➥ Loading Saint Helena Island Info

*

*

Glossary

Terms used

Remember that the progress of the world depends on your knowing better than your elders.{a}

Some terms used on St Helena or within Saint Helena Island Info that we thought might benefit from further explanation

Glossary

PLEASE NOTE: Within each section the definitions are presented in broadly alphabetic order. Some further terms, e.g. Executive Council and Legislative Council are defined in the relevant pages. You may also want to see the many interesting words and phrases when you are speaking Saint; and don’t forget our weird and wonderful Place Names

Businesses

Businesses featured on Saint Helena Island Info operating on, or related to St Helena. See also St Helena Government, our Community Pages for 3rd-Sector organisations.

Below: Burgh House LimitedPrintechRose & Crown GroupSAMSSHELCOSolomon & CompanyUnion Castle LineW A Thorpe & Sons

Burgh House Limited

Burgh House Limited

Burgh House Limited provides services to businesses on, or trading with, St Helena. You can learn more from its website: burghhouse.com. Its logo symbolises ‘thinking outside the box’.

Also featured on this site is one of its divisions: Burgh House Media crest @@E@@Burgh House Media Productions, which is responsible for many of the audio recordings presented on this site and also undertakes the construction and maintenance of the site on behalf of the site owner.

Printech

With effect from 1st April 2005 the Government of St Helena outsourced the Government Printing Service to a new private-sector business, Printech. Printech provided printing and reprographic services to the Government of St Helena and other customers on the island, including leaflets, small books, customised invoice and receipts books, etc.

Initially Printech printed the weekly Government newspaper, the St Helena Herald. In 2006 it also took on printing The Independent when this launched its print edition. It took on printing The Sentinel when this launched in 2012 after the closure of the St Helena Herald. This continued until 2022 when The Independent and The Sentinel both moved to a different printing solution, after which Printech introduced its own weekly publication ‘The Saint’The Saint logo @@E@@, not a newspaper but a Satirical comment and opinion on local issues, which ran from May 2022 to March 2023 - its last edition was issued on 30th March 2023.

In March 2023 the owner put the business up for sale, and in June it was announced that the Rose & Crown group had taken it on. The offices are located in Half Tree Hollow, on the edge of the business park.

Rose & Crown Group

Rose & Crown, Jamestown
Rose & Crown, Jamestown

Rose and Crown Group logo

If you come from Britain and are told of a business called the ‘Rose & Crown’ you might assume it was a Pub, but you’d be wrong. Many years ago there was a pub called the Rose & Crown (near the Hutts Gate Store), but today the Rose & Crown is a business group with several retail shops in Jamestown and Longwood and other interests.

Until 2018 its primary focus was grocery and hardware retail but then it bought Moonbeams, which specialises in custom gifts (t-shirts; mugs; plaques; etc.) and it expanded further in 2023 by purchasing Printech.

The Rose & Crown Group’s first shop was (and stll is) situated in the building that was the original Saul Solomon’s ’Emporium’ shop, situated on the corner of Market Street and Ladder Hill Corner.

SAMS

SAMS Logo

South Atlantic Media Services Ltd. (SAMS{4}) is a ‘Company Limited by Guarantee’ (i.e. a not-for-profit company) founded in 2012 to provide media services for St Helena. It is managed by a Board of Directors who represent the sections of the St Helena Community (e.g. youth; disability). It was initially set up by the Government of St Helena, but with no management or editorial control.

Its objective is to Inform, Educate and Entertain the people on St Helena and Saints worldwide. It delivers media via:

Saint Helena Island Info has perpetual permission to reproduce any and all Sentinel and SAMS Website (sams.sh) content provided such content is credited to SAMS.

Previously

SAMS previously also produced SAMS Pure Gold and the TV news service ‘Newsbite’.

Contacts

SHELCO

SHELCO Logo

The Saint Helena Leisure Corporation (‘SHELCO’) was a privately-owned company which, in 1999, proposed to the British Government that it would build an airport on St Helena, at its own expense, in exchange for rights to operate its own tourist facilities on the island. Its plan was based broadly on the 1980s proposals of St Helena Airways, but SHELCO had serious financial backing and it seemed likely that SHELCO could actually make the vision a reality.

Unfortunately for SHELCO, and much to the dismay of islanders, the UK Government rejected SHELCO’s plan. Despite this, SHELCO decided to proceed with the Resort part of its plan, buying up a substantial parcel of land in the Broad Bottom area. This project continued until in November 2018 it sold out to Paul O’Sullivan’s Trade Winds project.

You can learn more about SHELCO in an archive copy of their website{b} from 2005.

Solomon & Company

Solomon & Company Logo

Solomon & Company (St Helena) PLC is a UK-registered public limited company (Registered in England and Wales; Reg No. 496276; Registered Office: Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0SU, England). Around 63% of the shares are currently held by the Government of St Helena{5} (but see below) - the rest are in private hands. Usually known simply as ‘Solomons’ it was started by Saul Solomon. It has many business interests including retail and farming and is the second-largest employer on St Helena, after the Government of St Helena.

On 24th November the Government of St Helena announced that it would sell its 62.9% shareholding in Solomons (124,100 shares) by open tender. Concern was raised that the company might once again fall into foreign ownership; however there were insufficient subscribers and the sale was abandoned.

solomons-sthelena.com

Please Note It could be argued that, as the Government of St Helena currently owns more that 60% of the shares in Solomon’s it should be listed under St Helena Government. However Solomon’s always publically insists that it is not ‘Government Owned’ because (it asserts) the Government of St Helena does not participate in its strategy development or decision making processes. Persuasively, most people on St Helena treat it as a non-government entity so we have listed it here.

The Union Castle Line

Union Castle ship off Mundens, 1961
Union Castle ship off Mundens, 1961{1}{c}

Union Castle poster

House Flag, Union Castle Line

From the colonisation of St Helena until the middle of the 19th Century the number of ships calling here rose steadily, peaking with 1,458 ships calling in 1845. Thereafter it declined steadily, usually attributed to the opening of the Suez Canal but actually for more complex reasons (see our page Myths Debunked!). Towards the end of the 19th Century it became increasingly difficult for mail, goods and people to find passage on a ship between the UK and St Helena and to this end, the UK Government approached the Union Castle Steamship Company to formalise a regular service for St Helena as a stopover on their Southampton-Durban route. Not all ships would stop at St Helena but sufficient would to create a viable mail, goods and passenger service.

