Sam Beaver King

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(20 February 1926 – 17 June 2016) was a Jamaican-British campaigner. He first came to England as an engineer in the RAF during the Second World War but returned to Jamaica in 1947. Failing to settle there, King took passage to London on the famous 1948 ''

Empire Windrush HMT ''Empire Windrush'', originally MV ''Monte Rosa'', was a passenger liner and cruise ship launched in Germany in 1930. She was owned and operated by the German shipping line in the 1930s under the name ''Monte Rosa''. During World War II she ...

'' sailing. He later became the first black mayor of Southwark and a campaigner in support of West Indian immigrants to the country.

Early life and career

King was born at Priestman's River in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

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 ...

, on 20 February 1926. He was one of ten siblings in a strong Christian household and helped on the family's banana farm.

Patrick Vernon Patrick Philip Vernon (born 1961)"Patrick Vernon"
, Sankofa 2013: Teachers' R ...

OBE
"Sam King MBE — Windrush Pioneer and Christian Advocate (1926–2016)"
''Keep the Faith'', 6 July 2016. In 1944 King responded to an advertisement in ''

The Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...

'' that called for volunteers to join the British

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) to fight in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After carrying out initial training in Kingston, he was posted to an RAF training centre at

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 ...

in Yorkshire and thence to

RAF Hawkinge Royal Air Force Hawkinge or more simply RAF Hawkinge is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Ashford, north of Folkestone, Kent and west of Dover, Kent, England. The airfield was used by both the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal ...

, a fighter base near

Folkestone, Kent Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

, where he worked as an engineer. He was demobilised in 1947 and returned to Jamaica. Back in Jamaica King struggled to settle into civilian life, finding it difficult to get work, and it was another advertisement in ''The Gleaner'' – for tickets on the ''Empire Windrush'' – that saw him return to the UK.

Migration to England

King disembarked at

Tilbury Docks The Port of Tilbury is a port on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It is the principal port for London, as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facilities for contai ...

on 22 June 1948, on the ''Windrush''′s now famous first journey, and rejoined the RAF. He left the armed forces in 1953 and settled in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, where he found work as a postman, the start of a 34-year career with the Post Office. King was heavily involved in London's West Indian community, including the 1959 Caribbean-style carnival first organised by

Claudia Jones Claudia Vera Jones (; 21 February 1915 – 24 December 1964) was a Trinidad and Tobago-born journalist and activist. As a child, she migrated with her family to the US, where she became a Communist political activist, feminist and black national ...

St Pancras Town Hall Camden Town Hall, known as St Pancras Town Hall until 1965, is the headquarters of Camden London Borough Council. The main entrance is in Judd street with its northern elevation extending along Euston Road, opposite the main front of St Pancr ...

in January 1959 that was a precursor of the

Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean festival event that has taken place in London since 1966

. He also helped to found the ''

West Indian Gazette ''West Indian Gazette'' (''WIG'') was a newspaper founded in Brixton, London, England, by Trinidadian communist & black nationalist activist Claudia Jones (1915–1964) in March 1958. The title as displayed on its masthead was subsequently expande ...

'', the first British newspaper written specifically for a black readership, and was its circulation manager in the mid-1950s. King served as a local councillor for six months before being elected mayor of the

London Borough of Southwark The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas ...

in 1983. He was the first black mayor in the borough and was, at the time, the only black mayor in London. King set up the Windrush Foundation, with

Arthur Torrington Arthur Torrington CBE is a Guyanese-born community advocate and historian who is Director and co-founder of the London-based Windrush Foundation, a charity that since 1996 has been working to highlight the contributions to the UK of African and Ca ...

, in 1996 to preserve the memories of those who arrived on that voyage and to campaign on behalf of West Indian immigrants. He campaigned for the date of the ''Windrush''s arrival to be established as a public holiday to mark the contributions of immigrants to British society and became so closely associated with this cause that he was known as "Mr Windrush". King was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1998 as part of the 50th-anniversary celebrations of

Windrush Day Windrush Day was introduced in June 2018 on the 70th anniversary of the ''Windrush'' migration. Though Windrush Day is not a bank holiday in the United Kingdom, it is an observed day. It is on 22 June. It was instituted following a successful cam ...

. That same year he published his autobiography, ''Climbing up the Rough Side of the Mountain''.

Personal life

King was a

lay preacher Lay preacher is a preacher or a religious proclaimer who is not a formally ordained cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presidi ...

, having taken a ministerial course at

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

. A lifelong advocate of socialism and cricket, he began to read the ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'' in 1948 because, despite having "no time for their politics or their editorials", he was captivated by the writing of that paper's cricket correspondent, E. W. Swanton. He recalled in a 2008 ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

'' interview that "...the first time I read Swanton, he spoke of the smack of willow on leather, of the bowler holding a true line, of sunshine on the grass and pretty girls in summer frocks. That was a world I knew. Cricket is not a sport, it's a way of life,". King fell ill in early 2016 and died on 17 June that year, aged 90. He had been twice married and had two children, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Among those who paid tribute to him was

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

leader

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...

, who described King as "a legend": "He educated Londoners with Caribbean food, Caribbean culture, Caribbean music. London is a better place, Britain is a better place thanks to him and his family." His funeral took place at

Southwark Cathedral Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwark. ...

on Tuesday, 19 July, attended by some 500 mourners representing family, friends, colleagues and dignitaries. King was named on the 2020 list of

100 Great Black Britons ''100 Great Black Britons'' is a poll that was first undertaken in 2003 to vote for and celebrate the greatest Black Britons of all time. It was created in a campaign initiated by Patrick Vernon in response to a BBC search for '' 100 Greatest Brit ...

.Rhian Lubin
"Black heroes who helped shape Britain - from Queen of the Ivories to a Tudor trumpeter"
'' The Mirror'', 11 September 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Sam Beaver 1926 births 2016 deaths People from Portland Parish Migrants from British Jamaica to the United Kingdom Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Councillors in the London Borough of Southwark Mayors of places in Greater London Members of the Order of the British Empire Jamaican activists Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Black British activists Black British politicians