The number of the people present in this photo is extraordinarily few. Self-evidently they must be the Protectorate elite. Standing is the Resident Commissioner, Martin Wray who formally opened the new bank. He appears to be directing his remarks at M.H. Joosub, the developer and owner of the building who for some reason is sitting opposite him and with his back to the photographer. Was he on the programme, I wonder, to say a few words? Standing behind Wray in the shadow and only just visible is MS Ebrahim.
Seventeen years later the same Joosub would be opening his new Capitol cinema in Gaborone. Sitting next to Wray on one side is JDA Germond, the Divisional Commissioner South, who, a few months earlier, had laid the foundation stone of the new prestige building. Between them is a small cloth covered table which must have been placed there for some purpose. If there was something on it, a glass of water or a presentation of some sort, nothing is visible. On Wray’s other side are sitting four individuals who are presumably Protectorate luminaries. It would be helpful if someone could provide their names.
