Margery Kirkpatrick’s new book recalls life as a third-generation Chinese in Guyana
By Venessa Deosaran
Margery Kirkpatrick née Ting-A-Kee, in her second publication, “The Way We Were: Memories of a British Guiana Childhood”, is described as chronicling the Chinese experience in then colonial British Guiana, recounting vivid, heart-warming and often amusing details of her life as a third- generation Chinese girl growing up in the relatively mixed society of British Guiana in the 1940s.
Relayed in a series of short stories, Margery’s book recalls Georgetown in its colonial days, a world away from today’s smartphone era.
The author presents a life, little known in today’s generation, to younger generations, and offers them a glimpse into a period of Guyana’s history that is said to have forged the characters of some of Guyana’s most influential personalities.
Memories
- Margery’s father
Victor Ting-A-Kee
In an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine, Margery focused on the chapter dedicated to her father, Victor Eustace Randolph Alexander Ting-A-Kee. He was born in Guyana on February 28, 1910. His mother was Ethel Louisa Lee and his father William Alexander Ting-A-Kee. She said her father would often show her the tiny shoe which belonged to his grandmother, Loo Shee, who had come to these shores from China. Margery admired her father and said he was a very hardworking man.
She casually recounted that he would tell her that they were related to royalty and so must behave like royalty. “I couldn’t understand this, but did not ask for explanations, as royalty was King George, Queen Mary and the Princess Elizabeth and Margaret, and they lived in a castle in England. More so, they did not look like us. He would tell us that his father was the son of Prince Chung of the Tai Ping Army. It was all just words. It meant nothing. Years later these things were re-told to me by Aunt Tina Haniff but when you questioned his sister, Auntie Dora, she claimed not to know anything about that, and treated it very offhandedly.”
She mentioned that it was not until she was much older and started to do her own research did she appreciate the valuable cutlery and notes left behind by her ancestors.
She had discovered a very old diary found between her father’s possessions containing Chinese writing documenting her father’s children and other pertinent details of their family. This she has safely locked away in a container. She would take it out only for exhibitions.
Discovering her roots in China
- The age-old wares safely displayed in Margery’s home
Curious to know more about where her ancestors came from, Margery made her first and only visit to China. At age 75, she travelled more than two days in anticipation that she would learn more about her Chinese ancestors. It was a long journey, and affected her health tremendously; however, she has no regrets.
In China, she met with persons who had read her book and were inquiring about her family. She pondered that what her father told her about being royalty may have had some truth according to what she had uncovered during her visit.
In her home, Margery has on display beautifully decorated wares passed down from her mother and great-grandmother. These, she disclosed, are more than 100 years old. She has other artefacts she now cherishes, which were once lying around her family’s Robb Street home.
Chinese arrival celebrations
- “The Way We Were” book cover