In 1910, 26 of the 28 ships that called at St Helena were Union Castle ships. World War 1 caused an interruption to the service but by 1926 the schedule had standardised at one ship in each direction per month. World War 2 caused a further disruption and by 1948 the service had resumed at only on ship in each direction every six weeks, returning to monthly callings by 1950. This continued until 1967 when, due to the increasing popularity of air travel and the growing isolation of Apartheid South Africa, the Union Castle Line withdrew its large passenger ships from service, replacing them with fast goods ships with only 12 cabins for passengers. The first such ship to call at St Helena was the Good Hope Castle (which later ran into some difficultries off Ascension Island).

This arrangement continued until 1977 when, largely due to the incresing cost of fuel oil, the Union Castle closed its Southampton-Cape Town service completely. The service was replaced by the RMS St Helena (1978-1990).

Some of the ships calling are mentioned in the Records: the Good Hope Castle, Pendennis Castle, Southampton Castle, Warwick Castle, and Windsor Castle.

Amusingly, the Union Castle ships were painted with black and red funnels and a lavender-coloured hull, as a consequence of which the company was affectionately known as the ‘Lavender Hull Mob’{6}.

SEE ALSO: The Union Castle group on Facebook™ and this video about the Windsor Castle{7}

Life onboard was not all pink gins and deck quoits, as this story demonstrates.

W A Thorpe & Sons

W A Thorpe & Sons

W A Thorpe & Sons Limited is a St Helena-registered limited company owned by the Thorpe family. Usually known simply as ‘Thorpes’ it was started by William Alexander Thorpe. It has many business interests including retail and farming. It was the island’s first Limited Company, and is therefore Company #1. It also owns (and makes available for rental) various Saved Buildings, including Teutonic Hall and Rock Rose.

www.thorpes.sh

St Helena Government

These are entities of the Government of St Helena featured on Saint Helena Island Info. See also Businesses, and our Community Pages for 3rd-Sector organisations.

Below: ArchivesBank of St HelenaConnect Saint Helena Ltd.‍Princess Royal Community Care Centre‍Business SupportStatistics Office

The Archives

Some of the shelves
{d}

Door plaque

Established in 1962, the Archives is where the Records are kept.

The Archives can be accessed:

in person The office is located in The Castle; enter through the main gate and seek a door on your left. There are full-time staff available to help with enquiries.
by email Contact Karen Henry: Karen.Henry@sainthelena.gov.sh.
by telephone (+290) 22470 and ask for ‘Archives’ (8:30am-4pm GMT, Mon-Fri)

The Archives charges a small fee to non-Saints for researching subjects. In 2018 the non-resident fee was £40 for the first 7 hours and £20/hour thereafter. Discuss with them the expected fee and how to make payment. Since April 2018 there is also a fee of £1 charged to everybody for photographing documents (for which you must bring your own camera, and operate it yourself).

Learn more on the Government of St Helena website: www.sainthelena.gov.sh/‌about-us/‌archives.

Please Note you cannot remove items from the archives; remember to take a notepad or a camera (see fees, above).

There are plans to move the Archives into the former PWD Stores building, integrating them with the Museum of St Helena and Library to form a ‘Cultural Centre’ for the island.

Bank of St Helena

BoSH Logo

Bank of St Helena (BoSH) is the only bank on St Helena. 100% owned by the Government of St Helena{5} it has its main banking office in Market Street, Jamestown, just opposite The Market, though it does operate a sub-office at the Jamestown Wharf on selected days. It can provide visitors with cash advances on most common credit cards, for which a fee is charged. For more about Bank of St Helena and its services and fees see its website.

The bank started operation on 1st April 2004, replacing the Government Savings Bank (earlier known simply as the Savings Bank), a department of the Government of St Helena which offered deposit accounts and limited loans for house purchases but few other banking services{8}. At the bank’s opening the then General Manager, Richard Winch, said Nowhere else in the world would you get interest rates on a savings account of 4%. Not only are the customers of the Bank of St Helena receiving a very high return on their accounts, but also they get it tax free. Sadly today rates are very much lower and tax is now deducted by the Government of St Helena!

Bank of St Helena Ltd. opened their Wheelchair Priority Teller Station in May 2020. As a Priority Station, wheelchair users do not need to join the queue and can visit the cashier when they become available.{e}

Since 2005 Bank of St Helena has sponsored the annual Youth Games.

BoSH Debit Card

The bank operates the ‘Bank of St Helena Debit Card Scheme(image, right). Accepted in many shops, restaurants and other businesses across the island, currently this is purely a local scheme - it is not compatible with overseas credit and debit cards. In May 2023 Bank of St Helena introducd a pre-paid card for tourist use within the scheme - see the bank’s website for more information.

Connect Saint Helena Ltd.

Connect Saint Helena Ltd. logo

In 2013 the Government of St Helena ‘divested’ responsibility for the island’s electricity supply & distribution, water supply & distribution and waste water collection & disposal to a limited company - Connect Saint Helena Ltd. - which it owned (and at the time of writing still owns) 100%{5}.

To ‘connect with’ Connect Saint Helena go to www.connectsainthelena.com. Its offices are in Seales Corner.

‍Princess Royal Community Care Centre‍

Drone view (centre, white roofs)
Drone view (centre, white roofs)

Sitting area
Sitting area

So-named because HRH Anne, The Princess Royal unveiled the name plaque on the site during her visit in 2002, it is always known on the island as ‘The CCC’.

The CCC is a residential home for the elderly, located in Half Tree Hollow, though it also provides care for younger but more extremely ability-challenged persons unable to live alone (other facilities exist for the rather more able).

Digging out and levelling of the site began in 2004 but the project experienced delays because the rock to be excavated turned out to be more resilient than predicted. Building construction began on 18th August 2005 with a small ceremony. The CCC was formally opened on 6th September 2008 by Governor Gurr with the ribbon cut by Mrs Hilda Clingham, the oldest person on St Helena. Princess Anne’s office sent a message:

Her Royal Highness has seen the photographs of the Community Centre and is pleased that the work on the Centre has come to fruition. The Princess congratulates all concerned on this significant development and hopes that the Centre achieves all that it sets out to do in the coming years.

Despite being only years old, some say it is haunted!

