‘Scorcher’ gets Friends of Sion Hill recognition

Cyril Thomas, known to many in the calypso arena as “The Scorcher,” was honoured last Saturday for his contribution in various fields.

His recognition took place during the hosting of Vincy Day USA 2014, at Heckscher State Park in Long Island, New York.

Thomas has had a positive impact {{more}}on community of Sion Hill where he was born and grew up, St Vincent and the Grenadines as a whole, and in his adopted homeland, the United States.

Known by his close relatives as Raphael, called by his peers of the 1950s and 60s, “Tingo” and the “Black Ball,” Thomas has served in many capacities, both in St Vincent and the Grenadines and in the USA.

He migrated to the USA in 1969, served in the US Army and is a Vietnam War veteran.

Added to his stints was an 11-year stint as a postal clerk.

Prior to migrating from St Vincent and the Grenadines, Thomas was a teacher at Richmond Hill and Kingstown Preparatory Schools, a customs officer and a magistrate’s clerk.

But he spent most of his years in the USA as a schoolteacher, achieving posts such as dean of Discipline.

His highest office, however, was his appointment as St Vincent and the Grenadines deputy consul general to New York for close to 10 years.

Thomas acted in the capacity of consul general from November 2009 to January 2011, before retiring in March that same year.

He was a St Vincent and the Grenadines goalkeeper of the 1960s, but his prominence is in the field of calypso and soca.

A writer and singer of many ditties, Scorcher, who has mastered the art of double entendre, is known for his songs “Party Fever,” “ Hoper,” “Phantom Dee Jay” and “Fork Up,” among others. He also won the All Stars show, now known as Soca Monarch, in 1986.

Last Saturday’s acknowledgement by the newly formed Friends of Sion Hill is in keeping with the organization’s mandate to pay homage to those from the Sion Hill community who have blazed the trail.

At last year’s Vincy Day USA, the honour was bestowed on former national football captain and coach Elliot “Morie” Millington, known also as the “midfield general.”