Julian Marryshow (1918 – 17 July 2012) was a Grenadian-born

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

fighter pilot during World War II. Later, as a tourism advisor in

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) ...

, he was credited with having reintroduced the traditional

Crop Over Crop Over is a traditional harvest festival which began in Barbados, having had its early beginnings on the sugar cane plantations during slavery. History The original crop-over tradition began in 1687 as a way to mark the end of the yearly harves ...

festival, which had a considerable influence on tourism to that country.

Biography

Julian Albert Marryshow was born in Grenada (1918?), one of 17 children of Theophilus Albert Marryshow, a political activist and campaigner for a

West Indies Federation The West Indies Federation, also known as the West Indies, the Federation of the West Indies or the West Indian Federation, was a short-lived political union that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. Various islands in the Caribbean that ...

. He was possibly named after Julien Fédon, a folk hero in Grenada who had led a rebellion against British rule in 1795. Marryshow senior had encouraged people from the Caribbean to fight in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as members of the British West Indies Regiment, so it was perhaps no surprise that his son joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in order to fight in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Marryshow was part of the "

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

Air Training Scheme" and, after completing training on 6 June 1941, was posted to the 602 Squadron at

Peterhead Peterhead (; gd, Ceann Phàdraig, sco, Peterheid ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census. ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, which was equipped with

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

s. In this capacity, he took part in the ill-fated Dieppe Raid. He later converted to the

Hawker Typhoon The Hawker Typhoon is a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, but several design problems were encountered and i ...

, a fighter-bomber, being transferred to 193 Squadron. He flew sorties during the Normandy landings (6 June 1944, onwards), and was credited with the destruction of trains and rocket-launcher sites. On 24 February 1945, his plane was hit and came down near Breda. He survived and was able to rejoin the squadron. After the war, Marryshow obtained a place on the British government's Further Education and Vocational Training Scheme. This took him to London to study economics under the Marxist professor

Harold Laski Harold Joseph Laski (30 June 1893 – 24 March 1950) was an English political theorist and economist. He was active in politics and served as the chairman of the British Labour Party from 1945 to 1946 and was a professor at the London School of ...

at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

. He went on to be employed in a variety of roles in the Caribbean and elsewhere. In the early 1970s, he was running an advertising agency when the

Tourist Board invited proposals for a project to make Barbadians aware of the importance of the tourism industry. After winning the contract, Marryshow eventually became a consultant to the Board. In an attempt to attract tourists to the country during the low-season months he learned of the celebration by slaves in Barbados that took place at the end of the sugar cane harvest. In 1974, he headed a committee that decided to revive the

festival, which is now held annually. Further work in the 1980s took Marryshow to the South Pacific, where he advised the tourism boards in

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

and the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

. He was particularly popular in Tonga as he had a photograph of his father and Tonga’s Queen Salote, which had been taken at the

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive ...

. Julian Marryshow retired to his home in Christchurch, Barbados. He died on 17 July 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marryshow, Julian 1918 births 2012 deaths Grenadian pilots Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II