Dear Editor,

WITH shock and horror, I witnessed the conduct of (Retired) Lt. Colonel George Gomes, now President of the Guyana Veterans Legion, towards my father on May 1st, 2016 at the Guyana Veterans Legion Hall on Carifesta Avenue, and in front of 149 attendees. This former officer could not give deference to the 92-year-old Gladwin Winston Rudolph Nestor, World War II Veteran, a World War II Military Medal recipient and his superior in any sphere. He would not give him an ear. He sought to berate and tarnish the name of a man whose shoes he cannot fill.

He called the man a “fraud” (sic) in my presence. This word is in no way synonymous with the name “Nestor”, a man whose service to the British Constabulary and the Guyana Police Force has been distinguished and unbroken.

British Guiana gained its independence in 1966, and Nestor retired in 1979 at the substantive rank of Acting Assistant Superintendent, having served for 37 years. He was honourably discharged on the 31/3/79, and then served in the Guyana National Service from 1979 to 1985.

Mr. GWR Nestor, WWII Veteran, is the same man who made it possible by seconding the motion that cemented the merger of the Guyana Legion and all ex-joint services’ associations. He is now being disparaged.

He was a Veteran then, but when it comes to the distribution of Veterans’ grant funds, Gomes apparently thinks, and that quite erroneously, you have to be from the Guyana Defence Force, Caribbean Forces, or senior overseas service to be a benefactor!

The Guyana Veterans Legion is NOT an army-only organisation. Let’s make this pellucid! If Lt. Colonel George Gomes feels he is running an army-only organisation, he needs to rethink his role in the Legion. There is no room for biases in a multi-service organisation such as the Legion!

In Mr. Gomes’s inaugural address to the seniors of the Legion, he promised to be honest and forthright. He was convincing! What can be summed up now is this old Guyanese saying, “de motion rice gat a pat he nah gat a plate”, meaning he was so nice at the inaugural meeting he was like a lamb. Since he has been at the helm, he seems to have been transformed into a coyote. He has forgotten the motto “Lest We Forget!”

Gladwin Winston Rudolph Nestor is not a fraud, and will not allow anyone to defraud him. He would not apply for anything for which he knowingly did not qualify! He fights for what is his! He does not lie down for anyone. He is a man I am proud to defend, much more against a man of the ilk of (Retired) Lt. Colonel George Gomes.

According to a wise old saying, “a certain amount of opposition is a great help to man.” Kites rise against, and not with, the wind; and even a head wind is better than none at all. Therefore, let no man wax cold because of opposition.

These funds arrived on the 2nd February, 2016. Nestor was told they are awaiting anti-money laundering clearance, which reportedly takes a mere 28 days. He was told come early in April to uplift the cheque. When he arrived, he was reportedly told the finance officer had refused to sign the cheque. He was patient!

On Sunday, May 1st, 2016, Mr. Nestor, World War II Veteran, allegedly sought audience with Retired Lt. Colonel George Gomes, at the Legion’s meeting held on the first Sunday of each month, to find out why he had refused to sign his cheque and deliver money due to him. This money is a yearly grant by the Royal Canadian Legion (RCEL) Canada, Dominion Command to named veterans and legal widows and common-law widows of World War II. It is issued in care of the Guyana Legion, the now Guyana Veterans Legion.

This means that neither the Legion nor its principals, (Retired) Lt. Colonel George Gomes et al, have any authority to withhold, rescind or alter a dime from these Veterans and Widows grants, once approved by Dominion Command. Their role is simply that of a local agency through which these veterans and their beneficiaries uplift their money, period!

(Retired) Lt. Colonel Gomes can learn a bit of military history from Mr. Nestor. Instead, he got on his “high horse” in dealing with the man. He and his followers who laughed at my father cannot redefine his or his colleagues’ Veteran status. My father’s military service is older than the Guyana Defence Force!

If you do not know ask, read, listen, and pay attention to your elders. What (Retired) Lt. Colonel George Gomes is ignorant of is my father’s status as a World War II Veteran and that of those who served in the British Guiana Constabulary. I deem his display, which I had witnessed, despicable.

My father does not have to toot his horn or play tin soldier. He was there in 1942! When he speaks, he speaks about what he can defend.

The British Guiana Constabulary members are World War II Veterans who are recognised the world over, and that is a fact that cannot be changed! The fact is: members of the British Guiana Constabulary and their widows, with service between 1939 and 1945, with a minimum of 28 days’ service, are so honoured. They joined their brethren who stood resolutely on the frontline at home in defence of the homeland. British Guiana did not have a standing army. To qualify for a World War II Military Campaign Medal, one needed to be a full-time paid member of the specially approved colonial and other military forces, militarised police, or militarised civilian bodies that were eligible to qualify for campaign stars. Also eligible to qualify were those with the minimum 28 days of service during the qualifying period, as laid down for the force concerned, of which the British Guiana Constabulary met the aforementioned militarised police requirement for a medal.

The qualifying period for this medal in British Guiana was September 3rd 1939 to July 4th 1945. This said, British Guiana Constabulary was the precursor and trainer of the Volunteer Force that is now the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

In 1945, my father received the King George VI Military Campaign World War II Medal. (The operative word here is Military! Eat your heart out George, you probably weren’t born then!) In 1960, my father received the QEII Medal of Service after 18 years of service. In 1966, he received the Medal of Independence.

The grants for Veterans and Widows cannot be tampered with, and I urge that all funds owing to the Veterans and Widows be released forthwith.

My father was told: “Here and now you are not a Veteran”, but the facts dispute that false statement! “Here and now” he is a Veteran, and is recognized as such internationally!

No one should pretend to know. There may be storms among us, but by our mistakes we learn!

I ask that Retired Lieutenant Colonel George Gomes forthwith apologize to 92-year-old World War II Veteran GWR Nestor, whom he treated with disdain; and, with the same gusto, meekly inform those who were misled about Nestor’s status!

I urge all those who have relatives who served in the capacity as my father, and were approved for this 2016 grant and prior, to go to the finance office of the Guyana Veterans Legion and demand the release of their funds.

If you do not get a favourable response, do not be intimidated by the empty utterances, but contact the Royal Canadian Legion (RCEL), Dominion Command, 86 Aird Place, Ottawa Ontario K2L 0A1; or the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League, UK, 199 Borough High Street, London SEI IAA to report any variance or any such irregularity as my father has experienced.

Yours sincerely,
LOUIS NESTOR
Son of a true Veteran