Cecil Cyrus Caribbean Museum of Medical History launched
09 May 2025
Principal of The UWI Cave Hill Campus, Professor Clive Landis and Widow of Sir Cecil, Kathryn Lady Cyrus unveil the commemorative plaque
The Caribbean’s first extensive collection of medical artefacts has been rehoused in Barbados, following the official launch of the Cecil Cyrus Caribbean Museum of Medical History (CCCMMH) on Thursday, May 8.
The CCCMMH, which is located at The UWI Cave Hill’s Errol Walrond Building, Clinical Skills Complex, includes a compendium of anatomical specimen, medical books, and surgical instruments of the late Sir Cecil Cyrus, a distinguished Vincentian physician and surgeon. In August 2024 the items were relocated from St. Vincent and the Grenadines to Barbados. The collection was a gift from the Cyrus family and the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Born on January 6, 1929, in Layou, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr Cyrus was considered the island’s most distinguished physician and surgeon. His career path was influenced by the social inequalities he witnessed at the time, particularly the lack of access to health care for the underprivileged.
For 13 years he was the sole surgical specialist at the then Colonial Hospital (now the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital), following which he spent three decades at his private Botanic Hospital. That hospital was transformed into the ‘Dr Cecil Cyrus Museum’ following his retirement in 2002.
Dr Cyrus authored several books, including ‘A Clinical and Pathological Atlas: The Records of a Surgeon in St Vincent, West Indies’ and ‘A Dream Come True – The Autobiography of a Caribbean Surgeon’.
He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science (DSc) by The UWI Cave Hill campus in 2005. On March 20, 2019 he was knighted by HRH Prince Charles (now King Charles III) during his visit to St Vincent and the Grenadines, for services to medicine and health services.
Dr Cyrus died on March 24, 2023, at age 94.
Among officials present at the launch were Principal of The UWI Cave Hill campus, Professor Clive Landis; Minister of Health, Wellness and the Environment of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Hon. St Clair Prince; members of the Cyrus family; Emeritus Professor, Sir Henry Fraser, and representatives of the Faculty of Medical Sciences.
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