By Lulu Wright\
Eldred was of a rare breed. Disarmingly honest and sincere, he could be relaxed with people from all walks of life. He capitalised on his exceptional talents. You could not meet him without being conscious of his inner strength, even in adversity. I was fortunate to get to know him through my lifelong friendship with his wife Marjorie. In our youth, we often met at dinner parties, dances and in each others’ homes. In later years, we have enjoyed hours of sparkling conversation and mixed reminiscence.
I wonder how many people today know that having been a choirboy himself from childhood, he sang in the choir, The Caecilians, that popularised our National Anthem before Independence. Then, there was the trio that got together to produce the popular anthem, The Hymn of Adoration. The other two members were The Right Revd Prince Thompson, who had commissioned the work for his Consecration as Bishop of Freetown, and Mr Logie Wright, who set Eldred’s stirring and groundbreaking words to music. The Ballanta Academy of Music, which was inaugurated in 1995, has benefited from Eldred’s continued support and kindly interest for close on 25 years. He very kindly penned the Foreword to the book ‘Echo of Voice,’ an anthology of Logie’s music which drew its title from ‘The Hymn of Adoration’.
As all the world extols his gigantic literary gifts, we in Sierra Leone can thank God for his way with words which has earned him laurels in the international realm, especially of Shakespearean scholars. He has equally taken pride and pleasure in writing suitable lines to celebrate friends’ birthdays, mine being one. In his own country, he has seen his compatriots as Sierra Leonean nationals together, surrounded by the love of a Ruler, ‘Ngewo, Lord Kanu, Krumasaba, God Supreme’.
I shall miss his wisdom, warmth and wit (a little assonance there for him).
Eldred Durosimi Jones - Poet, Literary Critic, Music Lover, wonderful friend ... a national treasure!
Lulu Wright Freetown
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