– as Guyana bids late son-of-the soil farewell

By Wendella Davidson

PRESIDENT David Granger, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Sir Shridath Ramphal, and CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque on Monday joined the children, relatives and friends of the late legislative expert Brynmore Pollard, as they celebrated his life at a moving Thanksgiving Service at the Smith Memorial Congregational Church on Brickdam.

Among those present at the service were Ministers of Government, and members of the judiciary and legal fraternity.

Born Brynmore Thoronton Inniss Pollard at Buxton, East Coast Demerara, the late Justice Pollard, who was 91 when he died on January 4, 2020, was a past student of Queen’s College where he taught briefly before leaving to read Law in London.
On his return to Guyana in 1959, he began a distinguished service to his country by first serving in the Attorney-General’s Chambers under Sir Shridath Ramphal, who would later become the Commonwealth’s second Secretary-General.

During his delivery of one of the two tributes to be read that afternoon, Sir Shridath, whose friendship with Pollard spanned decades, described his friend as an upholder of the law in all rights, adding that Guyana owes him “a great debt of gratitude”. He retraced the true friendship that began in the 1950s, the pre-independence era, when they both worked in the chambers of Sir John Carter; a friendship that was bonded in law and legal crafting.

DEEP FRIENDSHIP

So deep was their relationship, Sir Shridath said, he served as Pollard’s best man when in 1959 he got married in Trinidad to the daughter of his [Sir Shridath’s] then boss. Sir Shridath would become so close to the Pollard clan that he is revered and fondly called Uncle Sonny.

The late Justice Pollard also served at the CARICOM Secretariat as General Counsel; provided assistance to the Constitutional Assembly of Namibia, in South-West Africa; and was also a leading participant in the efforts of the Council of legal Education (CLE), and with the Organisation of American States (OAS) as Vice-Chairman of the Judicial Committee.

For his outstanding contribution in the field of law at the national, Commonwealth and international levels, he was conferred the Cacique Crown of Honour (CCH), the country’s third highest national award, and the Order of Roraima (OR). The Order of Roraima of Guyana is the second highest National Award of Guyana, it is awarded to any citizen of Guyana who has given outstanding service to the nation.

EULOGISED

During the reading of Pollard’s eulogy by two of his children, Catherine, an Under Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Andrew, a Senior Counsel (SC), a member of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) in ceremonial wear displayed the medals that Pollard was awarded during his lifetime.

Retired Pastor and Judge, Oslen Small, in his tribute on behalf of the church, related that the late Justice Pollard was “a longstanding and faithful” member of the church for decades. With his vast knowledge of Constitution Law, Pastor Small said it was Pollard upon whom he depended when it came to legal matters pertaining to the church.

“He was my tutor in relation to legal matters, and viewed the Constitution as a Bible, since he could not see the church body operating without a Constitution,” Pastor Small recalled.
Officiating Pastor, Reverend Leander Warren in his sermon themed, “Humankind’s Permanent Abode with God”, reminded the congregation that the life of a human being is fragile, as such they should seek to emulate the life of the late Justice Pollard which centered on his belief of love and kindness.

Veteran broadcaster and member of the Woodside Choir, Russell Lancaster, did a fitting rendition of the national song, “Born in the Land of the Mighty Roraima”.