A history of the Progressive Labour Party from its birth in 1963 to its ascension to Government in 1998 is nearing completion, but is still open for pictures and accounts to be added to its pages.

The epic privately commissioned work, written primarily by author, poet and former Bermuda College professor Rawle Frederick, sprang out of a conversation between former Premier Dame Jennifer Smith and Shadow Public Safety Minister Walter Roban.

Although the manuscript for a comprehensive hardcover volume is now in its advanced stages, Mr Roban is keen to acquire more photographs and stories from the grassroots supporters who sustained the party through its decades in Opposition. Assembling the history entailed interviewing “countless persons, not MPs, but the regular people who over the years contributed to the party”, Mr Roban said — some of whom were around as far back as the days of Dr EF Gordon, the labour leader, former MP and hero of the PLP.

“What we’ve discovered is that this party was not built by its leaders,” Mr Roban said. “It was built by regular people, many of whom have gone nameless over the years. They were the ones who created it, whose dreams the party encapsulated. That’s where the real story of the PLP is — not completely with Arnold Francis, Walter Robinson, Dame Lois Browne-Evans, Alex Scott or Freddy Wade.

“You may see some surprises — some of whom were very close to the inner workings of the party. Everything from the split in 1965 to the split in 1985.”

He said the book arose in part from a conversation between him and Dame Jennifer in 2005 on the need to document the “average members who helped to shape the party as an organisation. Many people ran for the PLP whose names have been lost, he added. Others have passed during the writing of the book.

“We are shaping the story around elections, because fundamentally parties are designed to win elections and bring about a government. Hundreds of people ran for the PLP, and that does not include those that might have helped them. There are untold stories that we will include, of life behind the scenes and the people who were part of the process. The PLP was always designed to be from the bottom up.

“This also provided some of the tension that erupted in the party from time to time. These were people who were there keeping the faith, in some cases in spite of venomous criticism, that the party would be successful. That vision came from average people, and in some cases it was the MPs that disappointed those aspirations.”

The self funded enterprise, which is hoped to produce “a quality, thorough book that people can have as something that will be memorable”, could finish later this year.

Mr Roban has called on members of the community who wish to donate, as well as contribute pictures or stories, to contact him at 332-3900 or whroban@northrock.bm.