George Hamilton Westmaas and his wife Winifred raised eight boys in Georgetown, Guyana (then British Guiana). George’s grandson, Rod, explains: “Always service to the Mother Country. My grandfather was a registrar of deeds in the colonial government. So, he had a very important government job and was always instilling ‘service to country’.”
Three of the brothers, including Rod’s father, remained in Guyana and contributed to the war effort. The remaining five volunteered for military service. Denis, the eldest, joined the army along with Douglas. Donald joined the Home Guard in London and both David and Rory joined the RAF.
Although Rory was the youngest, he was the tallest and lied about his age when enlisting in 1940: he was 14, and was stationed in the UK during the war. The brothers’ cousin, Joshua, also served in the RAF.
Tragically, Douglas was killed when his ship was torpedoed off the coast of Singapore, a day before the city fell to the Japanese.
Rory and his cousin returned to Guyana when the war ended. However, Rod shares Joshua’s story: “He came back to London on the Windrush ship and spent two weeks at Clapham South Underground Shelter, before he found a flat on the Old Kent Road. He became a car mechanic and, in his final job before passing, he was a chauffeur for the British High Commission to Ghana.”
Rory meanwhile became active in politics in Guyana before moving to the UK in the 1950s and studying architecture at the Brixton School of Building. In 1961, Rory and two other students entered a blind competition to redesign Piccadilly Circus – and won. Rory went on to become a member of RIBA, a Professor of Architecture, town planner, political activist, artist and musician.
Rod and his parents settled in the UK in 1958. He is proud of his family’s legacy. “It did give me a sense of belonging, of contribution. Whenever celebrations of their achievements come around, I proudly represent them, and I feel that never shall we forget.”