Former Speaker, C.B. Hyde Laid to Rest

One of Belize’s former Speaker of the House of Representatives and former Postmaster General, Charles Bartlett Hyde was laid to rest on Wednesday following a funeral service. The late Hyde, who was also at one time the chairman of the Public Service Commission and the father of Evan X Hyde, the publisher of the Amandala newspaper, passed away on March twenty-third. The former longstanding public officer was bestowed the title of Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1977 on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth the Second. Hyde was one hundred years old. News Five’s Marion Ali brings us a report on the funeral service that was held in his memory. 

 

Marion Ali, Reporting 

Draped with the Belizean flag, and carried by six members of the Belize Defence Force, the casket of Charles Bartlett Hyde filed past officials of the parliament at the Lord’s Ridge Cemetery, where the remains of the former Speaker of the House were interred. In death, Hyde was remembered as the person he was in life, a dutiful son of the soil. Speaker of the House, Valerie Woods, delivered the official remembrance at the funeral service at the Divine Mercy Church.

 

Valerie Woods, Speaker of the House

“C B. Hyde received his formal education at Holy Redeemer School and St. John’s College, where he graduated in 1940. He recounted getting his first job, however, at the tender age of 12 years, with Sergeant Maurice Fuller, who lived in an adjoining lot, where he would chop firewood and run errands for 25 cents a week. After graduating from St. John’s College, he got another job as office boy, as the term was back then at Mr. Turton’s office, with a weekly salary, now of 1. Interestingly, at one point, C. B. Hyde was at a crossroads in terms of his true calling in life. Should he become a machinist, an engineer, and seaman like his father? Or should he aspire for something different, which his mother encouraged due to his Cambridge school certificate. However, it was Providence that intervened in the form of the late Mr. Lindsey Jeffries. Treasury Superintendent, who suggested to his friend, Jim Hyde, that C. B. apply for the vacant post of messenger in the Colonial Civil Service, with a salary now of 15 a month. That was the genesis of his civil service career, and a lifetime of public service, which followed.”

 

One of Hyde’s sons, Dr. Ronald Hyde, delivered the eulogy.

 

Dr. Ronald Hyde, Son of Deceased

“One thing was unquestioned throughout his life. He loved and respected his children and displayed an open mind to all of us. Never dictating to us, but encouraging the expression of ideas and arguments. Yes, those expressions, arguments were sometimes vehement, but never with animosity. It was an era when children were to be seen and not heard. And certainly when his friends came over to play cards, we adhere to the rules of the era. But otherwise it was a home where he was curious about our thought process and everyone had a valued opinion. Maybe that is why we Hydes seem to like engaging with people who have different opinions than us. As much as he relished intellectual pursuits and complex mathematical problems, Dad was a man who looked for the sporting side of life. Work was to be done promptly and well. Ideally, such labors would employ boy power, as he called it. Despite the family machine shop mantra that one bwai da bwai, two bwai da half a bwai, and three bwai da no bwai at all. But after work, it was fun and games. And he took those games seriously, always studying the methods and tactics of every discipline. And he was good at most of them as you’ve heard.”

 

The Belizean National Flag, which draped Hyde’s casket, was folded up by the six soldiers who bore the casket. During the interment, wreaths were laid by Acting Governor-General, Stewart Leslie, Prime Minister John Briceño, and Speaker Woods. Prime Minister Briceño presented Hyde’s eldest son, Evan X Hyde, with the flag that draped his casket. Fittingly, the Belizean National Anthem sung by the attendees to the live accompaniment of the B.D.F. Band, closed off the funeral service. Marion Ali for News Five.

 

Charles Hyde presided over the House of Representatives as the Speaker from November thirtieth, 1979 to November ninth, 1984. He was bestowed with the titles of Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1977 and Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1998. Born in 1923 to Eunice, née Lake, and James Bartlett Hyde in then British Honduras, Hyde served Belize for many years in the public service. He was Assistant Postmaster from 1960 to 1962 and when he retired in 1978, it was in the capacity of Postmaster General. For his outstanding contributions, the administrative building, formerly known as the Complex Building on Mahogany Street in Belize City, was named the Charles Bartlett Hyde Building in 2008 in his honour. Charles Hyde was a hundred years old.