Nicholson Alec N. Ducreay was born at Wesley in 1930 where his father was head teacher of the Wesley Primary School. His roots, however, were at Cochrane where his mother’s family owned Stewart Hall Estate.
His family also had property in Roseau, where he went to school at the Dominica Grammar School from 1944 to 1949. Like his father, he was a school teacher for a time, teaching at the Cochrane Primary School for three years before branching out on his own in private business. He was an enterprising young man and established a small lumber business near the old market square in Roseau. Before long he was able to construct his own home in lower Goodwill as the new housing area was opening up lots for sale.
Shortly after Emanuel Christopher Loblack and Phyllis Shand Allfrey launched the Dominica Labour Party (DLP) on 24 May 1955, Mrs. Allfrey took note of this young confident man who was a fine public speaker and who was well liked in Roseau and the surrounding country areas. In 1957, when the DLP was preparing to contest its first general election, Mrs. Allfrey approached Ducreay to join the party and contest the Roseau North Constituency. At that time, when Dominica was divided into only 8 constituencies, Roseau North included all the communities in the northern part of the parish of St. George and parts of St. Paul including Cochrane. The DLP symbol was the hat.
Ducreay easily won his seat at the election held on 15 August 1957 and joined the other two successful DLP candidates in the legislature: EO Le Blanc and RP St. Luce who sat in opposition to Frank Baron’s Dominica United People’s Party (DUPP) which held a slight majority. In July 1960 the DLP members forced a new election by getting DUPP members Lionel Laville and LC Didier to resign.
In the general election of 17 January 1961, when the constituencies were increased to 11, Ducreay secured his seat again and the DLP won the election to form the government for the first time. Among the four government ministers, including EO Le Blanc as Chief Minister, thirty-year-old Ducreay was made Minister of Trade and Production, befitting of his experience in business and agriculture.
Along with his colleagues, the young minister oversaw five dynamic and productive years in office thanks to the booming banana and citrus industries and the many projects financed by the British Colonial Development and Welfare Fund (CD&W) which brought roads, ports, new schools, health clinics and water supply systems among other developments to the island for the first time.
As a result of that five-year boom, the DLP won with a landslide in the general election of 7th January 1966, taking ten of the eleven seats, with only to one, the Soufriere Constituency, going to the DUPP. But the following term was a rocky one: A new party, The Dominica Freedom Party (DFP) was formed in 1968, political turmoil erupted and cracks began to appear within the ruling DLP itself.
Ducreay sometimes represented Dominica abroad instead of Le Blanc, as when he joined other Caribbean leaders in Barbados in 1968 to sign the agreement founding CARIFTA, the precursor to CARICOM. Some detractors of Le Blanc have commented that Ducreay was better educated, more urbane and comfortable in wider society than Le Blanc, who appeared to carry a grudge because of his rural origins and self-perceived status.
In the run-up to the general election of 26 October 1970 a major split occurred in the party when three ministers, NAN Ducreay, WS Stevens and Mable Moir James, lead a faction which expelled Le Blanc and his supporters from the party accusing the Premier of being autocratic and running roughshod over the other members of Cabinet. LeBlanc, in turn, formed the Le Blanc Labour Party with the new symbol of the shoe and trounced his opponents, all except for WS Stevens who was secure in his base at Marigot.
As a result of the outcome of the 1970 elections, NAN Ducreay was cast into the political wilderness. He returned to his business pursuits at his shop in Roseau and farm at Cochrane.
For a time, after formation of the United Workers Party (UWP) in 1988, Ducreay supported the party and spoke on its platform.
After the general election of 2000 when a new generation of Labourites took power, Ducreay was restored to the party’s favour and his experience and advice was sought and highly respected by the young leaders. He, in turn, resumed a position in the forefront of the party as radio commentator, platform speaker and supporter of the party from which he had been exiled for thirty years. With his passing goes the last of the early leaders of the DLP who molded the party in the 1950s and contested its first general elections held sixty years ago this year.
