Couva West Secondary School Library

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Celebrated as a pioneer of Trinidad & Tobago’s nationalist and labour movements, Captain Arthur Andrew Cipriani was known as, “the champion of the barefooted man” due to his efforts as a labour leader and politician who organised our country’s first major industrial strike in 1919.

Best known for his role as the Mayor of Port of Spain from 1926 to 1941, Cipriani was also the founding leader of the Trinidad Labour Party (formerly the Trinidad Workingmen’s Association).

Cipriani was born on January 31st 1875 to a family of Corsican descent in Trinidad. He attended St. Mary’s College (CIC) in Port of Spain, where he was actively involved in sports. After leaving school he worked temporarily as a jockey, combining his love for athletics and horses.

During the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Cipriani was tasked with recruiting soldiers for the British West Indies Regiment (BWIR)—a separate contingent of non-white soldiers from the British colonies. He was awarded the title of Captain and left for the battlefront in 1917.

While at war, he witnessed the discrimination and neglect suffered by soldiers from the British colonies. Upon his return to Trinidad, he led a campaign against the British authorities for their mistreatment of non-white soldiers but the case was dismissed.

In November 1919, after a labour dispute took place at the Port of Spain Wharf, Cipriani called on the workers to withhold their efforts, resulting in the first large industrial strike of the 20th century. At the time, Cipriani was a member of the Trinidad Workingmen’s Association (TWA), which fought for the improvement of worker’s rights. Cipriani worked with the TWA for many years, furthering the trade union’s commitment to labour activism. He eventually became the organization’s President in 1923.

Over the years, Cipriani’s efforts to seek justice for the ex-soldiers and other disenfranchised groups earned him the nickname, “Champion of the Barefooted Man.”

Copyright ©️ The National Archives of Trinidad & Tobago. All rights reserved.

This photo of Arthur Andrew Cipriani is from the National Archives of Trinidad and Tobago Exhibition, “The Road To Nationhood” (2014). To view or download the file, please follow this link: https://natt.gov.tt/.../pdfs/the-road-to-nationhood.pdf.

References: James, C. L. R., and Bridget Brereton. “The Life of Captain Cipriani: An Account of British Government in the West Indies, with the Pamphlet The Case for West-Indian Self Government.” Duke University Press, www.dukeupress.edu/the-life-of-captain-cipriani.

Samaroo, Brinsley, and Cherita Girvan. “THE TRINIDAD WORKINGMEN'S ASSOCIATION AND THE ORIGINS OF POPULAR PROTEST IN A CROWN COLONY.” Social and Economic Studies, vol. 21, no. 2, 1972, pp. 205–222. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27856529.

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It's World Football Day 25th May !
Stay tuned for what's happening in the Library lunchtime .....

International Tea Day is observed globally on May 21. The 2026 observance—spearheaded by the United Nations and the FAO—focused on the theme "Tea for Wellness," which highlights the holistic health benefits of the beverage, its cultural heritage, and the importance of sustainable livelihoods for tea workers.

At Couva West Secondary School Library Media Center there is a display of items Caribbean households used to make tea .

On Friday 8th May 2026 the Library collaborated with the Spanish department to host Spanish Day .

Thank you to all staff, students and parents who assisted .

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Thank You to the team from (powered by Shell) for bringing interactive STREAM (Science, Technology, Research, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education to students of Couva West Secondary on Tuesday 5th April 2026 and Wednesday 6th April 2026.

Students and staff had an amazing time !

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