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Ghana is a wonderful country, … It is we who consider ourselves inferior; and we are told we are poor and our gold is taken away. And we accept we are poor…when we have all the wealth.
As he sat behind his desk and was asked who Charles is, he fondly responded; “The best I can say is that I’m my father’s son and my mother’s son”.
Vincent Cyril Richard Arthur Charles Crabbe (V.C.R.A.C. Crabbe) was born on October 29, 1923 at Ussher Town in Accra, then Gold Coast to Richard Arthur Crabbe (a Chief Registrar of the Gold Coast Judicial Service of Nii Yao Duade We) and Stella Akorley Lartey (from the Nii Walakataka We of Osu), all of blessed memory. Being the last of fourteen children with the exception of the first child who was named after the father, the rest had more than three names indicating the fact that Charles comes from a family with long names.
At the age of 94, Charles is still active on the public scene for over six decades after being Ghana’s First Electoral Commissioner for the 1969 general election. He is a leading public figure and widely respected for his immense contribution to Ghana’s legal systems and judicial framework having written several books on the legal systems and structure of Ghana.
“Each citizen is responsible for what Ghana has as a nation, and what it does not have”
Growing up, Charles had a strong and unique bond with his mother who was the anchor of his life. Madam Stella Akorley Lartey, a seamstress by profession, taught Charles and his brothers the dignity of labour, unlike today where child responsibilities are frowned upon instead defined as Child Labour. He recalls “I used to distribute kenkey (a local food staple made from fermented corn dough) to families that had placed orders with my mum before going to school at Kinbu in Accra”.
The rounded personality of V. C. R. A. C. Crabbe wasn’t crafted on smooth canvass; it has evolved at a price. His home has largely been responsible for his significant successes in life. He had a good upbringing, enjoyed the bond of the family, and most importantly the love of his mother. Today, Mr. V. C. R. A. C. Crabbe is the toast of many important personalities and leaders globally, including all those who believe in the traits that walked his life into greatness.
Charles gained admission to Accra Academy in 1939. On 6th November 1949, Charles left Accra for England to study Economics. While studying Economics in England, he had many experiences and incidents which later became useful to him in his academic pursuits and he diverted from pursuing his dream vocation as an economist to venture into law as encouraged by one of his elder brothers and a lawyer, Ffoulkes Sassie Crabbe.
In September 1954, Charles sat the Bar Final and passed with distinction. He was called to the Bar on February 8, 1955. He, therefore, had to leave England in the middle of May 1955 and arrived back in the Gold Coast on 31st May. Continue Here