We’re pretty sure (but not certain) that stories of CCC staff being issued with instructions on what to do in the event of Rollers are a myth - the building is around 280m above sea level. Yes, almost sure…

Business Support (SIA/SHDA/ESH)

From 1978 until 2021 there were three successive Business Support entities operated by the Government of St Helena. They were all substantially the same organisation with broadly the same purpose - to encourage the growth of private-sector businesses on St Helena. At intervals the organisation was relaunched under a different name, but usually with mostly the same people involved.

The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.’{f}

Below: Small Industries AuthorityDevelopment AgencyEnterprise St Helena

Small Industries Authority

The Small Industries Authority was created by the Small Industries Ordinance 1978 and became operational with effect from 14th December 1978. According to the Ordinance:

The objects of the Authority are to establish or aid in the establishment in St Helena of any form of small industry, including home industries and handicrafts, and any other type of employment or self employment which in the opinion of the Authority can be of ultimate benefit to St Helena

However it was initially not supplied with any funds and hence had no staff and could not actually function. This changed in August 1984 and the Authority became operational. At that time the activities included:

In mid-1985 it announced that it had purchased the equipment to set up a laundry and dry-cleaning operation but we do not know if this ever came to fruition. From October 1987 it was based at the First Floor of the Post Office Building, having just moved from Broadway House, Jamestown - currently the home of the St Helena National Trust.

The Small Industries Authority continued until November 1995 when it was reconstituted as the St Helena Development Agency (SHDA).

The above is all we currently know about it, though research continues. If you can help please contact us.

SHDA Grants
SHDA Grants

SHDA Website
SHDA Website

SHDA Logo 2001
Critics said that ‘SHDA’ stood for Still Hasn’t Done Anything
SHDA Logo

St Helena Development Agency (SHDA)

The Small Industries Authority was re-created in November 1995 as the St Helena Development Agency (SHDA). Its aim was to take St Helena from dependency towards self sufficiency. The agency provided a variety of services from Training and Consultancy, Research and Development, Financial Assistance and other Financial Services, employing 10 staff.

The Agency had a number of designated ‘Target Sectors’ which it aimed to develop, namely:

It was also targetted with increasing divestment of Government of St Helena functions to the Private Sector.

Initially it provided both Grants and Loans to local businesses. After Bank of St Helena was created it stopped giving loans, but started again some time later.

As at September 2000 SHDA had £433,632 invested in 185 loans covering coffee plantations, meat processing, vegetable production, tourism services, honey production and fishing boats, and had also provided £160,736 spread over 37 grants, estimating that it had created around 292 jobs.

SHDA was replaced in April 2012 by Enterprise St Helena (ESH).

Enterprise St Helena (ESH)

ESH Logo

Enterprise St Helena (ESH) took over from the St Helena Development Agency (SHDA), but with a much wider brief. Quoting from the announcement Press Release:

Enterprise St Helena (ESH) is the vehicle that will implement the Sustainable Economic Development Plan approved by Executive Council at the end of last month. Essentially ESH is Tourism and SHDA combined with greater resources. ESH is all about creating opportunities for growth, and fostering an environment where that growth can take place. There are five main areas under the Economic Development umbrella that are overseen by Chief Executive for Economic Development, Julian Morris. The five areas are: Tourism, Enterprise St Helena (what was SHDA), Commercial Property, Marketing and Finance.

The funding for ESH came jointly from the Government of St Helena and the UK Government (DFID/FCDO). The overarching aim of ESH was to help Saint Helena become financially independent and to improve standards of living, through promoting tourism and additional sectors that offer business potential such as agriculture and trade. ESH also provided grants to Social Enterprises and Non-governmental Organisations, mainly in respect of projects that sought to improve accessibility for disabled people (such as the installation of ramps and toilet facilities). In October 2020 Executive Council decided to cease the operation of ESH with effect from 31st March 2021.

ESH was wound up as at 31st March 2021. You can read the Programme Completion Report issued in June 2021. No new agency was created to replace it. Its Tourism responsibilities were initially put out to tender but when no qualifying bids were received the current Tourist Information Office was set up. ESH’s function to support and encourage businesses and its property portfolio were absored back into the Government of St Helena.

The Statistics Office

The Statistice Office is responsible for providing the Government of St Helena and others with up-to-date relevant statistical information related to St Helena. Its data is also shared with the UK Government. For most people on St Helena their only contact with the Statistics Office is when they have to complete The Census.

The Census

Census 2021 logo
Census 2021 logo

A Census is taken on St Helena notionally on the first year of each decade (though sometimes at different intervals). The most recent Census was taken on 7th February 2021 and details from this Census appear throughout Saint Helena Island Info. You can read the full 2021 Census report{h}.

You can also read the summary 2016 Census report{h} (intentionally out of sequence, to record the situation before the Airport opened), the 1946 Census report{i} (immediately after the end of World War 2) and the 1921 Census report{i} (shortly after the end of World War 1) and see the Population Graphic which shows the unusual age profile of our population.

Medical Terms

Medical conditions relevant to St Helena featured on Saint Helena Island Info.

Below: Bloody FluxLeprosyScurvySmallpox

The Bloody Flux

The Bloody Flux (sometimes just ‘Flux’) is known these days as Dysentery. It is commonly caused by poor sanitation. With modern medicine it is entirely treatable but until the 19th Century it was commonly fatal.

Leprosy

Leprosy is caused by infection with the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae or Mycobacterium lepromatosis which can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. Infected persons often lose the ability to feel pain, causing problems with other injuries. Since the 1980s it has been cured easily with drugs but in earlier times it was fatal and Lepers were isolated to prevent spread of the infection.

Although Leprosy was never a major issue on St Helena the island did have a Leper Hospital. The ‘Blue Book’ for 1908 reports:

A death from leprosy was registered during the year, that of a man aged 58, who had suffered from the disease for many years. A grand-child (aged seven years) of this man has developed the disease, and the question of taking measures to isolate this and any further cases that may arise is under consideration. The Colonial Surgeon remarks that: Isolated cases of leprosy have apparently existed in St Helena for many years, but the disease has never shown a tendency to spread. It is probable that, were all the circumstances known, the element of infection has been the connecting link between them all.

The Hospital was created in August 1909 in Ruperts. It was closed in 1925 because there were no cases but re-opened in 1937 when another case was discovered and the October 1946 census records four people resident there. According to The ‘Blue Book’ for 1954-55 the hospital was closed in 1955.

