The departure of Sir Satcam Boolell has recently brought in the limelight the group of faithful lieutenants who were effectively Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam’s praetorian guard in those difficult and at times turbulent years when independence had not yet been snatched from the jaws of colonialism. As a group they bowed out from the stage when the curtain came down on the 1982 electoral drama. They had by then accomplished their mission : helping to lay the foundation of independent Mauritius.

A member of this elite group, Sir Harold Walter spent his whole political career, from 1959 when he became a Member of the Executive Council to 1982, within one party and under one leader.

Powerful speaker, polished diplomat, minister who brooked no sloppiness on the job, Sir Harold was respected, nay, feared, as much as he was loved by all those who served under him.

He lived a life of style and standards, and with the help of his charming Lady, entertained with elegance many of the mighty of this world, truly a grand seigneur.

His eloquence was called upon by his leader on many a critical occasion. He even resigned once from his ministerial chair the time it took to successfully defend a political case. At a time when the country was to a large extent polarized on ethnic lines, it took a lot of courage for Sir Harold to stand and be counted within the Labour fold.

His parliamentary jousts with that other local giant , Sir Gaetan Duval, provided an unending source of delight to the occupants of Press and Visitors Galleries alike. One such unforgettable Walter-Duval clash occurred during the parliamentary debate on capital punishment, which enthralled the audience, particularly the college students, but left a taste of unfinished business when the debate was closed without a vote being taken.

Well-read and cultured, a man of high sartorial elegance himself, he expected a quasi-military standard of smartness and discipline from his staff : the slovenly attired doctor was being disrespectful towards his patients.

Man for all seasons though he was, I could not honestly vouch for two of his oft-related exploits : I usually took with half a pinch of salt his lyrical accounts of his ballistic accuracy on the deer-hunting grounds ; with a quarter-pinch his epic feats as a full-back in the Quartier Militaire and higher football teams.

By his desk was a framed copy of Rudyard Kipling’s well-known poem ‘If’’ . Two lines seemed to fit him like a glove :

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch,’”

He could indeed !

Knight Bachelor of Her Majesty, Commandeur de la Légion d’Honneur and Commandeur des Palmes Académiques of France, ex-President of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and recipient of an Honorary Doctorate and more than fifty foreign decorations and awards, he enjoyed genuinely the company of his humblest constituents.

He lived his finest ‘ hour’ during a whole fortnight when as Minister of Health of one of the tiniest nations on the map, he presided over the World Health Assembly, with its impressive galaxy of representatives of the mightiest countries of the globe, a feat which has not been achieved by any of his predecessors or successors. Equally unique was his membership of the Executive Board of the WHO for a couple of years.

After the Assembly had come to a succesful close, the President thanking the World Health Organization staff at a traditional lunch, magnanimously declared that ‘were it not for my Special Adviser, I would not be here today’. That was Sir Harold.

I was privileged to witness the relationship between Sir Harold and myself blossom from that of complete strangers, through minister / doctor, minister/special adviser into a close friendship. This process started with my successful setting up of a Mauritius Family Planning Service in Rodrigues, against heavy odds, outside my working hours and on a voluntary basis. It was followed later by the patient-friendliness of the ophthalmic unit which served as a benchmark for the rest of the service.

I presented Sir Harold in late 1971 with the statistics showing that our 32 ophthalmic beds at Victoria Hospital, meant for the whole island were grossly inadequate and were responsible for the ever-lengthening waiting list for eye surgery. As a result of Sir Harold Walter’s dynamism and his personal intervention with Sir Seewoosagur, in February 1972, Moka district hospital with a 40 % occupancy rate became the national Moka Eye Hospital.

Sir Harold was a paradox in himself : a hard task-master and tough disciplinarian with a kind heart and always ready to help ; kind and trusting to the point of appearing naive and gullible. He tried to be more sceptical and less trusting. He could not change ; he himself related with obvious relish how his beloved Kewal (Sir Seewoosagur) would tell him : ‘Be si to pou tro sanze Arol, to pu nepli Arol !’.

He did not need to change. He was loved and admired by the ministers and statesmen of the world, specially of Africa and this love bounced on his country. No wonder then that Sir Seewoosagur moved him to Foreign Affairs in 1976, a few months before the OAU summit which inaugurated the newly-built Mahatma Gandhi Institute. Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam derived intense satisfaction and pride from the historic privilege of welcoming on his doorstep the cream of Africa. He was fully conscious of Sir Harold’s personal contribution toward that event.

30 years on, the many friends of Sir Harold fervently wish that another Prime Minister Ramgoolam will have the opportunity of rescuing his memory from the present relative oblivion, and of expressing appropriately the nation’s appreciation and gratitude for a careerful of unswerving loyalty and distinguished service to Prime Minister and Country, possibly by naming a public building after this distinguished son of Mauritius.

<B>Dr Vel Pillay</B>