Dr. Vincent Monrose was born in the town of Soufriere on April 23rd, 1927 and completed his elementary education in Soufriere and his secondary education at St. Mary’s College in Castries. He went on to Howard University in the United States of America and graduated in 1950 with a BSc degree in Science. He subsequently pursued studies in Medicine at the Paris University in France graduating in 1957.
On his return to Saint Lucia in 1960 as a Medical Practitioner he encountered some initial problems with registration since at the time only British trained or British approved qualifications were accepted in the colonies. He was instrumental in putting an end to that practice. Eventually he was appointed as a district medical officer and served in several communities including Castries, Soufriere and Dennery. He was instrumental in dealing with the water borne illnesses in the sixties and seventies within the Dennery Valley.
By 1961 he joined the St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) and successfully contested the Soufriere seat. However soon after, he resigned from the SLP and became a member of the newly formed National Labour Movement (NLM) headed by John Compton. The NLM became the main opposition party in the house with three members: Dr. Monrose, Maurice Mason and John Compton.
In 1964, Dr. Monrose became a member of the newly formed United Workers Party (UWP) which was a merger of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and the NLM. In the general elections of 1964, he unsuccessfully contested the Anse La Raye /Canaries seat for the UWP.
In 1966 he contested The Dennery seat in the bye elections following the passing of Maurice Mason and won. He was also successful in the 1969 and 1974 general elections in Dennery and Dennery North respectively. He worked tirelessly in the Dennery constituency to identify suitable water catchment areas that would afford the community with clean pipe borne water.
Dr. Vincent Monrose loved academia and valued education; he saw it as a way to propel one’s future. He operated both in the public and private health sector of St Lucia, as a community physician . In the government clinics he always waited to see all his patients, sometimes as many as 100. In his private practice, this compassionate individual often provided free medical attention to those who could least afford. He was a true humanitarian whose interest included assisting the underprivileged. Dr. Monrose a loving father and husband, has been described as a humble man who was service driven.