Scurvy

Scurvy is a disease caused by a diet deficient in Vitamin C, and can be fatal. It was suffered by early mariners whose foodstuffs aboard ship for long sea voyages did not feature fresh fruit or vegetables. The cure was discovered in 1734 by an English sailor marooned in Greenland. In its early history St Helena had so many lemon trees sailors suffering from Scurvy were dropped off here to recover (amusingly, nowadays we import all of our fruit from South Africa).

Smallpox

Smallpox was an infectious disease that was declared officially eradicated by the World Health Organization in 1980. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977. The risk of death following contracting the disease was about 30%, with higher rates among babies.

The disease was never rife on St Helena but there were cases of the enslaved arriving with the disease. They were quarantined at Lemon Valley.

Places

Locations on or relevant to St Helena featured on Saint Helena Island Info.

SEE ALSO: ⋅ Place Names ⋅ Island Places

Below: Cannister‍Chapel Valley‍Falkland Islands‍The Roads‍Significant South African locations‘Swindolena’ or ‘Swindhelena’‍Town‍

The Cannister

1950s Building
1950s Building

Old building, 1947
Old building, 1947

Not a typo - it really does have a double-n! The current building (photograph, near right) was built in the 1950s by Percy Teale and replaced a collection of homes and a shop, which can be seen in the 1947 photograph (far right), also collectively known as ‘The Cannister’. Why the double-n? Well, if you consult thefreedictionary.com you see that Cannister, with double-n, is an old word for a ‘metal container for storing dry foods such as tea or flour’; there used to be a tea shop in one of the old buildings (far right)… Another explanation offered in There’s a Secret Hid Away, 1956, is that At the top, facing the sea, is an old house nicknamed ‘The Cannister’ because it is shaped like an old-fashioned cannister of tea, but it doesn’t look like that to us.

The modern building houses the Tourist Information Office and the Art & Crafts Association (and shop). These days the title is often written as ‘The Canister’ due to modern spell-check programs.

For more about the history of this building and the surrounding area see our page Lost and almost-lost Buildings.

‍Chapel Valley‍

The Chapel
The Chapel{j}

Chapel Valley is the original name for what we now know as James Valley, in which Jamestown is situated.

The Portuguese discoverers of St Helena built a Chapel in the valley, probably fairly close to where St. James’ Church now stands, though no remains have ever been found. The name of the valley was changed after colonisation by the English in 1659 when Jamestown was given its current name.

Falkland Islands

falkland Islands

falkland Islands

falkland Islands Flag

The Falkland Islands are located in the south-west Atlantic, just off the coast of Argentina. British-owned but claimed by Argentina, Britain and Argentina fought for their possession in 1982. After Britain had re-asserted ownership it built an airport and stationed troops there to provide better defence, and as a result jobs were created servicing the military contingent.

On 25th April 1986 twenty-eight islanders left to work on the Falkland Islands; the first, with many more to follow. Today there are around 300 Saints living and working there, earning good money for themselves and for their families back on St Helena.

Travelling from St Helena to The Falklands is not easy. The shortest route is to fly to Ascension Island and pick up the military flight that runs twice weekly from Brize Norton, UK to the Falklands via Ascension. However, the flight from St Helena to Ascension only operates monthly. At other times it is necessary to fly via Johannesburg to London Heathrow, travel by land to Brize Norton and thence via the military flight to the Falklands - an approximately 27,000Km journey to travel only 8,000Km.

‍The Roads‍

Map, 1600s
Map, 1600s

The Roads
The Roads

The Roads (usually capital R, but not always…) is the old name for James Bay where the ships moored. We do not certainly know why this term was adopted{10} but we think it was adapted from the French La Rade = Harbour, as shown in the 1600s map (right). If you definitely know please contact us. The painting (right) by Bellasis is entitled The Roads.

Significant South African locations

St Helena has long-standing traditional links to South Africa. From the earliest days sailing ships returning from India, the Far East and the Antipodes called at Cape Town prior to beginning their journey north through the Atlantic to Europe; their next port of call was usually St Helena. While South Africa was under British rule it was an obvious link for St Helena, with Cape Town as South Africa’s primary Atlantic port. The island’s medical referrals went to Cape Town; the island’s supplies came from Cape Town; and it is believed there are more Saints currently resident in Cape Town and its surrounding areas than there are living on St Helena.

Since 2017, however, the island’s primary air service has operated to Johannesburg and since 2018 medical referrals have gone to Pretoria.

‘Swindolena’ or ‘Swindhelena’

Many of the Saints who reside in the UK live in or around the town of Swindon in Wiltshire. There is nothing particularly St Helenian about Swindon - it isn’t small and it isn’t anywhere near the sea - and our guess is that employment might have been the original reason; Swindon used to be a major industrial town and the Great Western Railway had works there. More recently, Honda built a factory there.

The term ‘Swindolena’ or ‘Swindhelena’ is not just used by Saints:

Article: St Helena expats from ‘Swindolena’ to gather for sports day this weekend

By Daniel Angelini, Swindon Advertiser, 24th August 2018{11}

DID you know that Swindon is known as ‘Swindolena’ to St Helena expats?

The town is known to residents of the remote island by this nickname because of its large community of expats, known as Saints, from that island. St Helena, located in the South Atlantic, is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world and its current population is around 4,300 people. The UK’s largest gathering of St Helena expats takes place over this Bank Holiday weekend on Saturday and Sunday in Reading this weekend. Saints from across the country will gather at Reading Abbey Rugby Football Club for a weekend of fun activities at the annual St Helena Sport Day. The event has been taking place in Reading for nearly 40 years and is organised by the charitable St Helena Association. To find out more, visit www.sthelenasportsday.com{12}.

‍Town‍

‘Town’ means Jamestown, so goin’ to Town means a trip to the nation’s capital. Although Jamestown is smaller than the average British village, it is the only place worthy of the name ‘town’, and it does have ‘town’ in its name.

Actually, Jamestown is legally a City. Its charter was granted by Queen Victoria on 6th June 1859.

UK Government

Segments of the UK Government with responsibility for St Helena featured on Saint Helena Island Info.

