J. E. S. de Graft-Hayford
Encyclopedia
John Ebenezer Samuel, de Graft-Hayford (1912–2002) was Ghana
's first Ghanaian Chief of the Air Staff
. He became the first indigenous
Air Force Commander in Ghana and Black Sub-Saharan Africa
. He was also acting Chief of Defence Staff
(CDS) for a brief period in 1962.
He was a Ghanaian born in the United Kingdom
. Apart from being of Ghanaian origin, he had Dutch and German maternal blood lines. Among a host of other earlier achievements he showed an excellence in sport, particularly the art of boxing
.
and Ibrox Public School in Glasgow, Scotland between 1925-1928.
From 1929-1930 he attended the Baptist Collegiate School, Accra
.
Between 1931-1939, he passed several courses in: Infantry and Army Signals Training, Short-hand, Typing and short Story Writing, qualifying through the 'Regent Institute of Journalism'.
In 1941, he passed the Royal Air Force RAF medical examination, after treatment for a broken jaw sustained in the sport of boxing, and passed the Non-Commissioned Officers courses in 1943.
In 1944, he qualified in the issuing and handling of Supplies; Accounting; Inspection of Food Stuffs; Warehousing; Disinfestation; Baking; Butchery; Vehicle Mechanics and Operational Driving.
In 1945, he studied course subjects as an external student of the London University as well as military matters such as Leadership Potential and all basic Infantry subjects. He matriculated in September 1945.
In 1946, he passed all Transport and Service subjects with high grades and passed his inter-B.Sc. Economics Degree from the London University in November, 1947.
In 1951, he received his Diploma in Public Administration
from the London University by private study and was awarded the title of 'Fellow of the Economic Society' of Ghana in 1958.
In 1966, he gained his B.Sc in Economics.
On 7 February 1964, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Economic Society
.
From June 1937 to December 1938 Mr. J.E.S. de Graft-Hayford together with the British Assistant Colonial Secretary Mr. Harold Cooper and with the assistance of Dr. Ebenezer Ako-Adjei
, organised and established the Gold Coast Broadcasting Service, which were the beginnings of what is now the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation
GBC.
He enlisted with the 3rd Battalion Gold Coast Regiment otherwise known as the Gold Coast Territorial Force on 1 May 1939 specialising in Infantry and Army Signals Training.
On 26 August 1939, he was mobilized with the 5th Battalion, Gold Coast Regiment, Royal West African Frontier Force
(RWAFF).
In 1940, he was promoted Sergeant and posted to command pay office.
In 1941, he passed an interview for training as Fighter Pilot with the Royal Air Force
(RAF).
In 1942, he was a staff sergeant in command of the Pay Office in the Gambia as well as having part time attachment duties with the RAF. He was also on war office circular cancelling inter-service transfers and remained in the RWAFF.
In 1943 he was posted to the 6th battalion Gold Coast Regiment for training with a view to a commission in the infantry.
1944 saw him as an instructor for the Unit NCOs Cadre specialising in battle drills, small arms and organisation in the field of war.
However he was debarred from commission in infantry by reason of notified age limit and continued with the 821 Company, West African Service Corps training, still with the aim of a commission in the Royal Service Corp.
In 1945, J.E.S. de Graft-Hayford as a sergeant in 13 I.T.C. & Queen's Own Regiment in Maidstone, Kent, UK; was recommended for training at a Royal Army Service Officer Cadet Training Unit.
He was subsequently interviewed on 3 August 1945 by the War Office Selection Board at Golders Green, UK, and was found suitable for training as an Officer at an Officer Training unit in Britain.
He was now cadet,148 Pre-OCTU, Wrothram, Kent, UK.
In 1946, he was Officer/Cadet at the Royal Army Service Corps Officer Training Centre, Aldershot, UK.
J.E.S.de Graft-Hayford was only the third African to be commissioned Lieutenant as a British Officer in the Royal Army Service Corps
Land Forces in 1946.
