A registered charity has been formed to set the record straight about Tucker's Town property appropriations in the 1920s.

And The Tucker's Town Historical Society (TTHS) is calling on residents to come forward with any information that could help with their mission.

"Here in Bermuda we believe we have a 'naked town' and there are hundreds or perhaps thousands of untold stories relating to the early or original inhabitants of the town," a press statement from TTHS said.

"Some of the hundreds of perhaps thousands of untold stories referred to earlier the stories of the black families affected by the transactions. It is common knowledge that many of the families themselves were and still are a little reluctant to talk about the days of their eviction out of Tucker's Town that dates back to the 1920s. So many interesting and valuable stories have been lost due to the evolution of time."

The statement adds: "Many of these stories have gone to the graves of so many, but some have been handed down from generation to generation. These are the untold stories that we need to hear. Needed are the names of the early property owners, how much property did they own, what were they paid for their properties or what kind of compensation did they receive? What are our current genealogical relationships with the property owners of that time?"

Dozens of black families were uprooted from their Tucker's Town properties when Parliament passed a land reclamation act in the 1920s, to make way for the development of tourism.

Last year Peter Smith, whose father was the Secretary of the Bermuda Development Company which bought the land, told Rotary Club members that the families had not been swindled out of their land but were paid a fair price.

The remarks sparked an angry reaction from some of the descendants of the Tucker's Town families who felt that Mr. Smith's comments were trivialising the sentiments of people who were given no choice but to leave the land they loved.

"He doesn't know how our people felt when they were kicked out of Tucker's Town. I had a great grandfather who wouldn't go back to Tucker's Town and it killed him because he loved it so much," said labour leader Derrick Burgess at the time.

"How can you put a price on people's lives and the land they loved? There is never any price that was fair."

The TTHS says that its sole intention is to "clarify history for history's sake and for the benefit of the Bermuda community as a whole" and has no interest in seeking revenge.

"We are aware that the introduction of tourism in Bermuda has benefited everyone, but history is history."

The society's mission statement is "to emerge from the haze of time into the light of day, we will endeavour to reveal the truth and the history of the plight of our ancestors."

The organisation has in place research and interviewing teams to dig out stories that have been passed down through the generations and will also be researching archival records and Bermuda history books.

"One well-known story in this area of our research is that of Mrs. Dinah Smith," the press statement continues.

"Mrs. Smith was the owner of a sizeable piece of property in Tucker's Town, and she was very reluctant to abide by the demands of the Bermuda Government to vacate her property, resisting the temptation of that all persuasive element - money. The end result is that Mrs. Smith had to be forcibly removed by the Bermuda Government of the time, and she was given a bungalow believed to have been in the area of the current Marsden First United Methodist Church. There are many more untold stories relating to this town, and the Society would like to hear them. Admittedly, some of the Tucker's Town landowners were pleased with their deals, but this is not known to be unanimously true. After all, most of them had little choice but to sell, for in 1920, many of them did not have the right to vote, leaving them with little or no recourse."

Eugene Stovell, Denny Richardson, and Lionel Dowling are three of the Society's officers.

For more information contact Mr. Richardson at 292-1391.