Below: FCDO: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeAdmiraltyRoyal Engineers

FCDO: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

FCDO Logo

On 16th June 2020 it was announced that in ‘early September’ the former Department for International Development (DFID) and Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) would merge to form the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). For historical links we retain the individual descriptions of the bodies’ functions (below), all of which now fall to the FCDO:

DFID: The Department for International Development

DFID logo

Although the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (‘FCO’) formally managed St Helena on behalf of The Crown/HM Government, the island required (and still requires) an annual financial grant to keep it solvent. This was paid by the UK Department for International Development (‘DFID’).

Periodically a team from DFID arrived to discuss with the Government of St Helena how much funding support the island needed. An agreement to this was then signed. Theoretically this was done before the start of the financial year (1st April) but not always so - in 2018, for example, no figure was announced until August.

FCO: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office

FCO logo

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), commonly called the ‘Foreign Office’, was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was responsible for protecting and promoting British interests worldwide and was created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office (formerly the Colonial Office).

Curiously, it also had responsibility for St Helena and the other Overseas Territories, even though these were arguably neither ‘Foreign’ nor independent nations in the Commonwealth.

The FCO appointed the island’s Governor, and provided some project funding (e.g. under the ‘Good Governance Fund’) but did not manage our annual budget subsidy allocation or payments; this was done by DFID.

Incidentally, if you are a Briton travelling overseas you can telephone the local British Embassy/Consulate to ask for advice; but perhaps not in cases like the following{k}:

  • A man called the FCDO because a cat had broken into his hotel room and peed on his bed, and the hotel wouldn’t move him to another room.

  • A man visiting a massage parlour in Bangkok fell asleep during the massage and called the FCDO because the establishment wouldn’t give him his money back.

  • A woman visiting Rome called the FCDO to ask if they could get her a meeting with The Pope.

  • A man visting the Caribbean found a piece of driftwood on a beach and called the FCDO to get it investigated as part of an 18th Century British warship.

*

The Admiralty

Admiralty, London, 1830
Admiralty, London, 1830

Until 1964 The Admiralty was the government department responsible for the command of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom and the former British Empire. From all the armed services St Helena was primarily of relevance to the Royal Navy, so the Admiralty was involved in much of the island’s development.

In 1840 the Admiralty instigated the Vice-Admiralty Court to give judgement in cases where ship crews were charged with trading the enslaved.

In 1964 The Admiralty became the Navy Department of the Ministry of Defence (though the term ‘The Admiralty’ is still used), but by then responsibility for St Helena was exclusively the domain of the FCO.

The Royal Engineers

Plaque
Plaque{2}

Royal Engineers

The Royal Engineers (usually referred to as the ‘RE’ - members are commonly known as ‘Sappers’) is a corps of the British Army which provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces.

They also undertake civil works and were responsible for many of the engineering projects on St Helena, both military and civilian. Their achievements include creating arguably the best 19th Century map of St Helena; re-building High Knoll Fort in its current configuration in 1874; repairing the spire on St. James’ Church in 1893, extending the barracks at Ladder Hill Fort in the 1940s (plaque, right) and ‘Project Bonaparte’ in the late 1970s (constructing Sapper Way road; creating the Tennis Court at Ladder Hill Fort; building various water treatment plants; levelling Francis Plain and building the island’s Swimming Pool).

Legal Terms

Legal terms featured on Saint Helena Island Info.

Below: Exclusion OrderLegal TenderOrdinancesCompany Types

Exclusion Order

An Exclusion Order permanently (unless the Order is revoked) prohibits the person from entering the Territory of St Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha.

Prior to the 2009 Constitution an Exclusion Order could be issued by the Governor alone but now it must be issued by the ‘Governor-in-Council’ (i.e. with the agreement of Executive Council). However an Exclusion can still be made by the Governor alone under the Emergency Powers Ordinance, 1978{13}.

Legal Tender

In layman’s terms, if notes/coins are Legal Tender this means that these MUST be accepted in payment of a bill or debt. Other notes and coins CAN be accepted, but the other party is under no obligation to do so. So a retailer can choose to accept a UK, American, South African or European banknote, but they are obliged to accept a St Helena one.

To complicate matters further, there are legal restrictions on how many of a particular coin you can use at one time. Paying a £500 bill in 1p pieces may sound like fun but it isn’t actually legal and the recipient is not obliged to accept it.

Legal Tender must not be confused with ‘a Tender’, which is a boat.

Ordinances

Ordinances

The laws on St Helena are called ‘Ordinances’. The term should not be confused with ‘Ordnance’ - military weaponry and munitions, or with religious terminology. Its origins may be the Ordinances issued by Cromwell’s Parliament of England, which was operating at the time St Helena was first settled.

Prior to its approval by Legislative Council an Ordinance is referred to as a ‘Bill’. An Ordinance only becomes law when signed by The Governor and the Public Seal attached.

You can download and read our Laws

Note, however, that some English laws also apply. Which, and in what way, is too complicated to explain here. Before embarking on anything that requires a precise interpretation of the legal position you must consult a qualified legal advisor.

Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it.{l}

Company Types

Two types of company can be incorporated on St Helena:

St Helena also recognises a ‘Partnership’ and a ‘Co-operative’.

The term ‘Sole Trader’ is used where an individual conducts business without the legal protection of limited liability. Sole Traders must register their business with the Tax Office and submit annual profit & loss statements. They are not required to have an annual audit.

The above is a simplified description. For details please contact the Government of St Helena.

Other Terms

Other terms used on Saint Helena Island Info that may not be universally understood.

Below: 1962 and 1991 filmsArrackBattle of WaterlooCE & BCECurrenciesEuchreEx-patFlippedFrench Consul‘Georgian’Global Positioning SystemInterloperKissing DanceLighters and TendersPlantersPoW‘Project Bonaparte’Punch House/Pub/bar/clubQSLRecordsTungiU-BoatWhat3WordsWindshear

The 1962 and 1991 films

1962 film title

At the end of 1961 a Film Unit arrived to document the island of St Helena and its life and culture; the first time this had been attempted. Formally entitled ‘Island of Saint Helena’, the half hour film featured our history and physical features (of course) but also Fishing, The Flax Industry (then still fully functioning), our Friendly Societies and their marches and the extensive use of donkeys for transport. The Film Unit consisted of Charles Frater, Bob Johnston and Esdon Frost. In addition to the film, they also collected many sound recordings and photographic stills, a good number of which feature (with permission) on Saint Helena Island Info. Bob Johnston’s wife Jean also kept a diary of the visit, highlights of which can be seen on our page Memories of St Helena. It is usually known simply as ‘The 1962 Film’ because of the date of its release. The full film is available on YouTube™: www.youtube.com/‌watch?v=BO5xxrWLowg{14}.