He served in North Africa and the UK rising to the rank of Captain until demobilisation from the armed forces in the United Kingdom on 14 June 1948. He continued working in the UK as Assistant Welfare and Scholarships Officer at the Colonial Office in London for a while then returned to Ghana.
Between 1948-1953, he was with the Gold Coast Cocoa Marketing Board.
He initially worked as Secretary/Accountant rising to the position of Acting General Manager. He was also during this period Chairman of the Ghana Legion and a member of the Constitutional Assembly.
In the late 1950, he was recalled back to the Ghana Armed Forces with the offer of the position of as Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion of Infantry, Ghana Army Volunteer Force which he accepted.
In 1961, JES de Graft-Hayford was seconded to the 3rd Green Jackets Rifle Brigade, British Army of Occupation of Germany (for Senior Officers) Battle Training.
He soon after gained promotion to lieutenant Colonel and in 1962 to Brigadier, re-designated Air Commodore
and appointed Chief of Air Staff CAS Chief of the Air Staff
taking over from Air Commodore John Whitworth
.
In 1962, under Kwame Nkrumah's initiative the first 'National school of Gliding' was successfully set up jointly by Hanna Reitsch
once Adolf Hitler
's top personal pilot and Air Commodore, J.E.S de Graft-Hayford who during this period held two positions Aide de Camp, to Kwame Nkrumah
, the President of Ghana, the first Black African Nation south of the Sahara to become independent and at the same time, the first Chief of the Air Staff and for brief period acting Chief of Defence Staff.
Air Commodore, JES de Graft-Hayford was posted by Nkrumah to the Ghana High Commission in the UK as Ghana's first Military Attaché
in 1963 and was actively involved in intelligence work.
He retired from the Ghana Armed Forces on 28 February 1965.
In 1966, still residing in the UK, he occupied himself as a sales consultant for Encyclopædia Britannica
and as the secretary of the British Legion Club situated in Fulham, London, UK.
Soon after the downfall of Kwame Nkrumah and during the regime of Lieutenant General Joseph Ankrah, he was expediently invited back to Ghana from the UK and offered senior appointments within the Government. He became the 'National Organiser' of the Ghana Workers Brigade (GWB) on 21 December 1966. On 10 September 1968, JES de Graft-Hayford was also Chairman of the 'National Emergency Food Supply Committee'.
He stayed with the Workers Brigade until 1971 and performed exceedingly in reversing massive debts. The GWB was an Agricultural Industrial and Construction Organisation made up of civilians and military logistics personnel of approximately 35,000 workers.
On 11 January 1972, he was Head of the Investigation Branch, Ghana Cocoa Marketing Board; then re-designated Chief Security Officer.
He was the first Chairman of the Ghana branch of Amnesty International
between 1972–1974 and whose secretary was the lawyer, writer and famous Ghanaian historian, Dr. I.S. Ephson born 1923.
Between 1974-1979 he held various portfolios such as, Special Assistant to the Commissioner for Trade. Special Assistant (Security) to the Commissioner, Cocoa Affairs and Co-ordinator at the Ministry of Cocoa Affairs, responsible solely to the Commissioner.
His Ministry of Cocoa Affairs contract of service ended in 1979.
In 1980, JES de Graft-Hayford was Chairman of the Ghana Legion and Advisor to President Hilla Limann
at the Cabinet Secretary's request.
From 1981-1984, he continued as Chairman of the Ghana Legion having been appointed by the Peoples National Democratic Convention PNDC then led by Jerry John Rawlings. In 1984, JES de Graft-Hayford retired from the Chairmanship of the Ghana Legion and Boxing authority returning to the UK.
Between 1984-1994 in the UK, he served in the Voluntary Sector of National and Local Charities as Treasurer, Fund Raiser and Administrator as well as Council Member. He was a Freemason, having been a member of Lake Victoria Lodge and Acturus Lodge in London, and Militia Lodge in Accra. He receive LGR in 2000.
