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LIFF OF SERVICEFrom Paze One! 15. 1895, the son of PatrickKerr Allan, educator, and Charlotte Elizabeth Pearce, his wife. He was educated at the Calabar Elementary School, at Mico College and by private tuition. He became assistant Master at Calabar, headmaster and rrianual instructor at Titchfield Upper School- Early in the field-mf public service, he or-1 ganised the first AU-Island Parish ; Cricket Competition, the Allan Foot-* ball Cup Competition.When he left the schoolroom. Sir Harold became an auctioneer,and then in 1919, he Introducedmotion pictures to Portland, es-tabli.cninr the Capitol Theatre in which he retained interest until the end. In 1924, he establish* ed the Local Burial and Benefit Society in Portland, and in 1926 he was elected a member of ,tbe Portland Parochial Board.That w’as the beginning of his political career. From then until hisdeveloped over the years into the Caribbean Commission, now an integral part of the life bmfiSTe^gion.Later in 1944, he was elected to the first House ot Representatives under a new Constitution, as member for Eastern Portland. The man who had been a Privv Councillor 0942-44) was cne of the four M.L.Cs who were returned by Universal Suffrage to continue1 his service in another capacity.death yesterday, he was m continuous service of the people of Jamaica.He signalled ’his entry into the wider field of public .service in 1928, when he founded and became the secretary of the Association of Parochial Boards, a post he retained until his death.In 1935, after one previous effort. Sir. Harold entered the Legislative Council.. He beat Mr. K.'V. Aben-daria in the general election lor theMINISTER OF STATEAlthough an Independent in ooll-i* v.tics. Sir viarold’s worth and ability were recognised by the Hon. 'Alexander Bustamante. With 23 Jamaica Labour Party members returned to the • House. Mr, Bustamante, nevertheless, selected Sir Harold *o be his first lieutenant in the Government and his Minister for Finance and General Purposes, an office into whica he entered in 1S45.In addition, he was named Leader ot the House, a position of leader-sl-.jp to which he was eminentIvsuited by the universal respect iff which he was held in the House.legislative seat for the parish of Portland. 'That same year he founded the Elected Members ‘Association and became its secretary, a position he occupied until 1944.From the beginning of his legislative career he wa's a foremost member. His contributions to debates in the Council were looked forward to, almost always acted on.In 1936. following the unemployment riots, he was appointed along with Sir Henry “Brown and Sir Charles Doorly to investigate the disturbance^ at Frome.HIS ACHIEVEMENTS.Later that same year he. visited England at his own expense and on his own initiative represented to the Colonial Office the un-*. satisfactory living conditipns in Jamaica—low wages, abominable housing conditions, the lack .of employment, the need for more schools, and hospitals, the urgent need for industries to take care particularly %f . ,thp.lmiddle. -classes.were among the - -points in his memorandum prepare? and submitted to the Colonial Office in Downing Street.His successful agitation In England for a cornmeal factory and a ^con-lights of that interview at theColonial Office. This has been placed on record- ...Sir Harold also visited Bermuda on his own In 1938 and brought back with hlift the Non-■-Residents Business Law. A* a result; of his investigations in this direction and hi» motion in the Legislative Council, the Emigration Laws of Jamaica were » revised;In 1939. . in the aftermath-of the labour disturbances. Sir Harold was -a strong influencein the establish-'He presented Xhe first People’s Budget In 1915 and acquitted himself with credit. He was to go on to even greater things, when in 1947 he was appointed Jamaica's representative to the Trade Conference in London and -Geneva amL.was appointe4._5.balr-man of the IVrst Indian Dete--gailons—Later that came, vcar-he.was appointed British West In dian Adviser to the British Delegation at the Havana Conference on Trade and Emplov-. mentThe following letter, as a result cl a despatch from thlt;2 Secretary of State for the Colonies m * aoDreciat-tion of his services, was sent to him:. ’’The Secretariat.“Jamaica. B.W.I., ••’20th May. 1948.Sir— I am directed by the acting Governor—to inform you that notification has been received from the. Secretary of State.for the Colonies that the■OfflcUl Leader of *he UnitedtoKingdom Delegation to the World Trade Conference at: Havana has paid tribute to - the considerable benefit which theDelegation received f*om your collaboration -during—the-Confer-ence. The Secretary of State has asked that an expression of his thanks for vour —valuable services on this 4 occasion may be conveyed to you.-'Your Obedient Servant,-----{Srd,).rt. B. F. Browne, Acting Colonial Secretary.Those in the khow, behind the scenes, realised that Hairfid. Allan, -with—characteristic-ability. had- —worked strenuously and successfully at these Conferences — London, Geneva and Havana — to safeguard the future of Jams tea’s banana and sugar sales to tht* United Kingdom —work which was nor publicised but which nevertheless had been of inestimable benefit to the future economic stability of the island.MONUMENTALment of the Land Settlement system and the Unemployment Relief and Rehabilitation Centrein the West-end of Kingston. Thereafter followed the Royal Commissionand the constitutional talks, inwhich he played so important a part.In 1944. in the .closing years of the old Crown Colony ’ status. Sir Harold was sent by the Government to Barbados to represent Jamaica at the Anglo-American -Commission.It was the first conference of Its kind and set the pattern which hasHis contributions to Jamaica’s public life have always been monumental .There are Government de-. partM^nts function HIST* *i'ltiav for the betterment of the social and economic life of the oeoole which owe their existence largely to the efforts of this outstanding legislator.Among them are the Lands Department, the Central Housing Authority. the Marketing Department. As originator of the motion for the creation of the Unemployment Commission, in 193S. he led the wav for the creation of the Labour Department.In medicine, he contributed to the Institution of the Venereal- Disease srheme and the construction of clinics throughout the island, and in manv other ways has his name become connected with calm progress in Jamaica.HOHKFIn the larger field of Caribbean affairs, he pat forward at an early date the need for a British West Indies Trade Commissioner Service In the United Kingdom and Canada, and actually recommended (he setting up of a Regional. Economic Committee Ion* before -the 1947 Montego Bay Conference made It one of their recommendations.He has served on numerous Government Boards in many capacities and at the time of his death was chairman of the Central Coronation Committee. One of *he last big Trsmmittees which he headed was the Committee fwhich revised the Customs Tariff of Jamaica.Highlight of his career was the conferring of a knighthood on him bv the late King in the Birthdav Honours of June, 1948, in recognition of his long ve«rs of public service to the people of Jamaica and the Commonwealth.. In July of that vear. he went to England and received the accolade of knighthood from the King at Buckingham Pal-Despite the fact that he suffered a similar seizure three vcars ago. Sii Harold was generally expected bv the entire . Jamaica to remain for manv more years^in public service. He was looked forward to- as a mainstav in the new svstem ,,of Ministerial Government which is to b; introduced here in the next three months.Death has ended a distinguishedcareer.
Newspaper Details
Kingston Gleaner
Kingston, Kingston, JM
Thu, Feb 19, 1953
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Susun W.
USA 15 Feb 2019
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