J. E. S. de Graft-Hayford
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John Ebenezer Samuel de Graft-Hayford (1912-2002) was a Ghanaian born in the United Kingdom. Apart from being Ghanaian he had Dutch, Irish and German maternal blood lines respectively. As Ghanaian Chief of the Air Staff, de Graft-Hayford became the first black air force commander in Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa[1] and first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) in 1962 among a host of other achievements.
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[edit] Career
J.E.S.De Graft-Hayford was the third African to be commissioned as a British Officer in the Royal Army Service Corps in 1946.
He served in North Africa and the UK rising to the rank of Captain until demobilisation after the war ended when he returned back to Ghana.
Between 1951-1959, he worked for the Ghana Cocoa Marketing Board where he became acting General Manager, he was also during this period Chairman of the Ghana Legion and a member of the Constitutional Assembly.
In 1960 he was recalled back to the Ghana Armed Forces with the offer of the position as Commanding Officer of the Ghana Army Volunteer Force which he gladly accepted.
In 1961 he gained promotion to lieutenant Colonel and in 1962 Brigadier re-designated Air Commodore and subsequently appointed Chief of Air Staff CAS taking over from Air Commodore John Whitworth.
In 1962, under Kwame Nkrumah's inititive the first 'National school of Gliding' was successfully set up jointly by Hanna Reitsch once Adolf Hitler's top personal pilot and Air Commodore, J.E.S de Graft-Hayford. She was operations instructor, trainer and pilot.
At one time he held two positions Aide de Camp, to Kwame Nkrumah, the President of Ghana, the first Black African Nation to become independent and at the same time, the first Air Chief of Staff holding the rank of Air Commodore of the Ghana Air Force and Black Africa 1963.
Air Commodore, JES De Graft-Hayford was posted by Nkrumah to the Ghana Embassy in the UK as Ghana's first Defence Advisor in 1963.
His military career and position as Defence Advisor was cut short due to the overthrow of Nkrumah by Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka on the 24th February, 1966.
It is purported that he in fact was one of, if not the mastermind of the coup that justifiably eventually toppled Nkrumah. However, the tabloid Sun Newspaper UK, in its front page photo spread at the time reported a Mr Amyhia as the coup plotter and de Graft Hayford as only possibly being an accomplice and the rest is hearsay.
During General Ankrah's regime, he was recalled back to Ghana from exile in the UK and appointed the National Organiser of the Ghana Workers Brigade 1966-1967, an agricultural organisation made up of civilians and military logistics personel of approximately 35,000 workers where he performed exceedingly.
During General, I.K. Acheampong's tenure of office he was once again an advisor 1972-1975 and following on, continued as advisor to president, Hilla Limann.
He was the first Chairman of the Ghana branch of Amnesty International whose secretary was the Lawyer, Writer and famous Ghanaian Historian, Dr Isaac Sergius, Ephson http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:Gx9NufmDwH0J:library.bu.edu:2082/search/aEphross,%2BPaul%2BH./aephross%2Bpaul%2Bh/-3,-1,0,B/browse+Isaac+sergius+ephson&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=opera born 1923.
His achievements were exemplary as the record shows, particularly as he passed through the volatile changes of all rebellious and democratic Ghanaian governments.
His Military awards include the Territorial Efficiency War Medal, the 1939-1945 Star, the Coronation 1953 and Republic Medal 1960.
His interests being many, they included, sports, in particular boxing. He was a keen pianist and a prolific writer. His many articles, short stories and poems have been published by the likes of Readers Digest. Other literal works include a 1500 page auto-biography.
He served Ghana and Great Britain meritoriously in broad spheres and semi-retired in 1984 returning to the UK with his wife Phylis De Graft Hayford passing away peacefully at the age of 90.
[edit] Boxing
J.E.S De Graft-Hayford During the 1930s was a Professional Boxer under the pseudonym of The Chocolate Kid. He became Welter and Middle-Weight Boxing Champion of Ghana and West Africa respectively retiring undefeated in 1941 a precedence in those years.
He claimed the [[Sir Arnold Hudson]] Trophy in 1935 http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:qqC7gO9EsCcJ:www.ghanacastle.gov.gh/President/castle_newsp_details.cfm%3FEmpID%3D449+Arnold+Hudson+ghana&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&client=operaTrophy Later he captured the George R. Benest Championship Silver Bowl donated by Nestle-Switzerland in 1941. In 1939 he knocked out Jack Pullan the far east welterweight champion in the 2nd round of a friendly non-title bout on board the troop ship 'New Northland'http://www.timetableimages.com/maritime/images/clarkei.htm
Between 1974-1978 he established the first Ghana Boxing Board of Control as chairman and was instrumental in Ghana acquiring her first world boxing champion in D.K. Poison.
He was later to become Vice President of the African Boxing Union and member of the World Boxing Council.
[edit] Family
John Ebenezer Samuel, had two siblings Doctor,Mark Davy-Hayford and Mary Edmundson OBE. His mother was German, from the Goy family of West Fallen and his father was the Reverend, Mark Christian Hayford M.A.,D.D,F.R.C.S [2]</ref> whose father was the Reverend, Joseph De Graft Hayford and whose father was Kwamina Afua otherwise known as James Hayford (1840-1919). The Hayford family of Cape Coast and Accra, includes relations with the names: Casely Hayford, Davy Hayford, Yankah, Wilson, Welsing, Hutchful, Wilberforce, degraft-Johnson, Graves and Brew. See [3] for more family background.</ref>.
J.E.S. De Graft-Hayford was from a royal ethnic Fanti family composed of political nationalists and veritable christian reverend's and who was in line to follow his fathers foot-steps as a reverend or become the Chief of the Fanti stool or throne. He instead chose to become a civil servant, a champion fighter, a military man of esteem and most of all like his fore fathers, a true believer in nationalism and human rights.
[edit] Notes
Interestingly, The true indigenous surnames of many Ghanaians were corupted during colonisation, such as 'Afua' to the name Hayford this tended to be the norm of the day for simplicity's sake by the British Missionaries. It is therefore important not to connect the Hayford of Ghana-Africa with that of the U.K. in historical and genelogical context.
| Military Offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by J N H Whitworth |
Chief of the Air Staff Ghana Air Force 1961–1963 |
Succeeded by M Otu |