He remained in the UK semi retired always occupying himself with his literary works, and part time social work.
s and even won the Queen's Coronation Cycling Championship Trophy in the early thirties. He became Welter and Middle-Weight Boxing Champion of Ghana and West Africa respectively retiring as an Undefeated Champion in 1941, a precedence in those years.
As a welter-weight boxer, 'Chocolate Kid' claimed the Welter-Weight championship and the Sir Arnold Hudson Trophy in 1935.
In 1939, in the 2nd round of a friendly non-title bout, he knocked out one Jack Pullan the Far Eastern Command Welterweight Champion on board the troop ship New Northland http://www.timetableimages.com/maritime/images/clarkei.htm
In 1941, Chocolate Kid won the Middle-Weight title and the George R. Benest Championship Silver Bowl donated by Nestlé-Switzerland retiring from Boxing as undefeated Champion.
Between 1974-1978, JES de Graft-Hayford established the first Ghana Boxing Board of Control and as chairman was instrumental in Ghana acquiring her first world boxing champion named D.K. Poison
.
He later became Vice President of the African Boxing Union and Member of the World Boxing Council
.
His mother Matilda Goy was German and his father was the Reverend Mark Christian Hayford M.A.,D.D,F.R.C.S whose father was the Reverend, Joseph De Graft Hayford, the son of the Reverend James Hayford, whose ethnic name was Kwamina Afua.
The Hayford (Afua) family or Clan of Cape Coast and Accra, includes relations with the surname's for example: Casely Hayford, Davy Hayford, degraft-Johnson, Yankah, Wilson, Welsing, Hutchful, Wilberforce, Graves and Brew amongst others.
J.E.S. de Graft-Hayford was from a Royal Fanti family composed of political nationalists and veritable Christian reverend's and who was first in line to follow his fathers foot-steps as a reverend or be installed as the Chief of the Fanti stool or throne. He instead chose to become a civil servant, a champion fighter, a military man of esteem and most of all like his fore fathers, a true believer in freedom and human rights.
He was married to Phyllis de Graft-Hayford (née Stiff, 1919–2001), who co-established the first Child Care Centre in Ghana.http://www.theirhistory.co.uk/70001/info.php?p=15 They have five children.
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
's first Ghanaian Chief of the Air Staff
Chief of the Air Staff
The Chief of the Air Staff is the professional head of the Royal Air Force and a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Air Force Board. The current Chief of the Air Staff is Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton...
. He became the first indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
Air Force Commander in Ghana and Black Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
. He was also acting Chief of Defence Staff
Chief of the Defence Staff (Ghana)
The Chief of the Defence Staff is the professional head of the Ghana Armed Forces. He is thus responsible for the administration and the operational control and command of the Ghana military. The Ghana Army was formed after World War II out of the Gold Coast Regiment of the Royal West African...
(CDS) for a brief period in 1962.
He was a Ghanaian born in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Apart from being of Ghanaian origin, he had Dutch and German maternal blood lines. Among a host of other earlier achievements he showed an excellence in sport, particularly the art of boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
.
Education
Born in the UK in 1912, he returned to Ghana with his parents and his newly born sister Mary in 1914, commencing formal education in 1916 at the Baptist School in Accra. Between 1916-1922, he studied at the Paedagogium in Godesberg, Germany. He attended the Bellahouston AcademyBellahouston Academy
Bellahouston Academy is a non-denominational state-run secondary school in Bellahouston, south-west Glasgow, Scotland.-History:Bellahouston Academy first opened in 1876 as a private school, run by Alexander Sim. It was taken over by the Govan School Board in 1885, and has been a state school ever...
and Ibrox Public School in Glasgow, Scotland between 1925-1928.
From 1929-1930 he attended the Baptist Collegiate School, Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
.
Between 1931-1939, he passed several courses in: Infantry and Army Signals Training, Short-hand, Typing and short Story Writing, qualifying through the 'Regent Institute of Journalism'.