1991 film title

{m}

30 years later in 1991 Charles & Julia Frater came back to the island and made another half hour film called ‘Saint Helena, South Atlantic Ocean’ (‘The 1991 Film’), stills from which also feature (with permission) on Saint Helena Island Info. New features of this film included the RMS St Helena (1990-2018), the beginnings of the move from counter-based shops to supermarkets, the new focus on our Endemic Species, the possibility that St Helena might soon have an airport (it actually took another 25 years), modern communications including the Satellite Link and, of course, Radio St Helena, which was then 24 years old having started six years after the 1962 Film was completed. You can hear Charles Frater, interviewed by Tony Leo on Radio St Helena in May 1991, talking about the differences in the island since his first visit (right). The full film is available on YouTube™ www.youtube.com/‌watch?v=C41y-SIude4{14}.

Arrack

Arrack was a locally-brewed spirit distilled from potatoes that is mentioned often in the Records:

{15}

(this is the last mention we can find)

Its origins are in South and Southeast Asia, where it is made from either the fermented sap of coconut flowers, sugarcane, grain or fruit, depending upon the country of origin. Since it became economic to import spirits from overseas its production seems to have been discontinued.

Arrack was often sold in Punch Houses. Arrack and other alcoholic drinks were elements in several rebellions.

The Battle of Waterloo

Battle of Waterloo
‘Battle of Waterloo’ by William Sadler

Although not strictly a St Helena event its importance to the island is immense so we’ve included it here.

The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18th June 1815 near Waterloo in Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The French army commanded by Napoleon was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh Coalition: a British-led allied army under the Duke of Wellington, and a Prussian army under Field Marshal Blücher. The battle marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars. There were around 45,300 casualties from a strength of 191,000 (24%).

Following the battle, Napoleon returned to France, but found he no longer had the support of the French people. He abdicated and fled Paris, planning to escape to America but actually surrendering to the British on 15th July 1815. He was exiled to St Helena.

More on the Wikipedia.

CE & BCE

CE means ‘in the Common Era’, which is a non-religious equivalent to AD Anno Domini - ‘In the year of our lord’, i.e. starting at the supposed year of the birth of Jesus Christ. BCE is the converse - Before Common Era - equivalent to BC. Use of the terms BC and AD for defining dates is offensive to some followers of non-Christian religions, and also to some Atheists. Saint Helena Island Info aims to use CE/BCE exclusively, rather than AD/BC, except in quoted texts. AD and CE have the same starting date, so this is in both systems.

Currencies

The following currencies feature widely on Saint Helena Island Info:

These currencies are sometimes accepted in our shops and other businesses, but are not Legal Tender on St Helena.

Euchre

*

Euchre is a local card-game, broadly based on Bridge but with variant rules that are too complicated to explain here.

A locally-produced book is available which details how to play Euchre.

ex-pat

*

Short for ex-patriate, meaning anyone who is living away from their homeland. On St Helena this usually refers to the people brought here by the Government of St Helena to help run the Government (otherwise known as ‘TCs’{16}) and their families, though during the airport construction the term was also applied to the South African managers (and their families) brought here by Basil Read.

Some ex-pats actively engage in St Helena society and make Saint friends during their stay here; others stay apart, socialising only with other ex-pats, rather like the Colonialists of the 19th Century. When the latter return home it’s hard to imagine that they can relate real experiences of St Helena’s rich culture.

When an ex-pat decides to settle on St Helena, obtains Saint Status, buys a home and becomes part of the community{17} officially they are no longer ex-pats, though neither are they considered to be Saints by some.

Flipped

Flipped
Flipped

Correct
Original

This refers to a photograph which is presented as a mirror image, usually accidentally. In the days of pre-digital chemical photography the film in the camera when exposed created a ‘negative’, with light shown as dark and vice versa (colours were also transposed). This was then processed again to create the finished picture. In the process it was not uncommon for the negative to be accidentally presented the wrong way round, creating a mirror image. This was commonly referred to as having been ‘flipped’. Correct (left) and flipped (right).

There’s an actual example from Edward Cannan’s 1992 book ‘Churches of the South Atlantic Islands, 1502-1991’ on our page The Friendly Societies.

French Consul

Flag of France

St Helena has three properties that are actually owned by France. They are Longwood House, Napoleon’s Tomb and The Briars Pavilion. As a result the Government of France places here a French Consul, who looks after these properties on behalf of the French Government.

The current French Consul is Michel Dancoisne-Martineau.

Each of the pages listed above has relevant information in the French Consulate Factbox.

‘Georgian’

‘Georgian’ means, broadly, built during the period of the kings George I, George II, George III and George IV, i.e. between 1714 and 1830 (approximately). Most of the older prominent buildings in Jamestown are Georgian.

Global Positioning System (GPS)

*

The Global Positioning System (GPS), owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Air Force, uses a network of satellites and a small (it can be handheld) device to establish an exact position on the planet, accurate to within 30cm using the latest receivers. It is the technology underlying car ‘SatNav’ (Satellite Navigation) systems.

According to GPS the exact location of The Castle in Jamestown is 15°55’24.3”S; 5°43’3.5”W{18}. When this was revealed it led to an interesting discovery - the coordinates traditionally given for St Helena were wrong, by 732 metres (read about it here).

Interloper

In the days of The East India Company only ships owned by the Company were allowed to trade with St Helena. Any others that attempted trade were described as an ‘Interloper’. Governors did sometimes permit Interlopers to trade, but in doing so they risked punishment from London.

The term ‘privateer’ was also used to describe both the ships and the men that captained them.

Kissing Dance

Kissing Dance
‘Kissing Dance’

The Records contain the following:

We wondered what a ‘Kissing Dance’ was and are grateful to a contributor{n} for explaining it. A ‘Kissing Dance’ was an early version of The Gavotte, so named because after the group danced for a while the lead couple would dance in the middle of the room. When the male lead ended the passage he would kiss his partner, then he would kiss all the rest of the ladies in the room. The lady follower would do the same (presumably to the men). Clearly this incensed Governor Robert Jenkins, though the Governor’s annoyance may have been greater because Duke Crispe frequently openly opposed him in Council and was implicated in fraud:

Apparently the kissing was later replaced with the presentation of a flower or flowers, presumably under the influence of ‘Victorian Values’.

