Sir Hugh Worrell Springer (22 June 1913 – 14 April 1994) was the organiser and first general secretary of the

Barbados Workers' Union The Barbados Workers' Union is a trade union in Barbados. History The union was established in October 1941. It has 25,000 members and represents them directly, negotiating with individual companies in each sector. Its membership covers all areas ...

, and Barbados' fourth

governor-general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

. He was a lawyer, politician and public servant. By an act of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 1998, Springer was named as one of the eleven

National Heroes of Barbados The Order of National Heroes is the supreme honour within the national honours system of Barbados and was established by the Order of National Heroes Act 1998 by the Parliament of Barbados. Members are referred to as National Heroes, and are ...

Early life and education

Springer was educated at Harrison College in

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Island ...

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

. Upon receiving a Barbados Scholarship in Classics, Springer studied Greek as an undergraduate at

Hertford College Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, receiving a BA in 1936.

Career

Law and politics

He was called to the bar at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1938, and subsequently returned to Barbados. He practised law in Barbados from 1938 to 1947. He co-founded the Progressive League with the barrister

Grantley Adams Sir Grantley Herbert Adams, CMG, QC (28 April 1898 – 28 November 1971) was a Barbadian politician. He served as the inaugural premier of Barbados from 1953 to 1958 and then became the first and only prime minister of the West Indies Federa ...

. As General Secretary of the League, Springer transformed it into two initially closely related organisations, the

Barbados Labour Party The Barbados Labour Party (BLP), colloquially known as the "Bees", is a social democratic political party in Barbados established in 1938. Led by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, it is the governing party of Barbados and the sole ruling party i ...

and the

. From 1940 to 1947 he was the General Secretary of the

and also General Secretary of the Barbados Workers’ Union. In 1940 he was elected to the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

Higher education

Springer perceived Higher Education as vitally important for achieving regional cooperation and integration. He had previously sought employment in education in London in the 1930s, but was rejected on the basis of his ethnicity. In 1938 he taught Classics temporarily at

Codrington College Codrington College is an Anglican theological college in St. John, Barbados now affiliated with the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill. It is one of the oldest Anglican theological colleges in the Americas. It was affiliated to the U ...

. He was a member of the Asquith Commission on Higher Education in the West Indies in the 1950s and sat on the Provisional Council of the University College at Kingston which was founded as an outcome of the commission. In 1947 resigned from the Cabinet of Barbados and took up the position as the Registrar of the University College of West Indies, which he held until 1963, when he became Director until 1966.

International politics

Following the collapse of the

Federation of the West Indies A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing ...

in 1962, Springer dedicated time to considering regional politics. He received a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship and a Fellowship of the Harvard Centre for International Affairs where he completed his 1962 book Reflections on the ''Failure of the First West Indian Federation''. During 1962-63 he was a Senior Visiting Fellow at

All Souls College All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

, University of Oxford. On returning to Barbados, Springer was appointed as the Director of the Institute of Education at the University of the West Indies.

Commonwealth and international education

Springer dedicated much of the period from 1964–84 to the areas of commonwealth and international education. He was Assistant Secretary General (Education) at the

Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads o ...

(1966–1970), and Secretary General of the

Association of Commonwealth Universities The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) was established in 1913, and has over 500 member institutions in over 50 countries across the Commonwealth. The ACU is the world's oldest international network of universities. Its mission is ...

(1970–1980), and served as a Director of the

United World Colleges United World Colleges (UWC) is an international network of schools and educational programmes with the shared aim of "making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future." The organization was founde ...

(1978–1990). He was appointed Governor-General of

in 1984, a position which he held until he retired due to ill-health in 1990.

Honors

Springer received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...

in 1976, and was elected as an honorary fellow of

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...

in 1974 and

in 1988, where a portrait of Hugh Springer by

Hector Whistler Reginald Hector Whistler (22 January 1905, in Jersey, Channel Islands–1978), known as Hector, was a painter, muralist and illustrator. He was the cousin of artist Rex Whistler and glass engraver Lawrence Whistler. His life and creative activi ...

is now on display in the hall of the College. Springer received a Doctorate of Civil Law from the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...

in 1980. In 1998, Hugh Springer was named as one of the ten

Barbadian National Heroes The Order of National Heroes is the supreme honour within the national honours system of Barbados and was established by the Order of National Heroes Act 1998 by the Parliament of Barbados. Members are referred to as National Heroes, and are ...

, designated by the Order of National Heroes Act. A biography of Hugh Springer was published in 2008, authored by Kean H. W. Springer. A commemorative stamp of Hugh Springer was issued in 2016 as part of ‘The Builders of Barbados' series.

Selected publications

Springer, H.W. 1962''. Reflections of the Failure of the First West Indian Federation.'' Springer, H. W. 1967 "University-Government Relationships in the West Indies ", in University of London, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, Collected Seminar Papers on Relations between Governments and Universities (London: Institute of Commonwealth Studies)

References

External links

Photo
Barbados Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation

Worldstatesmen

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Springer, Hugh 1913 births 1994 deaths Governors-General of Barbados National Heroes of Barbados Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George People educated at Harrison College (Barbados) Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford