It can be assumed that Walter Roberts obtained his early education in his Sandy’s parish area. He was born on December 14th.1933. He attended the Berkeley Institute, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1958 from Queen’s University in Ontario.

Walter was involved in the development of Sandy’s Secondary School, and was a teacher at Sandys Secondary School from 1958-1962,he was not afraid to assist and give advice to all who put their faith in his guidance .

He partnered with John Swan and Arnold Francis in the business of Universal Electric. He was also in Insurance and owned a large guest house. Walter was encouraged to throw his hat into the Political Arena by the late Dr. Eustace A. Cann who he regarded as his mentor. He gave this some thought and eventually tossed his hat into the ring. He was elected a member of Parliament in 1963 five years before the Universal Adult Suffrage was introduced to Bermuda. He faced many hurdles during his first term in politics when the property vote remained in place.

He was elected under dastardly, restrictive, oligarchical electoral rules. ‘The elector had to be at least 25 years old, own land worth 60 pounds or approximately $150.00, he had 2 votes for each constituency where he owned land. Political power was in the hands of the Front Street, White, merchant and banking crowds”– but a change was on the way.

Mr. Roberts ran in 1968 General Election for the first time in the Progressive Labour Party (P.L.P.)and served as deputy leader until 1971. He was appointed deputy leader a second time in 1985 when the late party Leader Frederick Wade restructured the party after a horrid electoral loss. He had an active career in politics holding positions in Tourism, Marine and Ports, Health and Social services and Prisons, Public Works, and Transport and Communications.

He was instrumental on the Boundaries Commission in redrawing the electoral rules for constituencies, which came into effect in 2003. He served as chairman of the Senior Charity Age concern. The areas of Sandys, where he ran as a candidate for many years became a strong hold and he left that as a legacy for the candidates that followed.

Walter spearheaded the modernization of the party canvasing and data collection making the Western end of the P.L.P branches some of the most successful in Bermuda.

He followed his dream and gave his all to his Political career. Walter was married and had two children. He left us on December 10th 2023. Rest in peace brother for a job well done.

Submitted

By Researcher Joy Wilson-Tucker