Jim Allen, Montserrat's greatest cricket player, was celebrated by former teammates and rivals alike during his homegoing.
Jim Allen was a difficult man. On the cricket field he was difficult to get out. Away from it he was difficult to figure out. And he was often difficult to deal with. But his place in the annals of Montserrat history is easy. He is the island’s greatest sportsman and second-most famous public figure after Alphonsus “Arrow” Cassell. Along the journey to personal achievement some people end up inspiring a nation and a generation. That was Jim Allen.
On a muggy Wednesday afternoon, August 6, 2025, the Right Honourable Charles “Henry” Jim Allen was sent off to his glory by his country. The service was held at the Montserrat Cultural Center, the island’s primary indoor venue. A facility that can accommodate more than 400 people was less than half-full – or half-empty depending on one’s perspective. It defeated the purpose of holding the event in the spacious Cultural Center in the first place and was not a good look.
The two-hour-plus service featured rousing tributes, poignant gospel renditions, a video vignette of Jim’s cricket career and a searing sermon by Pastor Simon Peter Buffonge. It was highlighted by the presence of cricket legends Sir Viv Richards and Sir Andy Roberts of Antigua, both of whom played with and against Allen during the halcyon era of West Indies cricket in the 1970s. During a brief tribute Sir Viv reminisced about his batting partnerships with Allen.
“When you have two guys in a team who are as fearless as Jim and Vivian I guess it’s gonna cause a lot of problems for bowlers around the world,” said Viv, who played with Allen on the Leeward Islands and Combined Islands teams as well as the West Indies squad that competed at World Series Cricket (Kerry Packer) in Australia.
The Antigua contingent included former players Hugh Gore, Enoch Lewis and Ulysses Lawrence. So effusive was their praise of Allen that some observers said the Antiguans showed more reverence to Allen than his own countrymen. Lewis even suggested that if the service had been held in Antigua it would have drawn a packed crowd. Perception often trumps reality, and the fact that the audience for Jim’s homegoing included the iconic Viv and Andy but was missing Montserrat’s Premier, Governor and at least four members of Parliament was palpable.
Sir Viv Richards: “It was really a privilege knowing Jim.”
IT’S COMPLICATED
A recurring theme during the service was the plea for Jim to be honored in some tangible form, whether a statue, street name or monument. In Nevis, the main cricket park is named for Elquemedo Willett, another of Jim’s contemporaries. Sir Viv’s name adorns the main stadium in Antigua.
In 2008 there were plans to name the cricket field in Little Bay after Jim Allen. But the plan fell through. Jim, for better or worse, was never enamored by accolades. He stated emphatically: “Me no want no park name after me!” But his exhortations were fueled more by anger than humility.
Many cricket stars have struggled to transition following their careers. Jim worked for many years with Montserrat Public Works driving a grader. When he retired from cricket in 1984 his dream was to coach the national team. When the post of Sports Officer was available some years later, Jim assumed he would be an obvious choice based on his achievements on the cricket field. But the job encompasses more than just coaching cricket. It requires budgeting, managing, collaborating locally and regionally and also coaching in schools. Jim, who possessed only a primary education, was told that he had to apply for the position. He was taken aback but applied anyway. He was still turned down.
“They told me I didn’t have any qualifications,” a seething Jim said in 2016. “I told them I played in England, I played in Australia. That’s my qualification!”
A former president of the Montserrat Cricket Association once revealed part of the reason why Jim was turned down. “He had a reputation as a drinking man. And you can’t have that when you’re working with children.”
Asked if he was more hurt, angry or disappointed, Jim said: “Everything roll up into one.” The government instead gave Jim a position with Her Majesty’s Prison. He despised the job and performed it with frivolity. “Dem send me a jail,” he often said, speaking as if he were a prisoner and not an officer.
Jim Allen at his apartment in Lookout Village in 2017.
The coaching snub and prison stint sent Jim into a resentful tailspin and he declared that he wanted nothing from the government. “If it’s from the people of Montserrat, yes,” he said. “But not politicians.”
When one is consumed by bitterness they assume a character in order to shame those who they feel has wronged them. Break character and it sends a signal that all is forgiven. In 1999, the Jim Allen Lecture Series was created in his honor but Jim rarely attended the annual event that coincided with his birthday. In 2020 when he was awarded the Order of Excellence during the Montserrat National Awards he skipped the ceremony. He also spurned the aforementioned Little Bay Field tribute. Jim Allen essentially cut off his nose to spite his country’s face.
So the fact that a “Jim Allen Drive” does not exist on Montserrat is a two-way street. However, the back story cannot erase the tale of Jim’s cricket prowess and national impact. He deserves to be honored. Death has rendered moot whatever animosity Jim carried to his grave, but his legacy must be immortalized by his country.