RIP COUSIN DUCREAY FROM ME AND REST OF THE FAMILY HERE AND OVERSEAS. To the children be strong
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My name is Dr. Mary Ann Jones and as the CEO of Westside Community Services, I work under the leadership of Mr.Marcellus Ducreay, President of the Westside Board Of Directors. Mr. Marcellus Ducreay is a phenomenal leader and has the respect of his peers and the communities he serves. He does so much to assist our communities and I am honored to have him as my boss. Rest in Peace Father Ducreay. Your children will carry on your tradition.
RIP Mr. Ducreay
As they say Lennox, nothing but good of the dead. However,, the annals also reveal that NAN had Phyllis Shabnd Allfrey, the co founder of the labour party with Emmanuel Loblack, expelled from the party for daring to oppose his proposal to introduce a tax of banana exports, thus indirectly taxing farmers who’ income had been tax free and still is today. Loblack resigned from the labour party in protest, never to return. Edward Leblanc felt betrayed by Nan, causing to expel him from his government but leaving him embittered and retiring from public office prematurely.
Still Leblanc has his higway and Loblack his bridge. NAN was a very approachable man and contributed to country, but far from perfect. Sugar coating our history , especially for political kudos is not helpful.
Very true. Ma Allfrey herself told me how betrayed she felt being kicked out of the DLP that she founded by the people who she had helped to establish in power. When she returned from Trinidad where she was minister in the Federation of the West Indies the party hierarchy used her paper’s opposition to the banana tax to ditch her and get her out of the way.
If I was writing a book on the subject I would have included all of that but this is a brief overview and let us face it, no one, least of all politicians, are complete saints!
Dr Honeychurch, I swear that NAN Ducreay was a staunch supporter of the UWP even used to be on platform speaking. You all trying your best to erase from our history that UWP is here but good luck with that.
Sorry. In my haste to deliver this at short notice, I failed to note NAN Ducreay’s brief association with the UWP. It is being corrected. Respect.
Thanks anonymous!
That is the beauty of communication; the truth must prevail!
Very few of Wesley people are idiots!; and surely Ducreay was not one. As far as I know there are only two idiots found in Wesley, one is …………… in spite of all her academic education; and my other none academic educate cousin …………..
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!
Those two are dumb; they allowed Roosevelt Skerrit to use them as tools, maybe as usual he bought their body mind and soul, in the process nobody in Wesley, not even relatives cares anything about them anymore.
Politics sucks, and that’s what happens once one allows themselves to become a tool and puppet of Roosevelt Skerrit!
A true man of the soil. But the article made no mention of his own family, kids etc. If you mentioned his parents, why not the family he raised as well?
OK Mr Educator would you prefer the term “Wesley Government School”? To cover all the various types of early village schools that are the first educational establishments otherwise known as primary ?
Check the heading: This is a \”Political Overview\” not a family history or death announcement.
Matters not.
I would certainly leave it as is. Don’t further expose the man’s area of weakness. Let sleeping dog do what they do. Scott’s Head ou amier bouef!
Well written. Thank you for this Mr. Honychurch. May this staunch stalwart and honourable politician rest in perfect peace.
That’s a legacy to follow and one to emulate.
I am very happy to hear he went to the DOMINICA GRAMMER SCHOOL AND HAD A SUCESSFUL COMPLETION.
Therefore he is worthy of being a minister of Government.
LET ME ADMONISH OUR YOUNG PEOPLE TO TAKE A PAGE FROM THIS MANS BOOK.
Don’t fight at school AND BURST PEOPLE HEAD WITH ZIP BOTTLE BECAUSE OF SOME JUICE.
Shear with your pears. Don’t be selfish.
Have love for people which will make u a likeable person wen u intend to represent people.
Don’t tell lies on people so u can get wealth.
Don’t betray your country to please others.
Because what u do will come back to hunt u.
Take a look today and see who u would love to be like.
My condolences to the family of Hon. Nan.
REST IN PEACE COMRADE.
So be like HON. NAN and have a good record.
