PETER Allen Bagshaw passed away earlier this month in Winston –Salem, North Carolina at the age of 83. But sadly, his death has hardly caused a ripple on the easy-going life of St. Lucians. This, in itself, is somewhat surprising (to me, at least), seeing how much an impact the name Bagshaw has had on tourism and other areas in the country.
For starters, the name Bagshaw is particularly associated with creating St. Lucia’s Coat of Arms for Independence 39 years ago.
Peter and his parents – Sydney and Brita Bagshaw – arrived in St. Lucia in the very early sixties and immediately fell in love with the island, refusing to even view others in the Caribbean chain as being able to compare with Fair Helen.
This love affair resulted in the Bagshaws establishing Bagshaws of St. Lucia, a silk screen company catering in souvenirs for tourists — one of the best at the time and considered the place to bring tourists too, for them to capture and carry back home a touchable piece of St. Lucia. The company was started by Sydney in 1962.
But while St. Lucia was Sydney’s retirement home, it was not so for Peter. St. Lucia was his home of choice and so, with his background in graphic designing, Bagshaws of St. Lucia began producing images of beauty depicting the life of St. Lucia and its people.
But while Peter was centered on the business started by his dad, he was most truly fascinated by Saint Lucians. According to his wife, Sherry, while his legacy would be expected to be centered on Bagshaws of St. Lucia, in reality it was his pure love of and for people that he would most want to be remembered.
She told The Voice, “Peter was keenly aware of what would be viewed as the privilege he had by his life experience and strongly believed any person, given the proper support and opportunities, could achieve the same or better.
“It led him to give his time in offering classes in photography, donating school supplies to Primary and Secondary Schools or helping sponsor students who had been identified as having a need or in need of support as they further their education.
“His focus was always to help make the playing field more even,”
Sherry recalled that at one time her dear husband was brought to tears on receiving a letter of gratitude from someone who was grateful for his assistance. “That letter,” Sherry said, “made Peter feel that he had done a small bit in giving-back some of the gifts the island had given him and his parents.”
She explained, “Peter loved people and spoke to anyone and everyone, encouraging his children to do the same, telling them ‘I have found that opportunities show themselves periodically and it is important to try and avail of them, as many as possible, that way you will have a full life.’
According to Mrs Bagshaw, “He explained the full life as one made-up of a myriad of experiences — and as varied as possible.
“He always maintained that ‘Everyone has a unique experience and perspective that can add to your field of knowledge.’
“He would also say that ‘The most interesting person at a party is the oldest person there, not your peers, they haven’t lived.’”
Peter lived 17 years in St. Lucia and according to his wife, “Those were the best years of his life.”
“He loved the warmth of St. Lucia’s people and its culture and strongly felt it had a history that should be celebrated,” Sherry said.
Peter came to St. Lucia when it was still a British colony and always spoke of seeing the island transition to Independence with pride.
“He was deeply appreciative of the small part his family played participating in that historic moment and in their being given the opportunity to create the Coat of Arms,” Sherry said.
She said, “Not only had Peter’s love for St. Lucia never waned, but as he came nearer to the end of his earthly journey he had very few wishes, one of them being that his ashes be laid to rest in St. Lucia for two important reasons:
“The first is that his parents are buried on the island and the second is that while New York may have been his home by birth, St. Lucia had been his home by choice.”
