Kitch’s place in history

THERE are two Lord Kitcheners. There is Aldwyn Roberts, born in colonial Trinidad in 1922, whose life and work is to this day still known intimately among those in his homeland.

And there is the Kitch who became a global icon: a calypsonian of international repute who arrived in England on the Empire Windrush and went on to be at the forefront of a multicultural Britain.

This month, as the centenary of his birth is observed, we commemorate both sides of the Grandmaster.

One hundred years since he was born, and only 22 years since his death, there is a profound irony attending the famous Pathé footage of Kitchener singing London is the Place for Me soon after disembarking from the Windrush.

Even back in 1948, the claim of belonging was audacious, given the racism, smog and bitter winters many immigrants went on to experience.

Decades later, the Windrush generation would be repaid by having their descendants, many of whom were born in Britain, deported to the Caribbean. Successive British premiers would usher in a “hostile” immigration environment.

Today, Britain gives Ukraine refugees a begrudging welcome and seeks to deport others to Rwanda.

But despite his name (that of a British army officer who ran a scorched-earth campaign against the Boers in South Africa), Kitchener’s legacy is not tied exclusively to the UK.

Eleven Road March titles and 18 Panorama victories at home in a career spanning decades are testimony to the enduring reach of his music. No one has yet eclipsed his achievements.

At the same time, though venerated at home and abroad, a campaign for Kitch to receive the country’s highest national award failed in 1993. This is a fact which, like Kitch’s many songs, sings melodiously about the state of our country.

A statue honouring the Grandmaster and his signature dance move was controversial from the moment it was unveiled.

Perhaps a more fitting monument is the music itself, including: Bees’ Melody, Sugar Bum Bum, Pan in A Minor.

Also enduring is Kitch’s impact on the development of the art form. His calypso tent, the Calypso Revue, nurtured talent. Calypso Rose, David Rudder, Black Stalin and Denyse Plummer are among those who benefited from his discipline and experience.

The Windrush scandal has had the impact of generating renewed interest in Kitchener and in the history of the Caribbean diaspora. Like writers such as Sam Selvon, it is impossible to disentangle Kitchener from the fate of that global diaspora, with songs like Ghana and Cricket, Lovely Cricket serving today as archives of key moments in that period.

But while Trinidad-born, UK-based poet Anthony Joseph in 2018 published the first ever biographical work on Kitchener – which was fictionalised – there is still no definitive text of his life.

This is a moment to better preserve Kitch’s very special place in our history.