Beattie Casely-Hayford (June 1922 – 6 August 1989) was a

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

ian engineer. He was the first director of the Ghana Arts Council, a co-founder of the Ghana National Dance Ensemble, and a director of the

Ghana Broadcasting Corporation The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) was established by law in 1968 with a triple mandate as a State Broadcaster, Public Service Broadcaster, and a Commercial Broadcaster in Ghana. Headquartered in the capital city, Accra, GBC is funded by g ...

(GBC).

Family

Beattie Casely-Hayford was the eldest son of Essie and Archibald Casely-Hayford, a lawyer, Gold Coast nationalist and former Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Ghana's First Republic. His brother was Louis Casely-Hayford, an engineer and former CEO of

Volta River Authority The Volta River Authority (VRA) is the main generator and supplier of electricity in Ghana. They are also responsible for the maintenance of the hydro power supply plant. Establishment The VRA was established by the Volta River Development Act, ...

in Ghana. Casely-Hayford was a member of the prominent Casely-Hayford family; his grandparents were Beatrice Madelene (''née'' Pinnock) and Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford, a Gold Coast lawyer, author, journalist, educator, politician and Pan-Africanist.

Early years

Casely-Hayford was born in

Sekondi Sekondi-Takoradi ( ) is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan District and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city as well as ...

, which was then the Gold Coast, and educated at Forrest Hill House School and

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. His education in England was interrupted when he returned to the Gold Coast at the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Casely-Hayford was self-employed at this time. He extracted

coconut oil Coconut oil (or coconut fat) is an edible oil derived from the kernels, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat below around , and a clear thin liquid oil at higher temperatures. Unrefined varieties have a disti ...

to make

soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

and ran two garages that repaired and spray-painted cars.

Career

Casely-Hayford trained for a year in England as a Totalisator Technician for the

Kumasi Kumasi is a city and the capital of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest city in the country, with a population of 443,981 as of the 2021 census. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region ...

Race Course; and worked at the Kumasi Institute of Technology (present-day

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), commonly known as UST, Tech or Kwame Tech, is a public university located in Kumasi, Ashanti region, Ghana. The university focuses on science and technology. It is the second public uni ...

) as the Maintenance Officer. Later, he served as the Director and Operations Manager for Ghana Poultry Farm,

Nungua Nungua is a town in Krowor Municipal District in the Greater Accra Region of southeastern Ghana near the coast. Nungua is the eighteenth most populous settlement in Ghana, in terms of population, with a population of 84,119 people. Politic ...

; Director of the Arts Council of Ghana; Director of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation's Television division (GBC TV); Technical Director of Modern Signs; and then finally settled into private business. He owned and operated Caselyco Sound Studio, Signals and Controllers, Intek Engineering, and finally Televid Video and Audio.

Ghana Arts Council

Casely-Hayford's interests included art and science. Ghana's former Prime Minister Dr.

Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...

asked Nana Kobina Nketsiah to have Casely-Hayford start up the Arts Council of Ghana after the British relinquished the then Roger Club, an elite social club that was located on

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

's Atlantic coast. Beattie Party Accra

Casely-Hayford became the first director of the Ghana Arts Council. He was responsible for bringing to the fore the early concert party groups and plays. He also had the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

sponsor drama performances and movies of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

plays. He collaborated with the artist and musician Saka Acquaye, who succeeded him as the director of the Ghana Arts Council. Saka Acquaye's plays were featured at the Accra Arts Centre, including his most important and popular musical, ''The Lost Fisherman''. The original Wulomei – a traditional folk music group that Saka Acquaye managed – was introduced to a national audience at the Accra Arts Centre. Master drummer, percussionist and musician Guy Warren ( Kofi Ghanaba) was prominently featured on several weekends. The classical musician Victor Gbeho also had the National Orchestra rehearsing and performing at the Accra Arts Centre. Many foreign cultural exchange shows were also put on at the Accra Arts Centre. For instance, troupes from Russia and from China performed, the Chinese troupe singing a song in Twi, the local Ghanaian language.

