By your Historian, KABS KANU :
The stack of old Sierra Leone Daily Mail newspapers for 1966 I am reading are turning up some very interesting news and pictures .
Here is a very interesting photo from the Daily Mail of Wednesday August 10, 1966. Sam Hinga Norman and Larry Lightfoot-Boston, two of the nation’s iconic military officers of the past, graduate from Mons Cadet School, one of the prestigious military academies in Britain.
It is indeed interesting that less than a year later in March 1967 ,one of the officer cadets, Sam Norman would be involved in the first ever military misadventure in our country. It is interesting that when Norman stormed State House and was putting the Governor-General, Sir Henry Lightfoot-Boston , and the just sworn-in Prime Minister, Mr. Siaka Stevens and some of his ministers under house arrest, Larry was there in a different capacity . He had gone to see his father, who was the Governor-General.
Hinga Norman also became the leader of the Kamajor militia during the rebel war and fought on the side of the government of the late President Tejan Kabbah of the SLPP in the 1990s and after the war was indicted by the Special Court for alleged war crimes. He died in Senegal in 2003 before the end of the trial. Many Sierra Leoneans to this day consider him a hero , while others consider him otherwise.
The APC Government treated the family of Mr. Norman and the Kamajors favourably , unlike the SLPP he died fighting for andt oday, his son, Hinga Norman jr is a registered member of the APC. Very interesting history.
This was a great moment, though, in the lives of the then young soldiers who had received their training in one of the prestigious military academies in Britain.
Larry Boston is still alive and living in Britain .
MR. Israel ojekeh Parpar, another veteran social media commentator as myself had this to say at FACEBOOK when I posted the pictures :
“Larrry will cherish this second photo with his brother. Larry was present st State House when Norman stopped the swearing in ceremony by Lansana’s Martial Law order. His dad was the Governor General as you know and he was there just by chance not on duty(he told me some time ago) but he has such crucial insight as to what took place in that State House incident at that time and could name everyone who was present, what they were wearing, who did what and said what, including Pa Solomon Pratt; how he guided them to partial safety before Norman got off his trolleys cycle. I have been trying to get him to write that episode for over 5 years now and still pushing him. I think this might inspire him. I don’t want him to die and go away with important historical information , like Terrence Terry, who was the then FBC student Union President at the time and was also in the State House when Norman intervened ”
Asked if COCORIOKO could do an exclusive interview with Larry BOSTON , which could turn out to be epic, Mr. Parpar replied : “I will ask him. I spoke to him yesterday when I sent copies of the pictures . He was surprised to say the least. He said Conteh is deceased but his cousin E Kobi Boston, brother Godfrey are alive. The lady June Metzger is his sister.