N. A.N. Ducreay was one of the most Nationalistic politicians Dominica has ever known. He was concerned about the development and people of Dominica, especially the rural districts, may we get more like him. May he rest in peace.
R.I P. read with intreast, cant help to notice, even at that time, there were several changes of political ideas, styles, country bookie, vs Town bookie, ect, duely noted however, inspite of it all there was not the venum, Drama, vicious atttacks of others, ect, we all got along, and Change came about by the ballots, at the end of ever cycle, we got along fine. Question! why today we have so much hatered, jelousy, personal attacks, square pegs in Round holes, dirty low Down politics? it begs the question, and the realization in todays World of politics, Money, Greedy and ### some are in it not for love of country, but love of their own pockets, hence we are where we are. opinion expressed soly that of the blogger.
stupes
what he did ?
nothing
sikiree for pm
My deepest condolences to the family.I admired Mr.Ducreay steadfastness and brilliance.I think Mr.St.Luce represented the Grand Bay Constituency.Which constituency did Mr.Laville and Mr.Didier represent?
Lionel Laville represented the north eastern constituency and LC Didier represented the south eastern constituency.
Mr.Laville“ represented the Marigot constituency.
The article did not mention he joined the UWP .See he was an Ahfouahwee by birth.
May he rest in peace.
May he rest in peace. I will miss my Dad…his knowledge never cease to amaze me..I miss a good conversation. . And a Dad who constantly look forward to my visit…God knows best… We are all transitional on this earth.
The red thumbs down must have been a mistaken finger press. Nuff respect from a loving and respectful son.
“Nicholson Alec N. Ducreay was born at Wesley in 1930 where his father was head teacher of the Wesley Primary School.”
Something is wrong with the statement in the quote: Since before the 1930’s there was never an exclusive Primary school in Wesley. There was always an elementary school in village, although scholastic education in Wesley began in a building on the Londonderry Estate, shortly after slavery.
A primary School is defined as school with the first three grades of elementary school; nevertheless sometimes also include is a kindergarten class.
As far as I know when I first attended School in Wesley; the classes ranged from ” stages 1 to what we term then standard 7, under the British Colonial system.
The first day I attended class, just over four years old; I was placed in stage “1” that must have been Kindergarten, the old building still stands in the center of the village to this day! And no matter who we are from Wesley, before the 1930’s to 1959, we…
Continue:
And no matter who we are from Wesley, before the 1930’s until 1959, when a new school was built in the village, later destroyed by Hurricane David, we all went to that old school building.
Note:
When we speak of a primary school in the British English language, we are talking about a school for children below the age of eleven (11) years old, and is usually divided into an infant and junior section.
In Canada, and the United States, it is a school equivalent to the first three or four grades of elementary school; which I said sometimes includes a kindergarten! We never had any thing exclusively as that in Wesley where I was born, and lived for the first fourteen years of my life!
OK Mr Educator would you prefer the term “Wesley Government School”? To cover all the various types of early village schools that are the first educational establishments otherwise known as primary ?
We should always be honest, and call it what it is: a spade cannot be anything else by any other name than a spade. If we define it as a primary school exclusively; we are contending there was never an Elementary School in the village, therefore it would put many of us into the category of those who never went past the third grade (stage 3) in school.
Remember for many of us who made it into the seventh standard, could not make it to secondary in Roseau: Only people, like the late Fred Henry, and Simon Richards, whom I do not know if he is still with us were the first to venture from the standard seven to secondary.
Until the late 1950’s where anybody who could past the entrance examination got the opportunity to go to Roseau until Martin Roberts of Marigot, former Methodist Minister, and I believe Dr. Ruben Telemaque, and some other came up with idea of introducing the St. Andrews School, that was first located on the old agricultural demonstration center at…
Though time and distance grew, a bond of friendship never deteriorated since Grammar School days.
My heartfelt condolences to his family. May his soul rest in the eternal peace.
Rest in peace
Lovely trip down memory lane. May his soul rest in peace.