Penny and Peter Haycraft

The Haycrafts live in a house in McNamara Estate with a great view over Roadtown harbour. When they first came to Tortola they lived in Treasure Isle Hotel (for 6 months), then in Hunthum’s Ghut, and then in a rental house in McNamara before moving to their present home (which was originally scheduled to be the site for the home of the Cable and Wireless manager) in 1968.

 Peter Haycraft comes from Worthing, a coastal town (of some 100,000 peopulation) in West Sussex, England. He was always attracted by the sea, and as soon as he could he joined the Merchant Marine, eventually becoming a Master Mariner. Penny Haycraft hails from Bradford, Yorkshire. She met Peter in London. They were married and Peter looked for a “job ashore” as he could not “see Penny as a sailor’s wife”. In 1960 he was offered two jobs. One was as a harbour pilot in Port Sudan, the capital and major port city in the Republic of Sudan. This could have been a good career move, but instead he chose to come to the British Virgin Islands where he rain Sir Alan Cobham’s launch from Roadtown to St. Thomas. Although he initially regretted his decision he has never doubted its wisdom since.

 Soon after arriving in Roadtown Peter and Penny began looking for business opportunities for their future. This was not to prove an easy task in the BVI economic scene of the early 1960s. As Penny wrote in an Island Sun article commemorating ‘Forty Years of Roadtown Wholesale’ in 2001:

Peter and I started our life together in Tortola at the beginning of 1960. We were newly married, loved the island, and almost from the start were thinking of ways we could make our lives here without having to run a ferry to St. Thomas and back every day. This was the contract Peter had signed for two years. We were not short of ideas, what we were short of was cash… remember, in 1961 there wasn’t a bank in Tortola and we had no assets apart from youth and enthusiasm.

Neither were we encouraged, when, after applying to a reputable bank in the UK for backing we received the following reply:

“Dear Sir, Your letter of the 4th instant has received careful consideration, but I regret that your request for a loan is not one which I could recommend the bank grant. The details you have given me of the project are most interesting and I do, of course, accept that you have every confidence for its success. You will, however, appreciate that it is not practicable for me at this distance to be able to form any estimate of trading conditions and prospects in the Virgin islands which is a matter of great importance when, as is your case, it was proposed that a third party would stand security. I am sorry that I cannot be more helpful. Yours faithfully, … Manager”
http://www.islandsun.com/2001-May/180501/local4-v4i59.html

They worked on some other ideas such as a gas station, a car dealership, and an inter-island passenger/cargo service with similar results, but eventually settled on the project that would become Roadtown Wholesale Trading Ltd. The company received its official government licence to operate on 5th November, 1963. To quote Penny again:

By the end of 1960 we had set our sights on a wholesale grocery business, which would involve much lower capital investment. So between taking the names from cans which we were buying locally already, and acting on suggestions from my father in England, we wrote off to companies such as Heinz, Plumrose and Smedleys asking for price lists, and East Asiatic Shipping Company for freight rates to St. Thomas.

With the help of good BVI friends and the indulgence of the Virgin Islands National Bank in St. Thomas we were ready to start business. Needless to say, most items were canned, and included Garden Peas, Mixed Vegetables, Cauliflower (whole) and Cauliflower (pieces), carrots, tomato paste, of course soups, a wide variety of canned fruits, and of course Pet Milk. Probably the most important agency at the beginning was Pet. Every baby in the BVI was given Pet Milk! [Editorial note: Pet was the first commercially produced evaporated milk - very popular before refrigeration!]

Goods had been ordered, were on their way, but where could we store them? Suitable property was in short supply and we could hardly sell out of our sitting room. We were renting a small house in what is now Lower Estate. Peter finally secured a room at the back of Little Denmark, a tiny gift shop in 1961 and with a laundry next door. That first shipment, 25 cases of Pet Milk did not reach the store. The milk was sold off the dock and I can still recall Peter coming home and pulling dollar bills out of his pocket. It was a joyful moment as we were in business!

He was always willing to deliver, but the only vehicle we could afford was a Vespa motor scooter, and he suffered serious injuries to his knees when the brakes failed coming down the little road where Roti Palace is today with a case of milk between his legs, and had to throw himself to the ground in order to avoid hitting some school children. When you are in your twenties, you tend not to think ahead even ten years, never mind forty, but never in our wildest dreams could we have anticipated what the future would be for that tiny company started in 1961, Roadtown Wholesale Trading Ltd.
http://www.islandsun.com/2001-May/180501/local4-v4i59.html

It was mainly a cash business in the early days, as there were still no banks in the BVI. (But since 2001 there has been a Scotiabank ABM at the Pasea site – how life has changed!!) Case goods were the initial core of the business, but retail soon followed. Sales were both to locals and expats (mostly case goods to existing local stores at the start, with retail sales mostly to expats). It was tough for the first five years or so, but fairly solid thereafter. The venture clearly proved successful, however, in large part because its improved marketing procedures (which had become more direct) led to lower prices due to fewer mark-ups along the supply chain. The company now has operations on Flemming Street (in Downtown Roadtown), in the Pasea Estate, as well as East End, Soper’s Hole (Harbour Market) and on Virgin Gorda. But there were numerous other stepping stones on the road to success.

