Our People

Euclid Hanley
Euclid Hanley

Euclid Hanley was born on the 22 May 1940 in Butler’s Village, Nevis and moved to St. Kitts at a very early age. He grew up in the household of the Stanleys who owned a grocery on the north western corner of Central and College Street and lived above it. Eventually he found work at City Drug Store until he was ready to start his own business. His johnny cakes, patties, fried fish and back and neck were relished by a large clientele because they were good, reasonably priced and because Euclid ‘s cheek and sense of humour were always entertaining. His bubbly and cheerful personality made him friendships that transcended the usual barrier of small island politics.

Hanley catered for workhops and conferences of the Labour Party and the Union often at concessionary prices especially in the 1980s when the abolition of the closed-shop left the Union short of funds. Workers striking for their workplace rights had an ally in him for besides providing meals for them on the picket lines, he was generous to them when they visited his shop. Unemployed women were, from time to time, employed by him even though he could not really afford to take on additional staff simply to improve their chances of obtaining a visa to travel to the US.

Euclid Hanley was a sports fan. He founded and managed the Village Superstars football team and was an accomplished referee of the game. He also actively encouraged netball, athletics and cricket and collected magazines on a variety of sports. He could accurately predict the picks for the West Indies cricket team and similarly predicted the team members of India, England, Australia if they wanted to beat the West Indies. While Hanley did not excel in these fields but he was an avid player of cards, dominos, chess and especially bridge.

In the later years Hanley was a supervisor of the School Meals Preparation Centre. In 1996 he was honoured with a well-deserved Independence Award for his contribution to sports, community affairs and sports.

Euclid Hanley died on the 5 November 2003, an unpretentious man with a big smile and a generous heart.

National Archives
Government Headquarters
Church Street
St. Kitts, West Indies

Website: www.nationalarchives.gov.kn
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