Browse by family names
Browse family names using the A to Z index below.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W XYZ ALL NAMES
P.
PAYNE, ELSIE
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W XYZ ALL NAMES
P.
PAYNE, ELSIE
BIOGRAPHY
On October 28, 1946 Elsie Pilgrim (later Dame Elsie Payne) became the first woman to be awarded the Barbados Scholarship. It was also the first time the scholarship was awarded in Modern Studies. Dame Elsie was born on May 14, 1927. Her association with Queen’s College started in 1936 when she entered as a student at the age of nine. After leaving Queen’s College in 1946, she entered Exeter College, University of London and gained a B.A. in History. From there she entered the University of Cambridge and in 1953 she graduated with a Doctorate in Philosophy in History and thus became the first Barbadian to attain this level of scholarship. Dame Elsie returned to her alma mater where she served first as Senior History Teacher and later Deputy Headmistress. In 1970 Dame Elsie became the first Barbadian to be appointed Headmistress of Queen’s College, a position she held until her retirement in 1985. Dame Elsie’s contribution went beyond the confines of Queen’s College. She was a member of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society and served on its Council in the position of first Vice President from 1986-1989. Dame Elsie also served on a number of Advisory Boards and Committees, including the Barbados Constitution Review Commission |
For her contribution to education, in 1980, Elsie Payne nee Pilgrim became Barbados’ first Dame of St. Andrew. In 1986 she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws by the University of the West Indies and in January 1990 she was named among The New Bajan magazine’s “Personalities of the Decade: Those Whose Work Time Will Not Fade.”
This lover of Shakespeare, calypso and Barbadian history and heritage died in 2004, but her achievements have been memorialised on the Barbadian landscape. The roundabout outside the Bridgetown Harbour, as well as the Headquarters of the Ministry of Education both bear the name of “this erudite scholar, loving and caring educator.”
Courtesy Barbados Museum & Historical Society (Facebook post
This lover of Shakespeare, calypso and Barbadian history and heritage died in 2004, but her achievements have been memorialised on the Barbadian landscape. The roundabout outside the Bridgetown Harbour, as well as the Headquarters of the Ministry of Education both bear the name of “this erudite scholar, loving and caring educator.”
Courtesy Barbados Museum & Historical Society (Facebook post
TIMELINE
Under construction.
AUDIO RECORDINGS
|
DOCUMENTS
|
FAMILY TREE
|
PHOTOGRAPHS
VIDEOS