Ewart “Headache” Layne was an early member of the NJM in Grenada.

During the Grenada Revolution he served as Lt. Colonel in the PRA and was responsible for army affairs.  Layne was also a Central Committee member who was loyal to Bernard Coard.

Bloody Wednesday

On October 19, 1983, following Maurice Bishop's release from house arrest by thousands of his supporters and the crowd's subsequent occupation of Fort Rupert, Layne dispatched troops to Fort Rupert from Fort Frederick in Armored Personnel Carriers to (as he describes it) recapture the fort and restore order.

I remember sitting there, watching those units leave. Nowhere could I imagine that within the next hour the greatest tragedy in the history of Grenada would occur.

— Lt. Col. Ewart Layne

Ewart Layne was one of the Grenada 17 and imprisoned in 1986 for his role in the Bloody Wednesday murders of Bishop and Bishop's supporters; he was released from prison in 2009.

VIDEO: Interview with Ewart Layne

Layne is the author of the book, [easyazon_link identifier=”B00N4J5BRG” locale=”US” tag=”caribbeanist-20″]We Move Tonight: The Making of the Grenada Revolution[/easyazon_link].