In 1941, he passed the Royal Air Force RAF medical examination, after treatment for a broken jaw sustained in the sport of boxing, and passed the Non-Commissioned Officers courses in 1943.
In 1944, he qualified in the issuing and handling of Supplies; Accounting; Inspection of Food Stuffs; Warehousing; Disinfestation; Baking; Butchery; Vehicle Mechanics and Operational Driving.
In 1945, he studied course subjects as an external student of the London University as well as military matters such as Leadership Potential and all basic Infantry subjects. He matriculated in September 1945.
In 1946, he passed all Transport and Service subjects with high grades and passed his inter-B.Sc. Economics Degree from the London University in November, 1947.
In 1951, he received his Diploma in Public Administration
Public administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
from the London University by private study and was awarded the title of 'Fellow of the Economic Society' of Ghana in 1958.
In 1966, he gained his B.Sc in Economics.
On 7 February 1964, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Economic Society
Royal Economic Society
The Royal Economic Society is incorporated by a Royal Charter dated 2 December 1902. It is one of the oldest economic associations in the world. Currently it has over 3,300 individual members, of whom 60% live outside the United Kingdom...
.
Career
Between 1931-1939, John Ebenezer Samuel was actively involved in various careers such as literary works and the sport of boxing, but nevertheless, he passed his Civil Service Examination and was employed as a Second Division Clerk then Assistant Officer Gazeteer and was also a broadcast announcer with a station called ZOY.From June 1937 to December 1938 Mr. J.E.S. de Graft-Hayford together with the British Assistant Colonial Secretary Mr. Harold Cooper and with the assistance of Dr. Ebenezer Ako-Adjei
Ebenezer Ako-Adjei
Dr. Ebenezer Ako-Adjei was a nationalist politician from Ghana. Ako-Adjei is considered to be one of the Big Six in the history of Ghanaian independence. The Big Six are arguably some of the most famous people in Ghana's fight for independence from British rule...
, organised and established the Gold Coast Broadcasting Service, which were the beginnings of what is now the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation
Ghana Broadcasting Corporation
The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation is the public broadcaster in Ghana. It is funded by broadcasting television commercials and the levying of a television licence, costing 3,000 GHC ....
GBC.
He enlisted with the 3rd Battalion Gold Coast Regiment otherwise known as the Gold Coast Territorial Force on 1 May 1939 specialising in Infantry and Army Signals Training.
On 26 August 1939, he was mobilized with the 5th Battalion, Gold Coast Regiment, Royal West African Frontier Force
Royal West African Frontier Force
The West African Frontier Force was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. The decision to raise this force was taken in 1897 because of concern at French colonial...
(RWAFF).
In 1940, he was promoted Sergeant and posted to command pay office.
In 1941, he passed an interview for training as Fighter Pilot with the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(RAF).
In 1942, he was a staff sergeant in command of the Pay Office in the Gambia as well as having part time attachment duties with the RAF. He was also on war office circular cancelling inter-service transfers and remained in the RWAFF.
In 1943 he was posted to the 6th battalion Gold Coast Regiment for training with a view to a commission in the infantry.
1944 saw him as an instructor for the Unit NCOs Cadre specialising in battle drills, small arms and organisation in the field of war.
However he was debarred from commission in infantry by reason of notified age limit and continued with the 821 Company, West African Service Corps training, still with the aim of a commission in the Royal Service Corp.
In 1945, J.E.S. de Graft-Hayford as a sergeant in 13 I.T.C. & Queen's Own Regiment in Maidstone, Kent, UK; was recommended for training at a Royal Army Service Officer Cadet Training Unit.
He was subsequently interviewed on 3 August 1945 by the War Office Selection Board at Golders Green, UK, and was found suitable for training as an Officer at an Officer Training unit in Britain.
He was now cadet,148 Pre-OCTU, Wrothram, Kent, UK.
In 1946, he was Officer/Cadet at the Royal Army Service Corps Officer Training Centre, Aldershot, UK.