Lighters and Tenders

These are sea-craft used for transporting goods (‘lighters’) or people (‘tenders’) between anchored ships and The Wharf.

Please Note ‘Legal Tender’ is not a lawful people-boat, it has a different meaning.

Planters

‘Planters’ is the original term for the Settlers, from 1659 onwards and still in use in the 19th Century. When the enslaved were emancipated they were given the status of Planters (but no financial means to acquire any land to plant).

PoW

‘PoW’ is short for ‘Prisoner-of-War’. The distinction between a ‘prisoner-of-war’ and a ‘prisoner’ is a semantic one. A person becomes a prisoner by being convicted of a crime within a state or country, whereas a person becomes a PoW by being captured during a war while fighting for the other side. By referring to persons captured in war as PoWs it avoids suggesting that they are imprisoned for committing a crime (some would argue that fighting a war against us should be considered a crime, but that is another matter). Hence we refer to the Boers that were held here from 1900-1902 as Boer PoWs{19}{20}, but the inmates of HM Prison, Jamestown as Prisoners.

‘Project Bonaparte’

Absolutely nothing to do with Napoleon, ‘Project Bonaparte’ was a late 1970s scheme of civil construction works undertaken here by the Royal Engineers. Achievements included:

Punch House/Pub/bar/club

These are all establishments designed for the consumption of alcohol.

A Punch House was a very basic form of tavern, frequented by those with the lowest incomes. Arrack was served. Prostitutes were available. At one time most of the buildings in lower Jamestown were Punch Houses, feeding on the high demand from the Garrison and sailors passing through. With the decline in ship calls in the Late-19th Century and the departure of the Garrison in 1906 Punch Houses died out.

Bar image

Various texts on this site refer to St Helena as having ‘Pubs’, i.e. ‘Public Houses’, a traditional British institution. It is not clear whether St Helena ever had any traditional British ‘Pubs’, but it certainly doesn’t today.

Some of the longer-standing drinking places on St Helena are better described as ‘Bars’ - they are purely places to drink, with friends or alone. They do not provide food, other than bar-snacks; do not offer anything suitable for families with children; and (it must be said) have a basically functional ambience. Fortunately, in recent years more extensive businesses have begun to emerge which combine a bar with a restaurant, nightclub and in some cases a family area. Most bars, including the more basic ones, provide music on a Saturday night (see Where To Stay: Jamestown).

Establishments are sometimes described as ‘clubs’ but as none actually has a membership the term is effectively synonymous with ‘bar’.

Because St Helena’s smoking legislation prohibits smoking in public buildings (which includes bars), the majority of clients take their drink outside so that they can accompany it with a cigarette. This is technically illegal (drinking in the street is prohibited by the Liquor Ordinance, 1988) but in this case the law does not seem to be enforced.

Some Community Centres also have a bar, but this is only allowed to be opened when the Centre is open for a function (including private hire).

QSL (Card)

ZD7VC

When radio amateurs make contact with each other over the air it is conventional to exchange QSL Cards. These confirm the contact and the specifics: time, signal quality; etc. Radio amateurs collect these and often paste them to the walls of their radio room.

When Radio St Helena used to broadcast annually on Short Wave those receiving the broadcast also used to write in to the station reporting reception, and QSL Cards were mailed out in response.

Even in the current Internet-era, the physical exchange of QSL Cards is still the norm, though electronic exchanges are beginning to be used.

The Records

The St Helena Records is a collection of documents dating back to the earliest days of St Helena, held in the Archives.

From the records and other sources we have compiled an Events Database, which drives our events-based pages (e.g. On This Day and In This Week). You can search this database on our page Chronology.

Tungi

Tungi flowering

Tungi spirit bottle

Pronounced Toon-jee this is the local name for a species of Prickly Pear. Tungi bushes grow wild around the hotter and dryer parts of the island, such as Half Tree Hollow.

The Tungi fruits can be eaten but avoiding getting the fine spines into your mouth, or even on your hands, makes doing so impractical. The fruits are distilled into a local spirit by the St Helena Distillery in Alarm Forest and sold in a distinctive Jacob’s Ladder bottle (right).

U-Boat

U-Boat by Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau
U-Boat by Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau

U-boat is an anglicised version of the German word ‘U-Boot’, a shortening of ‘Unterseeboot’, i.e. ‘under sea boat’ - a submarine.

A few U-Boats operated during World War 1 but they came to prominence during World War 2, sinking many ships including two closely related to St Helena - the RFA Darkdale and the SS City of Cairo, both of which were sunk by the same U-Boat, U-68. Another, U-407, sunk one of our earliest cruise-ship visitors, the Viceroy of India.

What3Words

What3Words Logo

‘What3Words’ is a way of uniquely identifying any location on the planet, based on 3 metre squares, using three ordinary English words{21}. If you put the three words for your location into the What3Words website or its mobile Device app it will show you on a map exactly where you are. A What3Words-enabled mobile Device might use the GPS to work out your location and translate it into your What3Words - useful, for example, for calling the emergency services if you have an accident while hiking.

The What3Words location of The Castle, for example, is ‘twinkle.forces.voluntarily’.

Since August 2019 locations on Saint Helena Island Info are given using a What3Words reference. When you see the symbol hover your cursor and the What3Words location should appear. Click on the icon to be taken to a map or satellite image on the What3Words website.

Please Note As was the case with Google Maps™ in its early days, the Map View for St Helena is rather sketchy. Doubtless this will improve but for now the Satellite View is better - click the icon towards the top-left.

If you spot an error in one of our What3Words locations please contact us.

How to communicate a location to us

If you spot on one of our pages that we have mis-located something, or omitted its location altogether, and want to communicate a correction, please can we suggest you:

  1. Get onto the What3Words website - start at preppy.skimmers.handwritten (which is The Arch in Jamestown);

  2. Unlock the display (orange circle with a black X) - this allows you to slide the map to a new location;

  3. Switch to Satellite View (the map view is very sketchy) - use the picture icon (top, 2nd from the left);

  4. Slide (click and drag) the map until the address locator (red box - marker is underneath) is above the correct location;

  5. contact us with an explanation and the What3Words shown in the red box (or cut-and-paste the URL from your browser’s address bar).

Windshear

Windshear is a phenomenon encountered at some airports which can make it difficult to land an aircraft. The following explanation is in laymen’s terms - for a more technical one see the Wikipedia.

