May 26, 1966, was Independence Day in Guyana: the day the country officially received self-rule. From May 22 to 29, it was called Independence Week, and it was a week of many celebrations, dances, dinners and sporting activities.
The first day of Independence Week was called a “Day of National Reflection and Intercession”, and there were prayer services all across the country in mosques, temples and churches.
Lowering the Union Jack (left) to hoist the Golden Arrowhead at the Independence Day ceremony, May 26, 1966
In Georgetown, the British Guiana Volunteer Force gave a farewell parade and “laying-up of colours”. They would give way to the Guyana Defence Force, our national army. By mid-morning, there was the official ceremony for the unveiling of the Independence Arch on Brickdam.
While the official flag-raising service was conducted with much pomp and ceremony at the National Park in Georgetown, many villages, towns, and communities created their own independence memories during Independence Week and on Independence Day.
Witnessing the historic occasion at the National Park in the city were the Duke and Duchess of Kent, Sir Richard Luyt, the first Governor General of Guyana, along with Minister of Overseas Development Anthony Greenwood and other dignitaries, and more than 60 delegates from 47 countries.
A spectacular pyrotechnic display was one of the highlights of the occasion, thanks to the services of the Brooks Brothers Ltd of London, who also provided the firework images of a map of Guyana, the Guyana flag, Kaieteur Falls, and a portrait of Prime Minister Forbes Burnham.
Independence Float Parade (Stabroek News file photo)Ceremony held at the Guyana Independence Arch on May 22, 1966, to unveil the plaque on the base of the Arch
Then on the morning of May 26, the Constitutional Instruments were ceremoniously handed over to Burnham by the Duke of Kent at the Parliament Buildings, to formally confer Guyana’s independence.
Former Colonial Governors Sir Charles Woolley and Sir Ralph Grey were present for the occasion.
Besides flag-raising in the capital, there was also a week of private and open parties, float parades, tramps around the city, and pageantries throughout the country.
One of the highlights included the Water Pageant on the Demerara River, and the Historical Pageant at the National Park.
At Kabakaburi in the Pomeroon, the new Guyana flag was raised at 10 am on May 26, 1966. The Guyana flag was also raised at Charity, Anna Regina, and Suddie, as well as at Hamburg, Tiger Island. Fireworks and tramping added to the jubilations.
The independence programmes in Mackenzie, Wismar and Christianburg included a candlelight parade before the flag-raising ceremony and after religious services, and later during the day there was a regatta.
Coinciding with the Duke and Duchess of Kent’s visit to the community on May 27, there was the laying of the cornerstone of the Mackenzie Community Pavilion.
Dinner and dances, sporting events, church services and a tramp were also part of the celebrations.
Berbice celebrations included a lighted torch run in addition to the flag-raising ceremony. Sam Shepard, New Amsterdam’s marathon champion, and the town’s schoolboy champ, Clifford La Rose, ran a 5-mile, two-leg relay around the town and back to the District Administration’s office compound.
It was at the compound too that then Minister of Trade WOR Kendall, hoisted the Golden Arrowhead for flag-raising ceremonies. Additionally, the Royal Air Force (RAF) staged a fly-past and a brief air show over New Amsterdam.
