L. Walcott]
took charge of West Branch School, Kingston, in July,1882, then a low third class school with
a very poor attendance - a school that one with less faith in his powers would have shrunk
from. This school within two years gained first class marks and has since going up, up, up,
and now has over 70 marks. It must be remarked that these marks are not mentioned as a
measure of Mr. Walcott's work. To see that work one must visit West Branch School for
himself, must see hundreds of boys and girls busy at work, must observe the effects of the
teaching on the children's conduct and character, and must follow them as they go forth to
fight the battle of life.
Jamaica Times, April 24, 1909
AT WEST BRANCH SCHOOL:
FROM 34 TO 500 -- But West Branch of those days was a poor third class school of 30 marks
and 34 children in average attendance. Today it stands at 77 marks, with between 600 and
700 pupils on books and an average of over 500. the original buildings in which the school
was formerly kept, have become too small for the attendance, additional accommodations
have had to be provided, which are even now to limited for the number of pupils that seek
instruction at this centre.
The number of those trained at West Branch go up into the thousands including pupils from
Panama, Port Limon, Central America; even now many of the pupils in school come from
outside the City of Kingston. His old pupils have given recruits to nearly every profession.
These men and women are ever loud in the praises of their old teacher. Among teachers
trained by Mr. Walcott, are Mr S. M. Gordon of Mandeville, Mr G. L. Harry, P. Munroe, an[d]
J. T. Munroe, General Secretary J. U. T.
Mr. Walcott believes in the education of our girls as he is anything but oblivious to the
uplifting influences of womanhood. Among the most successful trained by him may be noted
Miss L. E. Black (now Mrs Walcott) Miss L. M. Ludford, Nurse, Mrs L. Payne, Port Antonio,
the late Miss Tucker, Miss A. Chaves (now Mrs B. C. Lumsden) Miss E. Delgado (now Mrs W.
Lumsden) Miss M. Green (now Mrs J. A. S. Linton.) The three last have married ministers of
the gospel.
To our Island Civil Service he has given Messrs M. Aarons, Court's offices, Kingston; E.
Wilson, Surveyor General's office; J. A. Lawrence, Courts' office, Port Maria; G. A. Smith, late
of Registrar General's office, Spanish Town, H. A. Morle (deacons.) Other Pupils have been
successful not only in winning scholarships for secondary schools, but in passing the
Cambridge Local examinations. A late winner of the Jamaica scholarships, Master Valentine,
now residing in Edinburgh won a scholarship at Wolmer's from West Branch school.
Daily Gleaner, May 29, 1916
It is unnecessary and impossible in a brief sketch to name the different positions held by him
at home and abroad. It is sufficient to say that the record of the school has not been
approached by any other elementary institution in the lifetime of Mr. Walcott, qualifying as
he did numerous pupils to pass classical examinations from an elementary institution.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
'Oh, these God-sent teachers . . . . of rural Jamaica, in those opportunity-starved years
of the early nineteen hundreds.'
J. J. Mills - His own account of his life and times. (Kingston, 1969), page 41.