Keith Ellis, Esteemed Former Leader of Barbados Police Service Band, Honored in Memorial Service
March 20, 2024
Keith Ellis, a revered figure in the Barbados Police Service and its band for 52 years, was honored with military tributes posthumously in a touching ceremony celebrating his policing and musical legacy.
In a 52-year career with the Royal Barbados Police Force (now the Barbados Police Service) and its band, Keith Ellis waved his baton and trumpeted his way into the hearts of many in Barbados and abroad.
Yesterday, the sound of the trumpets of the Barbados Police Service Band wafted through St Thomas’ Parish Church, filling the air outside with both joyful and doleful notes, in celebration of Ellis’ life and outstanding contribution to policing and music.
Ellis died on January 22 at the age of 72 after a terminal illness. He was accorded full military honours, with the uniformed men and women whom he once led paying tribute in song and sound inside the church and at the graveside.
In an appreciation delivered on behalf the Barbados Police Service, Senior Superintendent Andrew Lynch described his predecessor and early “mentor” as “one of the outstanding stalwarts in the policing history of Barbados” who shared his musical expertise unselfishly.
