Hilary (Davis) Woodfield
Hilary Woodfield lives in one of the “Oleander Houses” just off the so-called “Elevator” road, which connects the Ridge Road and Sea Cow Bay. She was born in England, in the Birmingham region of the English Midlands, and later moved with her parents to Dartmouth, Devon (population c. 5,500) a town that is, perhaps unsurprisingly, located on the estuary of the River Dart. She has lived in the Virgin Islands for many years and is a Belonger.Hilary’s parents came to the BVI via Antigua, for health reasons in 1967, and her father Gilbert Davis, after looking around for business opportunities, opened Caribbean Printing in 1968. Hilary, who was at that time hitchhiking around Australia, and her brother Graham Davis, were delegated to run the operation, which was the only printing operation (printery) in the country at that time. Her parents later returned to Dartmouth. Hilary learned accountancy and “did the books”. Graham did the printing and acted as the “front man”. Hilary Davis met her husband-to-be, Cyril Woodfield, when he was working as a Royal Engineer rebuilding and extending the airport on Beef Island. He was born in what was then British India and was a Chindit in Burma and India during World War Two. They had two children, Jenny and Nancy, both born at “Peebles”, and both of who live and work on Tortola. As a sign of progress, Jenny was put in a cardboard box after birth, but her sister got a crib! After leaving the Army, Cyril worked for the Public Works Department, being responsible for the first paving of Joe’s Hill, amongst many other projects.
The Davis’ bought land in Pasea (where RTW Cash and Carry is now located) from the Roy family, and lived above the printshop that they constructed there. Their ‘home location’ meant that they were always ‘on call’ for printing emergencies. The contemporary company is now located just north of Waterfront Drive, in between Purcell Road and the One Mart supermarket. Although they initially printed both the Island Sun and The Beacon, as their other business elements grew this became too much for them, and these operations moved to St. Thomas. Caribbean Printing is perhaps best known for starting what is now the multi-colour The British Virgin Islands Welcome Tourist Guide, after a family discussion about how to make a contribution to the growth of their new home. The long-term success of this publication, undoubtedly the best-known tourist communication in the country, can be gauged by the fact that the current Guide is Volume 40, No.6! Their other work included proofreading and publishing all of the country’s laws, as well as materials for the elections. Graham Woodfield, along with Dougal Thornton, started the first picture calendar of the Virgin Islands. Picture postcards were also an important product. Old maps were reproduced. But in 1987 Hilary and Graham sold the company to a group from Cincinnati, Ohio. The owners wanted Graham and Hilary to stay on. In the end Graham moved to Cincinnati with the company and he still works in Ohio in the printing trade.
Although Jenny and Nancy completed most of their schooling on Tortola (a lot of it via “correspondence”), the Woodfield family moved back to the United Kingdom, after the sale of the printing business, for the girls’ final years of secondary school and for college (Oxford, and Royal Holloway, London). Hilary lived in the family home in Dartmouth, where Cyril died in 1989. Jenny taught in Cage Green, Tonbridge, Kent for a while but then returned to Tortola to teach in what is now Cedar School. She currently operates her own pre-school. Nancy works for the National Parks Trust in Roadtown. After her husband died, Hilary alternated between living in Tortola and Dartmouth, but after the “September 11th” attacks on New York, she sold the Dartmouth home and moved back to the Virgin Islands, and her “Oleander House” on a permanent basis.
Of course, nearly everything has changed in the Virgin Islands over the past 45 years, since the time that Hilary first drove her yellow Mini Moke # 805 around the island. But for Hilary a number of things stand out. The Pub and Fort Burt – with its fungi bands - “were always there” it seems. People largely made their own entertainment in those days. There were separate groups of expats – like the Cable and Wireless people who lived in one area of the island. Back then there were some tracks, but few roads. Main Street was a two way street, and Hilary feels it has now lost much of its earlier character. It should be converted to pedestrian traffic only. She recollects only “Jill’s Bar” at Cane Garden Bay. Marina Cay was, of course, very different, and there was little else at Trellis Bay. In the East End the beaches she visited were nice and lonely. Other beaches like “Smugglers’ Cove” have also been changed for the worse. There are now very few places you can “get away” and Hilary misses many such things from the “old days”, while recognizing that she and her generation of “Builders” played a large part in the process of change. But now she sees too many cars and too many people and tries to avoid trips to Roadtown as much as possible. The debatable standard of driving on the island doesn’t help. On the plus side there are many restaurants/bars, and a much wider selection of foodstuffs in the many more shops.
If the family was to be starting out now Hilary believes it would be much harder. It was not easy then but would be more difficult now, with work permit, trade licence, and residence issues being more troublesome and taking longer. Her father got to know people and could get things done. However, the printing equipment has changed a lot and the contemporary machines are much easier to use. Hilary has no regrets and a lot of good memories. Coming to the Virgin Islands “was a good move” for the family - and the BVI needed a printery. However, it is not a cheap place for retired people on fixed incomes – and probably for many other people as well.
Giving back was important to the Woodfield and Davis families. They thought it was their duty. In addition to their professional contributions, Graham and Cyril were heavily involved with the Rotary Club (there was only one back then!), and they worked a lot with the Tourist Board. They gave surplus paper to schools and other groups. They looked after their employees very well.
The offshore finance trade and tourism are major elements of progress for many people but they have come at a cost. It’s been “six of one and half a dozen of the other”. Hilary liked Tortola more the way it was. Now there are too many cars and too many tourists. But she plans to stay here for the rest of her life with her memories and her family.
Draft of December 21st of interview of December 16th, 2011