Put simply, aircraft fly because of the air flowing over and under their wings. They are easiest to fly when the airflow is fairly steady. Turbulence, familiar to any air traveller, is caused by an unsteady air flow past the wings. When turbulence is encountered near the ground, normally on landing but sometimes also on take-off, it is referred to as Windshear.

Windshear diagram from Wikipedia
Windshear diagram from Wikipedia

The effect of Windshear on an aircraft coming into land or taking off could be that the aircraft loses height unexpectedly - uncomfortable in mid-air but potentially dangerous when already close to the ground. Different types of aircraft cope better with Windshear than others.

At St Helena airport the Windshear was found to occur at the Northern end of the runway. A Boeing 737-800 - the aircraft the airport was designed to handle - would need the entire runway length to safely take off and land, and the Boeing 737-800 is known to be sensitive to Windshear. If you watch closely the video of the test flight landing you can see the aircraft wobble as it is preparing to touch down. This was it being affected by the Windshear.

Two solutions to Windshear exist. One is to remove the cause - in this case wind eddies around King & Queen Rocks, which overlook the runway. This would have been a major, and therefore costly, operation and would have radically altered the island as well as destroying historic sites. The alternative was to use a smaller aircraft that did not need the full runway length, ideally also one that would be less sensitive to Windshear if it was encountered. This was the approach adopted.

Sadly the smaller aircraft carries only around 90 passengers (as opposed to the 200+ carried by the Boeing 737-800), so with only one weekly flight planned this dramatically reduced potential tourist numbers and also increased flight costs. An alternative solution is still being sought.

Learn more on our page Building St Helena Airport.

Did Darwin discover Windshear on St Helena?

Charles Darwin

According to the UK Public Accounts Committee{o} Windshear’, a well-known concept in airport construction, produces dangerous conditions on the airport approach and had been observed on St Helena by Charles Darwin in 1836.

Is this true?

Well, of course, Darwin would not have used the term ‘Windshear’, this being a term coined when aviation began, nearly 100 years after Darwin’s visit here. So what did he say about our wind?

His book ‘Geological Observations on the Volcanic Islands’ (Smith, Elder & Co., London, 1844) discusses St Helena in Chapter IV. In this he does refer to that side of the island exposed to the violent north-western winds (note: his convention was to describe where the wind blew to; nowadays we refer to where the wind blows from). But that is the only reference we can find. Naturally he did not comment on any specific difficulties that might be encountered landing Aircraft here!

Our conclusion is that the UK Public Accounts Committee’s description of Darwin’s findings is rather fanciful. Windshear was a phenomenon known to Saints, and they even tried to tell the Airport designers that it might be a problem at the early stages of planning, but of course the airport was being designed by ‘experts’, so the Saints’ comments were ignored…

My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe; why it is as it is and why it exists at all.{p}

LOL

SOME USEFUL ANAGRAMS

DORMITORY:DIRTY ROOM
SNOOZE ALARMS:ALAS NO MORE ZS
A DECIMAL POINT:IM A DOT IN PLACE
THE MORSE CODE:HERE COME DOTS
ELEVEN PLUS TWO:TWELVE PLUS ONE
SLOT MACHINES:CASH LOST IN ME
SAINT HELENA:HASTEN ALE IN

Credits:
{a} George Bernard Shaw{b} web.archive.org/‌web/‌20050207070239/‌http:/‌/‌www.shelco.sh{c} Copyright © 1962 Film Unit, used with permission{d} St Helena Travel (group){e} Equality & Human Rights Commission Newsletter, July 2020{11}{f} Ronald Reagan{22}{g} St Helena News Review, 24th August 1984{11}{h} St Helena Statistics Office{i} Government of St Helena{j} From ‘Insula d. Helenæ’ by Theodore de Bry, 1601 Copyright © The Hebrew University of Jerusalem & The Jewish National & University Library{11}{k} The BBC.{l} Henry David Thoreau{m} Radio St Helena/Museum of St Helena, digitised by Burgh House Media Productions{n} Walter Barshai{o} ‘£285 million airport fiasco has unquestionably failed British taxpayers’, 14th December 2016{p} Stephen Hawking

@@FNCRRETADV@@

Footnotes:
{1} Name not recorded by the photographer and as we don’t have access to that marvellous software they use on American crime dramas that can blow up a 2pixel by 2pixel image into a full-resolution A0 poster, we can’t read the name from the photograph either. Sorry.{2} On a building in Ladder Hill.{3} We don’t know which one and the photograph quality is insufficient for reading the name. The photograpoh is dated 1961-63 which doesn’t help. If you can identify her please contact us.{4} It should be more properly written ‘S.A.M.S.’, but it never is.{5} A shareholding of 50% gives that shareholder effective control of an entity. So anything where the Government of St Helena owns 50% or more is, legally, part of the Government of St Helena. This principle is also supported by the United Nations when determining what is, and is not, part of ‘government’. Despite this, the Government of St Helena often claims it has no control over these ‘independent’ entities - clearly incorrect.{6} A reference to the 1951 film The Lavender Hill Mob.{7} Sadly just stills strung together, none featuring St Helena.{8} Rather as did Building Societies in the UK prior to the changes made in the 1980s.{9} Mr Andrew Johnson arrived in February 1984 on a two-year contract as ‘Lace & Handicraft Adviser’. He was responsible for providing technical advice, training and demonstration on lace and other fibre based handicrafts having potential for local production and sale.{10} You will appreciate that a search on Google™ for ‘Roads’ is doomed to difficulties…{11} @@RepDis@@{12} Or our page Reading Sports.{13} Which gives the Governor almost unlimited power in the event of events of such a nature as to be calculated, by interfering with the supply and distribution of food, water, fuel or light, or with the means of locomotion to, from or within St Helena, to deprive the community, or any substantial portion of the community, of the essentials of life.{14} Please first read this warning.{15} Must have been quite a party!{16} The formal title for these contracts is ‘Technical Cooperation Post’.{17} As did the editor of this website and his family in 2005.{18} Location of Jamestown according to latest GPS data.{19} Though articles we quote may use the term Boer Prisoners.{20} A chap with the surname Cronje - perhaps a descendant - wrote to us and requested we clarify this. We have done so.{21} Other languages are also available.{22} 40th US President (1981-89).

@@FNCRRETADV@@