J.E.S.de Graft-Hayford was only the third African to be commissioned Lieutenant as a British Officer in the Royal Army Service Corps
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps was a corps of the British Army. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture and stationery ; administration of...
Land Forces in 1946.
He served in North Africa and the UK rising to the rank of Captain until demobilisation from the armed forces in the United Kingdom on 14 June 1948. He continued working in the UK as Assistant Welfare and Scholarships Officer at the Colonial Office in London for a while then returned to Ghana.
Between 1948-1953, he was with the Gold Coast Cocoa Marketing Board.
He initially worked as Secretary/Accountant rising to the position of Acting General Manager. He was also during this period Chairman of the Ghana Legion and a member of the Constitutional Assembly.
In the late 1950, he was recalled back to the Ghana Armed Forces with the offer of the position of as Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion of Infantry, Ghana Army Volunteer Force which he accepted.
In 1961, JES de Graft-Hayford was seconded to the 3rd Green Jackets Rifle Brigade, British Army of Occupation of Germany (for Senior Officers) Battle Training.
He soon after gained promotion to lieutenant Colonel and in 1962 to Brigadier, re-designated Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
and appointed Chief of Air Staff CAS Chief of the Air Staff
Chief of the Air Staff
The Chief of the Air Staff is the professional head of the Royal Air Force and a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Air Force Board. The current Chief of the Air Staff is Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton...
taking over from Air Commodore John Whitworth
John Whitworth
Air Commodore John Nicholas Haworth Whitworth CB, DSO, DFC and Bar, RAF was a Royal Air Force pilot in the 1930s and a commander during and after the Second World War....
.
In 1962, under Kwame Nkrumah's initiative the first 'National school of Gliding' was successfully set up jointly by Hanna Reitsch
Hanna Reitsch
Hanna Reitsch was a German aviator and the only woman awarded the Iron Cross First Class and the Luftwaffe Combined Pilots-Observation Badge in Gold with Diamonds during World War II...
once Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's top personal pilot and Air Commodore, J.E.S de Graft-Hayford who during this period held two positions Aide de Camp, to Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...
, the President of Ghana, the first Black African Nation south of the Sahara to become independent and at the same time, the first Chief of the Air Staff and for brief period acting Chief of Defence Staff.
Air Commodore, JES de Graft-Hayford was posted by Nkrumah to the Ghana High Commission in the UK as Ghana's first Military Attaché
Military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...
in 1963 and was actively involved in intelligence work.
He retired from the Ghana Armed Forces on 28 February 1965.
In 1966, still residing in the UK, he occupied himself as a sales consultant for Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
and as the secretary of the British Legion Club situated in Fulham, London, UK.
Soon after the downfall of Kwame Nkrumah and during the regime of Lieutenant General Joseph Ankrah, he was expediently invited back to Ghana from the UK and offered senior appointments within the Government. He became the 'National Organiser' of the Ghana Workers Brigade (GWB) on 21 December 1966. On 10 September 1968, JES de Graft-Hayford was also Chairman of the 'National Emergency Food Supply Committee'.
He stayed with the Workers Brigade until 1971 and performed exceedingly in reversing massive debts. The GWB was an Agricultural Industrial and Construction Organisation made up of civilians and military logistics personnel of approximately 35,000 workers.
On 11 January 1972, he was Head of the Investigation Branch, Ghana Cocoa Marketing Board; then re-designated Chief Security Officer.
He was the first Chairman of the Ghana branch of Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
between 1972–1974 and whose secretary was the lawyer, writer and famous Ghanaian historian, Dr. I.S. Ephson born 1923.
Between 1974-1979 he held various portfolios such as, Special Assistant to the Commissioner for Trade. Special Assistant (Security) to the Commissioner, Cocoa Affairs and Co-ordinator at the Ministry of Cocoa Affairs, responsible solely to the Commissioner.
His Ministry of Cocoa Affairs contract of service ended in 1979.