Louis Armstrong and other American performers

Casely-Hayford was instrumental in the arrangements during the 1956 visit of

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

, with his wife Lucille, and band to Ghana. Casely-Hayford helped to arrange a durbar at

Achimota School Achimota School (Help:IPA/English, /ɑːtʃimoʊtɑː/ ), formerly Prince of Wales College and School at Achimota, later Achimota College, now nicknamed Motown, is a co-educational boarding school located at Achimota in Accra, Greater Accra Reg ...

, where Louis and Lucille Armstrong and the band members were entertained by Ghanaian cultural dancers and musicians. The

US Information Service The United States Information Agency (USIA) was a United States government agency devoted to propaganda which operated from 1953 to 1999. Previously existing United States Information Service (USIS) posts operating out of U.S. embassies wor ...

("USIS") often sent performers to Ghana as part of a cultural relations programme. The jazz guitarist

Charlie Byrd Charlie Lee Byrd (September 16, 1925 – December 2, 1999) was an American jazz guitarist. Byrd was best known for his association with Brazilian music, especially bossa nova. In 1962, he collaborated with Stan Getz on the album '' Jazz Samba' ...

performed in one such show, and ended the show with a rendition of one of

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

's songs, "

Hey Joe "Hey Joe" is a song from the 1960s that has become a rock standard and been performed in many musical styles by hundreds of different artists. The lyrics are from the point of view of a man on the run and planning to escape to Mexico after sho ...

Cozy Cole William Randolph "Cozy" Cole (October 17, 1909 – January 9, 1981) was an American jazz drummer who worked with Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong among others and led his own groups. Life and career William Randolph Cole was born in East Ora ...

was another such performer. A noted American resident in Ghana, dentist Robert Lee, who had relocated with his family to Accra from the US in 1956, taught voice and was also often on stage.

Cultural shows and pop competitions

Casely-Hayford collaborated with Prof. Mawure Bertie Opoku of the Institute of African Studies at the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It is the oldest public university in the country. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the British colony of the Gold Coast ...

, Legon, and together they established the Ghana National Dance Ensemble. In the early 1960s, Casely-Hayford introduced the ''Do Show'', a talent show that was open to all through auditions. One of the products of the ''Do Show'' is the Paris-based singer Bibie Brew. The Ghanaian teens of the 1960s also had their chance and several pop music competitions were held at the Arts Centre. Casely-Hayford's five sons all played guitar in their teens. His oldest son, Ralph, a bassist, and a nephew, Roy, played in one of Ghana's professional pop bands, "The Saints", and they performed at the Accra Arts Centre.

Broadcasting and puppetry

Casely-Hayford developed and promoted the craft of

puppetry Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – wikt:inanimate, inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. S ...

. In addition to

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...

showsat the Arts Centre, he also had the puppetry team visit schools to give performances. He was transferred to the

(GBC) as the Cultural Liaison Officer under Shirley Du Bois. Eventually, he was appointed Director of GBC. One of the things he developed for GBC TV News (now GTV News) was the rotating globe that was used for years until computer graphics took over. He also introduced puppet shows on GBC TV, some of them based on the popular traditional concert party theatre format. File:Beattie_and_GBC_puppets_%2768_%282%29.jpg, Casely-Hayford demonstrates puppets, 1968 File:Beattie_and_GBC_puppets_%2768_%283%29.jpg, 1968 GBC puppet show, developed by Casely-Hayford File:Beattie_and_GBC_puppets_%2768.jpg, 1968 GBC puppet show, developed by Casely-Hayford

Music and literary work

Casely-Hayford was an active member of the Ghana Writers Guild and did a lot of work with the renowned poet and writer

Atukwei Okai Atukwei John Okai (15 March 1941 – 13 July 2018) was a Ghanaian poet, cultural activist and academic. He was Secretary-General of the Pan African Writers' Association, and a president of the Ghana Association of Writers. His early work was pub ...