First, the Main Street (in Little Denmark) store was moved to bigger premises on upper Main Street (opposite today’s sports store), renting from Bobops. A later move onto Flemming followed (into what is now a shoe store) before the operation moved to the present Flemming location. They had had constant supply problems in the early days:

The business had been running for a year or so, we were making ends meet (barely), but there was the constant frustration of getting our cargo from the West India dock in St. Thomas to Tortola. Local sloops were running to and fro all the time, but either they were fully loaded “sorry Captain Haycraft, I’ll bring it next time” or they didn’t sail on the day they said they were going to, and it became evident that in order for the business to progress we needed our own vessel.
http://www.islandsun.com/2001-July/060701/local2-v5i16.html

Thus in 1962, the company bought a small (60 foot) wooden cargo vessel named M/V Kilros, in the UK. It had been built in Belfast in 1939. Peter sailed it across the Atlantic, arriving in early 1963. It had been a marathon task with major mechanical challenges. But soon the company commenced its own cargo operations between St. Thomas and Road Town. The ship operated for some fifteen years. In 1964 M/V Kilros began a service as a floating store (on Fridays) to Virgin Gorda. After the Kilros became to old to run, rented property ashore in Virgin Gorda was used, with a “bespoke store” being built there later. In 1970, the company built its first warehouse at Pasea Estate (on part of what had once been the Roy estate).

The company prior to 1975 was incorporated as Roadtown Wholesale Co. Ltd. However in 1975 another company O’Neal and Mundy Trading Co. Ltd. merged with Roadtown Wholesale Co. Ltd. The existing office, warehouses and original supermarket now Rite Way Food market at Pasea Estate came under the control of the new company [Editorial note: In what was the “old” supermarket location]. Since 1975, the company has enhanced its facilities and has consolidated both its wholesale and retail operations and remains the largest importer and retailer of food, liquor, cigarettes and other products in the BVI.
http://www.caribbeanjobs.com/Roadtown-Wholesale-Ltd-Jobs-440.aspx

 Today, of course, the brand-new 21,066 square foot Rite Way Food Market, a distinctly ‘North American style’ store (which opened in September 2010) and the matching ‘Cash and Carry’ operation are the talk of Roadtown.

The new Riteway in Pasea features wide aisles, enhanced service and a layout designed to make the shopping experience more convenient for customers. “Shoppers will be most excited about the much expanded fresh departments, such as  fresh produce, the delicatessen with freshly prepared meal solutions in the new “Grab-and-Go” section, individual cakes and artisan breads in the bakery as well as fresh fish, poultry and meats as well as the frozen and a dairy departments,” said Janet Duplesis, Store Manager.  Duplesis also added, “Our new layout is easier to navigate so shoppers can find everything they need in one place, saving them both time and money; and our Rite Way Team is only too eager to welcome an assist our customers”.
http://www.virginislandsnewsonline.com/news/riteway-to-open-new-store-in-pasea

 Of course, since the Haycrafts arrived here in 1961, virtually everything in the BVI has changed – including much of the population. Only two other white people have now been here longer, and the population of both black and white expats has burgeoned. But for Penny and Peter the physical development of the island has been the greatest change. In 1961 there were few roads, few vehicles, no cruise ships, no chartering, no TV, no telephones, and little infrastructure of any sort. Tourism was at best in its infancy, and the financial services industry had not even been thought of.

These may be seen as positive changes, although the accompanying noise, pollution, and traffic are certainly negatives. Another negative has been a noticeable loss of the old friendliness on the islands, as the population has grown, society has changed, and the economy has developed. There is certainly more crime, and family life appears to have deteriorated as materialism has grown. Reading and writing and indeed education seem to be major challenges now for many younger people. In many cases more so than for their parents. There are a lot of dietary, and consequent health, problems today that didn’t exist fifty years ago.

In 1960 educational and other facilities were poor. So, soon after arriving, Penny started her own private school (the first in the BVI), using the Parents National Education Union system and ran it from 1960 to 1975. It was an idyllic place to bring up children, but her three children still had to go off island, for their later school years – “ as there was no other choice”. But Penny’s school proved the forerunner of a number of other educational enterprises on Tortola, which do give contemporary residents an option. Penny then worked at St. George’s school part-time for the next twenty years. She was also involved with the Girl Guides’ Association in the BVI for many years. Her particular love was the Brownies (with a hundred children often turning out at the Queen’s Birthday Parade!), although she was the Commissioner of the larger organization for a time. She also spent a lot of time working with the Royal BVI Yacht Club (RBVIYC). She is also well known for having chronicled, through photographs, the development of the BVI over the past 40 years. Her historical slide shows are always sell-outs. For her community service contributions Penny was made a MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire), and in 2000 she received the Humanitarian Award from the BVI Chamber of Commerce and Hotel Association (BVICCHA) for her many contributions to the BVI.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_British_Empire
http://www.islandsun.com/2000-june/220600/local9-v4i10.html

Overall, Peter has concentrated more of his time working in his businesses. In addition to Roadtown Wholesale he started Island Shipping in 1986 (along with some investors from Antigua). This company was begun when goods started to be transported direct to Roadtown (for instance by the Booker and Atlantic Lines), rather than being transshipped from elsewhere. Before containers and before the docks at Port Purcell were built, lighters were needed to ferry the goods in. These vessels later found new lives as bars at Saba Rock and Biras Creek. A pilot was also needed to bring the larger ships to anchor. Peter – going back to his past - did this (along with George Forster, and then others) for many years, keeping his hand in until about 2005 when it became too much for him. Peter has also been a major force in the RBVIYC, acting, for instance, as Commodore, as well as an active member. He also has his own yacht (“Pipe dream”) and power-boat (“St. Bruno”).

Although Peter and Penny did not have it easy in their early years, they feel it would be much harder to do what they did now. They admit that “they got lucky and have never looked back”. Now rules, regulations, and paperwork have burgeoned, and things seem to be more difficult and take more time now. It would now be harder to get here and harder to work here. But they see no reason why they won’t stay here forever, and have no plans to move.
 

Draft of May 4th of interview of May 2nd, 2011

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