In 1980, JES de Graft-Hayford was Chairman of the Ghana Legion and Advisor to President Hilla Limann
Hilla Limann
Hilla Limann was the President of Ghana from 24 September, 1979 to 31 December, 1981. Eventually he became a diplomat, and served in Switzerland. Limann, whose original last name was Babini, was born in the northern Ghanaian town of Gwolu in the Sissala West District of the Upper West Region to a...
at the Cabinet Secretary's request.
From 1981-1984, he continued as Chairman of the Ghana Legion having been appointed by the Peoples National Democratic Convention PNDC then led by Jerry John Rawlings. In 1984, JES de Graft-Hayford retired from the Chairmanship of the Ghana Legion and Boxing authority returning to the UK.
Between 1984-1994 in the UK, he served in the Voluntary Sector of National and Local Charities as Treasurer, Fund Raiser and Administrator as well as Council Member. He was a Freemason, having been a member of Lake Victoria Lodge and Acturus Lodge in London, and Militia Lodge in Accra. He receive LGR in 2000.
He remained in the UK semi retired always occupying himself with his literary works, and part time social work.
Awards
His Military awards include the Territorial Decoration Medal, the 1939-1945 Star, the Coronation 1953, the Republic Medal 1960 and others.Boxing
J.E.S de Graft-Hayford during the 1930s was a professional boxer under the pseudonym of The Chocolate Kid. From humble beginnings of bare-fist boxing on the beaches of Accra, Chocolate Kid would swim way out into the ocean with no fears, run marathonMarathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
s and even won the Queen's Coronation Cycling Championship Trophy in the early thirties. He became Welter and Middle-Weight Boxing Champion of Ghana and West Africa respectively retiring as an Undefeated Champion in 1941, a precedence in those years.
As a welter-weight boxer, 'Chocolate Kid' claimed the Welter-Weight championship and the Sir Arnold Hudson Trophy in 1935.
In 1939, in the 2nd round of a friendly non-title bout, he knocked out one Jack Pullan the Far Eastern Command Welterweight Champion on board the troop ship New Northland http://www.timetableimages.com/maritime/images/clarkei.htm
In 1941, Chocolate Kid won the Middle-Weight title and the George R. Benest Championship Silver Bowl donated by Nestlé-Switzerland retiring from Boxing as undefeated Champion.
Between 1974-1978, JES de Graft-Hayford established the first Ghana Boxing Board of Control and as chairman was instrumental in Ghana acquiring her first world boxing champion named D.K. Poison
David Kotei
David Kotei born on December 7, 1950 in Accra, Ghana, was a world featherweight boxing champion between 1975 and 1976 and was also the first Ghanaian professional boxer to win a world title. He was popularly called "D.K. Poison"....
.
He later became Vice President of the African Boxing Union and Member of the World Boxing Council
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
.
Family
John Ebenezer Samuel, had two siblings, Doctor Mark Davy-Hayford and Mary Edmundson OBE.His mother Matilda Goy was German and his father was the Reverend Mark Christian Hayford M.A.,D.D,F.R.C.S whose father was the Reverend, Joseph De Graft Hayford, the son of the Reverend James Hayford, whose ethnic name was Kwamina Afua.
The Hayford (Afua) family or Clan of Cape Coast and Accra, includes relations with the surname's for example: Casely Hayford, Davy Hayford, degraft-Johnson, Yankah, Wilson, Welsing, Hutchful, Wilberforce, Graves and Brew amongst others.
J.E.S. de Graft-Hayford was from a Royal Fanti family composed of political nationalists and veritable Christian reverend's and who was first in line to follow his fathers foot-steps as a reverend or be installed as the Chief of the Fanti stool or throne. He instead chose to become a civil servant, a champion fighter, a military man of esteem and most of all like his fore fathers, a true believer in freedom and human rights.
He was married to Phyllis de Graft-Hayford (née Stiff, 1919–2001), who co-established the first Child Care Centre in Ghana.http://www.theirhistory.co.uk/70001/info.php?p=15 They have five children.