Great Beginnings…

They say that history repeats itself. We have seen things time and time again, and yet we don’t often appreciate the past that brought us to where we are. As we approach the 50th anniversary of Guavaberry in 2019, we thought it only fitting to let you know a bit more of our history and how it shaped who we are as a family and a company.

Did you know that Betty and Charles weren’t the first generation of Roys in the BVI?

Our story actually starts with Charles’ mum and dad Christine (yes, a family name!) and William Roy. These two left Perth, Scotland for Texas waaaay back in 1913. William had a job lined up in Houston, and took his then-fiancee Christine with him. They were married that year in Houston , and gave birth to their first child, William (known to everyone as Bill) there in 1915. They left the USA in 1916, as William joined the war effort. Their second son, Charles was born in the UK later that year.

How did they get to the BVI then? Well, after the war, William was to return to Huston, Texas to work, but had time before he had to be there. His grandfather had told him that two of the most beautiful places he had ever visited were Japan and the West Indies. Well, Japan was a tad out of the way, so he got on a ship with men being repatriated back to the West Indies after the war. On the ship, William met then-Commissioner of the BVI, HW Peebles. They struck up a friendship, and Major Peebles (yes, of hospital fame) invited William to visit. William fell in love with Tortola, purchased land at Pasea, and sent a telegram to Christine to tell her to bring the two boys. They traveled to Tortola in December of 1919. The trip was literally life-changing, with the family deciding to make this their permanent home. I, for one, am quite thankful if only for the fact that I will always prefer flip flops to cowboy boots!

William and Christine built their home in Pasea, and settled down to island life. In 1926, they added a final son, Rowan, to their dapper collection. Their former home is still standing, even after Irma! William, who came from a family of farmers, grew local crops and assisted the government with its agricultural programme. Their boys split their time between home on Tortola, and school in Scotland. In the late 30s, William and Christine bought a parcel of land on Virgin Gorda as a 25th wedding anniversary gift to each other. Can you guess which one?

While the Roys did spend a fair amount of leisure time on Virgin Gorda, they never developed the land they purchased. That’s not saying they didn’t leave their mark, though. Remember those lovely palm trees lining Valley Trunk? William planted those. We were devastated to see most of them destroyed by the hurricanes last year. William and Christine remained at their estate in Pasea for the rest of their lives. William passed away in 1952, but Christine survived a further 20 years, and enjoyed time with her grandchildren – they all have wonderful stories of their youth in the BVI, and Christine features prominently in them.

Now you know our early beginnings, and a little about how we started off in the BVI. We’ll continue the story later with a bit more modern history which some of you may even remember.