. Casely-Hayford was also a jazz pianist. His father, Archie, was a pianist and a composer and his mother, Essie, also played piano and loved to sing and perform. The traditional guitarist Koo Nimo had a lasting relationship with Casely-Hayford and shared many recording hours in later years. Casely-Hayford gave several lectures on Ghana's

highlife Highlife is a Ghanaian music genre that originated along the coastal cities of present-day Ghana in the 19th century, during its Gold Coast (region), history as a colony of the British and through its trade routes in coastal areas. It encompasse ...

music; collaborated with the

Music Professor John Collins; and served as a founding patron of Bokoor African Popular Music Archives Foundation, an NGO that Prof. Collins established in 1990, soon after Casely-Hayford's death in 1989.

Engineering work

Casely-Hayford's true passion lay in manufacturing and engineering. Everywhere he lived with his family, he kept his cars outside the garage because he used the garage as an engineering workshop. He involved his five sons in his engineering work and projects. File:The_garage_workshop_Kanda_'71.jpg, Garage Workshop, Kanda, Pinnock and Sydney Casely-Hayford, 1971 File:The_garage_workshop_Kanda_'71_(2).jpg, Garage Workshop, Kanda, Pinnock and Sydney, 1971 File:Caselyco studio Leo, Beattie, Syd.jpg, Casely-Hayford in his Caselyco Studio with sons Leo and Sydney File:Caselyco Studio, Beattie, Leo and Syd.jpg, Casely-Hayford in his Caselyco Studio with sons Leo and Sydney

Alternative energy

Casely-Hayford believed that the solution to Ghana's persistent energy problems lay in alternative energy. The last project he undertook before his death in 1989 was the installation of alternative energy windmills at Weija, in the western part of the Greater Accra Region. File:Windpump 2 hoisting Weija 99.jpg, Windpump hoisting, Weija File:Windpump 2 up and released Weija 99.jpg, Windpump up and released, Weija File:Windpump 2 up running Weija 99.jpg, Windpump up and running, Weija File:Wind_Corpus_Savonius_in_motion.pdf, Wind Corpus Savonius, Accra His son Pinnock Casely-Hayford, an engineer who worked closely with him, has continued his work in the alternative energy sector, through his company "Breeze and Windy".

Social work

From 1986 to 1989, Beattie Casely-Hayford worked with his son Pinnock Casely-Hayford to film the first

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

patient at

Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) is a public teaching hospital established in 1923 and located in the Ablekuma South District in the Accra Metropolitan District of the Greater Accra Region, Ghana. It is the only public tertiary hospital in t ...

's Fevers Ward that was operated by Dr. Neequaye. Later Casely-Hayford collaborated with Professor Kwashi Quartey and Dr. Cecilia Bentsi as they visited and treated many AIDS victims. They travelled as far as Somanya and documented their visits on video.

Final years

Casely-Hayford was a member of the Bahá'í Faith"Official urges study of 'noble principles'"
Bahá'í World News Service, 28 August 2004. from 1973. In 1986, he led a Bahá'í delegation to deliver a Peace message to the Ghana government then led by Flt. Lt.

Jerry John Rawlings Jerry John Rawlings (born Jerry Rawlings John; 22 June 194712 November 2020) was a Ghanaian military officer, aviator, and politician who led the country briefly in 1979 and then from 1981 to 2001. He led a military junta until 1993 and then se ...

. Beattie Casely-Hayford died in his sleep early on the morning of Sunday, 6 August 1989, at 67 years of age.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casely-Hayford, Beattie 1989 deaths 1922 births Beattie 20th-century Bahá'ís 20th-century Ghanaian engineers Converts to the Bahá'í Faith Fante people Ghanaian Bahá'ís Ghanaian expatriates in the United Kingdom Ghanaian musicians Ghanaian people of English descent Ghanaian people of Irish descent