Caribbean Voices was a pioneering BBC radio programme, which gave a platform to now famous writers like George Lamming, V S Naipaul and Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott. It also paved the way for the Caribbean Service that gave the great Trevor MacDonald his big break.
The roots of the programme began in 1939, with the wartime show Calling the West Indies, which featured West Indian troops reading letters to their families back home. In 1943, this became Caribbean Voices and highlighted the work of up-and-coming West Indian poets, playwrights and prose writers. The show was responsible for so many firsts, including the fact that the host and producer, Una Marson, was the first black woman broadcaster at the BBC.
Though it ended in 1958, the show made a big impact. We love the fact it gave people in forties and fifties Britain a real flavour of the Caribbean. In some ways, it’s not a million miles from what we do today at Turtle Bay! We’ve always been about providing a taste of the Caribbean – not just through our delicious and exciting Caribbean-inspired dishes and cocktails, but with our whole laid-back, sunshine vibe.
Check out the BBC radio documentary about Caribbean Voices online here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03m0yfv
And for more flavours of the Caribbean, take a trip to Turtle Bay!
Photo: Pauline Henriques and Samuel Selvon reading a story on Caribbean Voices, 1952 – via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_Voices