END OF AN ERA
In 2010, Montserrat calypsonian Herman “Cupid” Francis composed a song declaring that he would like to be “dead before I die.” The lyrical gem told the story about a man curious to see and hear the public’s reaction to his death.
It’s intriguing when one wonders how Jim Allen would have reacted to his homegoing. He surely would have been flattered by the presence of Viv and Andy, his erstwhile cricket frenemies. He would have been heartened by the front-row presence of his children, son Davon – who became a cricket standout in his own right – and daughter Kae, a United States military veteran who participated in combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. He would be comforted to know that his pallbearers were all current Montserrat cricket players, too young to remember Jim’s playing days but mature enough to appreciate them.
Following Jim’s interment at the Lookout Public Cemetery, the mourners returned to the Cultural Center for the repast. They were treated to a fully-stocked bar, Styrofoam cups of goat water (plus roll) and other local cuisine. Men in their 70s and 80s argued vehemently as they recalled playing against Jim in the local leagues. Some rekindled stories of dismissing Jim at the crease, cradling the memory like a badge of honor. They too will eventually join Jim in the hereafter, and as the generations turn over and memories become dimmer, the legend of Jim Allen will fade further into the background.
In the days following the service, the post-mortem of Jim’s homegoing continued, on local radio and social media. The sparse attendance at the Cultural Center was the main source of consternation. Jim’s homegoing was not declared a national holiday or even a half-day. His coffin was not draped with the national flag. Some felt the disrespect that Jim encountered in life had carried over to his death. Sometimes home is where the hurt is. But although the crowd at the Cultural Center was a mere 150 or so, the streaming of the ceremony on YouTube told a different story. It underscored the sentiment that Jim was more appreciated abroad than at home.
As of Friday, August 8, 2025, the service was viewed more than 11,000 times.
Montserrat cricket player Damion Williams, who hails from Jim Allen’s village of Harris, holds a photo of Jim following the funeral service.
Jim Allen’s sister Sarah stands behind his final resting place at the Lookout Public Cemetery.
WATCH JIM ALLEN’S HOMEGOING SERVICE
WATCH A 2012 INTERVIEW WITH JIM ALLEN
PURCHASE JIM ALLEN’S BIOGRAPHY
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I think as a mark of respect and appreciation Jims grave should have a permanent headstone or some for of monument.
That’s the least that can be done at this stage.
Mr Martin,
Your article does not acknowledge the fact that the government and people of Montserrat did in fact attempt to give Jim Allen the very high honour of naming the Little Bay playing field, the Jim Allen Park in his honour.
If Jim Allen did not reject the idea and had instead accepted that accolade, many other things may well have flowed from that. I contend that he would have gotten more tangible support simply because it would have been recognised that more had to be done for someone who we were recognising in such a public manner. Jim is the one who in a strange way chose to be obscure and reclusive. We should have ignored that attitude and done certain things anyway but let us acknowledge that he did not make it easy.
If you do not know about the renaming of the park, ask people about it. Circa 2007 – 2008.
I saw the sign over the gate with my own eyes, but it was mysteriously destroyed a short while after Jim refused the ceremony.
Ask
Former Chief Minister Dr Lewis
Ask Gregory Willock
Ask his son Rakatang
Ask the then curator of the cricket pitch, Basil Morgan
Ask any of the senior staff at ZJB
Ask the people who worked in the Sports department back then.
And while you are at it, ask the follow up question…
What was the rumour about how the sign ended up on the ground.
You are a great investigator and writer so I look forward to reading what you uncover about this angle to the Jim Allen story.
Thanks for your response. Please read the story in its entirety.
Apologies Mr Martin.
I did not read the story in its entirety prior to your suggestion that I do so.
Forgive me, but the title of the story triggered me in a sense, because I know for a fact that efforts were made to recognise Jim Allen.
My bad for not reading and recognising that you captured the essence of how Jim’s bitterness over real and perceived slights contributed to how things unfolded.
When he emphatically declined having the park named after him. What was the Chief Minister supposed to?
Ignore his wishes and proceed anyway?
You know first hand that even his closest friends and family tried to get him to take a different approach, but his stubborn attitude was almost impossible to penetrate.
I did not attend his funeral, because for some reason I did not feel the emotion and motivation on the day.
Funerals are not for the dead who cannot see you, it is for the living who together would reflect on and celebrate the individual’s importance in our lives.
Jim did not allow us to love him the way national heroes should be loved and revered. It is as much his fault as it is an immature country that hasn’t learned how to honor and respect their own properly either.
If you are so minded, do engage in some investigative journalism and let us know how the sign came down from above the gate. If nothing else, it might shed some light on another terrible problem we have in Montserrat.
That is why it is important to process information before castigating a communicator.