This bench in honour of Datuk R. Guy Barrett S.P.D.K. O.B.E.can be found in the Maughold Graveyard. The bench is the sixth bench on the eastern boundary wall from the entrance.
This weathered dark-coloured wooden bench has a horizontally slatted seat and a vertically slatted backrest. It also has two armrests.
The rectangular plaque on the backrest of this bench is inscribed as follows:
‘In Memory of
DATUK R. GUY BARRETT
S.P.D.K. O.B.E.
1916 – 2005’
Shown below is an announcement from The Telegraph website which provides some information on Guy’s life:
‘R.G. Barrett O.B.E., 89, passed away peacefully in his sleep at Noble's Hospital on the morning of September 20th, 2005, with his devoted wife of 46 years, Shet Ha (Christine), daughters Margaret and Hope, and Shet Ha's sisters, Bing and Lucy by his side. Guy left London at the age of 21 to work as a Tapping Assistant on Sapong Estate in British North Borneo. Interned during World War II in Sarawak, Guy returned to London in 1945 only to go back to Malaya in 1946 as Permanent Manager of Tuaran Estate for North Borneo Trading. In 1948 he moved to Jesselton as Manager of North Borneo Trading. 1950, at the age of 34, he had started his own business River Estates, and was awarded the title of "Dato" by the Sabah government in 1963; in between, he married Shet Ha in October of 1959 in Hong Kong, and made home-base Sandakan. Ahead of his time, Guy introduced oil palm planting into his business creating Tomanggong Estate in 1961 from 10, 025 acres of virgin land acquired from the Guthrie Corporation. He made the Queen's Honours list in 1972, and was awarded an O.B.E. for "services to the plantation industry". Guy moved to the Isle of Man in 1979, keeping himself busy in "retirement" with the enterprises Dale Nurseries, Cryllex, and his pride and remaining company, Mezeron Shipping. He leaves behind for his children Margaret, Richard, James, John, Mary, Hope; his grandchildren; and all the lives he touched, the example to follow of humility in success, kindness to those in trouble, courtesy in even the most trying of times - and if we are to follow in his footsteps, the courage to pursue our dreams and make them a reality. A funeral service will be held at Kirk Maughold Parish Church at 11 a.m. on October 4, 2005. For more information, please telephone Cowle's Funeral Service at 01624 815156. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Ramsay Lifeboat Endowment Fund.’
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The bench is so positioned that it faces across the graveyard and offers views North Barrule.