Oswald George Powe (11 August 1926 - 9 September 2013), known as George Powe,
was a Jamaican-born, England-based,
radar operator,
electrician, teacher, writer and
racial-equality activist.
Powe served in the Royal Air Force during World War II, before moving to England. He led a successful campaign forcing
Raleigh Bicycle Company to improve their treatment and recruitment of Black workers. He is the author of the 1956 publication ''Don’t Blame the Blacks.'' When he was elected as a
Labour Party local councillor, he became one of the first Black Labour councillors and the first Black Labour councillor in
Greater Nottingham
The Nottingham Built-up Area (BUA), Nottingham Urban Area, or Greater Nottingham is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics as which is built upon, with nearby areas linked if within 200 metres - see the List of urban ...
.
A
blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
marks Powe's family home and a bus was named after him in 2022.
Early life
Powe was born on 11 August 1926 in
Spanish Town
Spanish Town ( jam, label=Jamaican Creole, Panish Tong) is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and British capital of Jamaica from 1534 until 1872. Th ...
,
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
. His parents were, Richard Pow, a Chinese migrant to Jamaica, and Leonora Sinclair. They were shopkeepers.
Powe's father was Buddhist, his mother Catholic.
At the age of five he attended the Kingston Chinese school, thereafter St Ann's Elementary School in Kingston. Later he studied electrical engineering at Kingston Technical School before volunteering to join the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
(RAF) in 1944, pretending to be older than 17 years of age.
Upon arrival in England his name was changed from Pow to Powe. His birth name was Oswald George Pow, and he had a Chinese name also, named after his father. Powe later formalised the name changes by deed poll.
Career
Upon joining the RAF, Powe was posted to
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, and later relocated to
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
where he was trained as a radar operator. The RAF subsequently posted him to
Filey
Filey () is a seaside town and civil parish in the Borough of Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the East Riding of Yorkshire, it is located between Scarborough and Bridlington on Filey Bay. Although it was a fishing ...
,
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
, where he remained until he was
demobilised in Jamaica, in 1948.
On 2 October 1948, Powe travelled on the
SS Orbita to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, and later got a job as an electrician’s mate in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
. In 1969, he trained as a teacher before teaching mathematics at Robert Mellors School in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
.
He retired in 1983.
Politics and activism
In 1956, Powe campaigned for bike manufacturer
Raleigh Bicycle Company to improve their recruitment policies for Black workers. His successful campaign, which included arranging the threat of a Jamaican
trade embargo
Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they may ...
,
resulted in Raleigh eventually becoming one of the major employers of Black people in Nottingham.
In 1956,
Powe authored ''Don’t Blame the Blacks'', a publication about the UK's complicated relationship with other
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
countries.
In the 1960s, he was a leader in the campaign against a local
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
that refused to serve Black people.
In 1964, Powe was a key part of a campaign to push
Nottingham City Council to abolish their practice of channeling all labour complaints from Black workers though a specific welfare officer, rather than dealing directly with the complainants.
After initially joining the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
,
from 1963 to 1966 Powe was elected as the
Labour Party local councillor for
Long Eaton in
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
. From 1989 to 1992 he was the Labour councillor for
Nottinghamshire County Council
Nottinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire in England. It consists of 66 county councillors, elected from 56 electoral divisions every four years. The most recent election ...
,
making him one of the first Black Labour councillors in the UK,
and the first in
Greater Nottingham
The Nottingham Built-up Area (BUA), Nottingham Urban Area, or Greater Nottingham is an area of land defined by the Office for National Statistics as which is built upon, with nearby areas linked if within 200 metres - see the List of urban ...
.
In 1972, Powe was the chairman of a committee who successfully campaigned for better treatment of Pakistani workers at Nottingham textile company Crepe Sizes Ltd.
He was a key part of founding th
African Caribbean National Artistic Centre now one of the UK's oldest Black community centres.
In 2011, Powe donated his documents to th
Nottingham Black Archive
Family life
Powe had five children with Barbara Florence Pool, who he met in 1948, one of whom died at a young age. They separated in 1970 and divorced in 1977. He married Jill Westby in 1982.
Death and legacy
Powe died at home on 9 September 2013,
aged 87.
His funeral was held in
Mansfield Road Baptist Church and he was buried in Wilford Hill Cemetery, Nottingham.
Powe was a community elder and a founding member of the African Caribbean National Artistic Centre (ACNA Centre), one of the UK's oldest Black community centres.
In 2011, Powe donated a substantial number of historic documents to th
Nottingham Black Archive as well as being filmed for a documentary about the experiences of black servicemen who came to the UK following WW2.
In 2021, Powe's activism was the focus of the ''Don't Blame the Blacks'' exhibition at
Nottingham Castle.
A
blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
was installed on the Powe family home in July 2022,
and
named a bus after Powe in August 2022.
References
External links
Official website''Don't Blame the Blacks'', 1956 publication
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powe, Oswald George
1926 births
2013 deaths
British anti-racism activists
Migrants from British Jamaica to the United Kingdom
Royal Air Force personnel of World War II
People from Spanish Town
20th-century British writers
British schoolteachers
Politicians from Nottingham
Schoolteachers from Nottinghamshire