He loved science, travel, music, football, cricket, food and dancing. Recalling our years as teenagers McCrea loved chess. A passion which he, Felix and I shared. We read a lot. And were inseparable before Felix joined the RAF. That bond was never broken as we would meet at every opportunity.

 

I recall McCrea was always apologetic when he bowled you out in Farm Park with his off breaks or his googlies. The best dancer of the three of us, he’d make sure Felix and I knew the latest moves for Mount Pleasant Youth Club.

 

Charming to a fault, he loved the girls, and the girls loved him! Growing up friends would always ask about him with the customary “Where’s McCrea?” Even as adults when I went to Birmingham, old friends would greet me with “Where’s McCrea, and what about Felix?” He made friends easily. And his confidence was natural and matter of fact.

 

One evening we went scrumping pears. McCrea decided to climb the neighbour’s pear tree. The neighbour came out and he was still in the tree when the rest of us ran off. Well, it was a mystery to us how he got off so lightly having been caught red handed. He had clambered down the tree to tell the neighbour that some boys had ran off down the alley.

 

McCrea had a matter of fact way of saying things that you could never be angry with him. He was the coolest guy among a throng of crooners. And that’s saying something! We started to attend church when we were invited by a young lady McCrea and I had met at a party.

 

When Gordon, McCrae and Felix’s god brother heard McCrea and I talking about this church. He insisted that we had gone to the wrong church. The church we had found in Handsworth wasn’t Adventist. Gordon later convinced us to attend Hutton Road Adventist Church and we ended up singing in a group with Gordon and Milford. McCrea had a beautiful alto voice and drilled the group. But he preferred Camp Hill where he had forged unbreakable ties.

 

We practised songs together; sang in church and at a sacred concert. McCrea wrote a song “The Freedom Way”. He published it in the USA. But when the copyright came back it was addressed to Ms Crea Manners. That was when Gordon starting calling him “Crea”. He just shrugged it off. And even his attitude made us laugh. McCrea never took offence.

 

During this time he became MV Leader (Missionary Volunteer Leader) at Camp Hill Church and organised the Pathfinder Pioneers. And he became Pathfinder Leader at Camp Hill Church. However, one Sabbath evening the elders became uncooperative because of his address to the young people. They saw his motivation as encouraging black power. Yet, his charm offensive they just couldn’t resist.

 

One day he said to me, “I want you to meet this girl,” and promptly walked me from Handsworth to Ladywood to meet Pat. That was his way of making introductions. He would later make it a point of introducing Felix to Pat and her parents in much the same way.  

 

Suddenly, one day McCrea moved to London. He studied Chemistry and worked. His other love was science and he was a Lab Technician. Then some years on he became a proud father and brought Roselle to Hutton Road Church in Handsworth. His sense of duty to his mother, father, brother and sisters and family never wavered. And this sense of duty extended to the Adventist family.

 

Another time he came up from London and said to me, “Frankie Stewart is going to meet Bob Marley. Come along.” At the time the Wailers were playing at the Odeon. So we went back stage with Frankie who had a press pass. Years later as Felix has put it “ a man of unbreakable ties” he would attend Frankie’s funeral.

 

In London, I recall coming down from college in Scotland and he would pick me up to stay with him and Pat and Roselle in South Wimbledon. I recall he and Pedro were very close. They were always going all over the place and expected me to tag along. One day, McCrea bought me one of those one day tickets and despatched me to travel around London. He had done that himself and wanted me to share the experience. At university he organised trips to the continent, basket ball and net ball tournaments with Pedro throughout London.  

 

He continued to study and work, and I marvelled at his energy. At London Metropolitan he coached basket ball with Pedro and joined the Black Students’ Association. He became involved in the Students ‘Union.

 

After graduating he took up a teaching post in Zimbabwe from 1982 until 1985.He actually did a lot of hard work in a country so rife with divisions and was a positive force for change. He helped to change the prejudice faced by black pupils in the schools there. The driving force were African Liberation and Caribbean social, economic and political integration.

 

Returning to the UK, he set up his own company Milla Transport with his good friends Horace and Dapo which shipped commodities to Africa. He worked hard. Played hard and took up salsa whilst running his company. He mastered salsa and began to teach it across London. And he was graceful. Women flocked to dance with him. Once when we went home to Birmingham we ended up at a plush place in the Jewellery Quarter.

 

There was a consistency to his life and he was, indeed, in his own way “Peerless”. He would always remind me that travelling from SKN to the UK, he got off for a stroll in Jamaica. An experience that he would repeat and extend years later. He visited Paris while at university and in later years (more than once) this was to see Beth and so many friends that he had met here and there. Amsterdam ( to visit family and friends); Barbados (to see Felix and Caron: family and friends). St Lucia, Jamaica again. Nevis and Anguilla and Saint Martin. And St Kitts. New York, New Jersey. He lived a joyous life.

 

During the last year. One day, I said to him, McCrea, you know we want you with us for as long as possible. And he replied, “When am no good to myself?” He was reconciled. That’s how brave McCrea was and spiritually strong!

 

The family has asked me to extend its heartfelt thanks to his many, many, many friends for all your support, kindnesses; comforting words, memories and anecdotes that you have shared with us.

 

We thank the church for their assistance. McCrea and me attended a concert at this church three years ago when Joseph Lynton (our friend of forty three years or so) came to sing. McCrea really enjoyed this reunion and he loved the church. He never lost track of any of his friends. Bonds which he shared with David (his brother in law); his sister in law Caron,  the Hemmings - all family,  and friends like Alam, Denise, Dionne, Diane, Arabell were strong. I know by the way his eyes lit up when he spoke their names.

 

At the same time his eyes lit up when he called Bethune, Petronella and Rhomalia’s name. He cherished his sisters, nieces and cousins, and all the women in the family really loved him.

 

And as he lived, to his many, many, many more friends. I am so sorry that because of the Coronavirus pandemic, many of you did not have the opportunity to turn out to say goodbye.

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Merenta Ashanti