In the summer of 1992 a Sturge cousin visited my home and, during the usual talk about family history, happened to say "Where are you going for your holidays?" When I replied that the destination was Jamaica he became quite excited and said that a place called Sturge Town was on the Island. We spread out a map, and eventually, he cried "Found it!" - and I was delighted to discover that it lay to Runaway Bay where I was to stay.

When my friend and I settled in our hotel, I began to make enquiries. A waiter had a vague feeling that Sturge Town was "Somewhere up in the mountains" and mentioned a taxi driver, attached to the hotel, had gone to school there. Needless to say, we contacted this driver and found that he would be happy to take us up into the hills.

A short account of the journey was recorded in my holiday diary; "Donald (the taxi driver) called at 9.30 a.m. and installed us in his mini-bus. We turned right at the local butcher's (a tumble down shack) then left along a winding upward road. He warned us that this would be a bumpy ride. Soon we left the smart villas behind and found ourselves in typical tropical forest. We traveled very slowly and carefully, avoiding enormous potholes. Occasionally we met locals who lived on the hillside; Donald knew all of them and as we drove past little houses we heard about his relations who lived in them. After climbing to about a thousand metres, we looked down on a lush valley. I was given a spray of Pimento Allspice and shown the little factory where it was ground.

Eventually, we reached a faded sign bearing the magic words STURGE TOWN. Then came the local Post Office, a building saying Sturge Town Community Project, and finally, the local school - a large open-sided building. Avoiding a goat, Donald reversed and parked outside. The Headmaster, no doubt astonished to see us, came out, and I had to explain that I was from England, had ancestors named Sturge and naturally wanted to visit this village."

We were invited into the school and on the way I enquired whether the people in the community knew the story of Joseph Sturge. The Headmaster waved his hand in the direction of more mountains and said he believed there was a statue of him - "somewhere over there." I produced a photograph showing the splendid statue in the centre of Birmingham and realised that I must send some more information about him.

In 1826 Joseph Sturge, who had moved from Gloucestershire to Birmingham, was appointed secretary to the Birmingham Anti-Slavery Society. He had heard many alarming stories about the slaves in the West Indies but had been told that there was no proof that they were being badly treated. He replied "Then I must supply proof!" and a short time later set off for Jamaica. He travelled widely, visiting the plantations where black slaves, who had been "imported" from Africa, were forced to work on the sugar plantations. Often they were badly treated and half-starved, and when revolts took place there were cruel reprisals. Dogs hunted down any who tried to escape and the name Runaway Bay is self explanatory. Complete emancipation came in 1838 when slaves were allowed to leave the plantations but many faced different problems, effectively being unemployed and homeless. Joseph Sturge was amongst many who contributed to that cause. He was rewarded by having Sturge Town named in his honour.

Joyce Cook

The "free villages" of Jamaica evolved after emancipation, either emerging as a result of ex-slaves individually buying land from the planters or under the leadership of Non-Conformist missionaries who bought land which they then sold in small lots to their congregations. Sturge Town was established by Reverend John Clark, a Baptist missionary, in 1839. The Jamaica National Heritage Trust provides further information on the formation of the free villages at: www.jnht.com/disndat/free_vil.html.

Linking across the centuries, Sir Kenneth Blackburne, a descendant of Joseph's brother, Thomas Marshall Sturge, was appointed Governor General of Jamaica in 1957 and marked the family link by presenting an annual prize to the school at Sturge Town.