Oswald George Powe, known as George Powe, was a Jamaican-born, England-based, radar operator, electrician, teacher, writer and racial-equality activist.
20 Facts About George Powe
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George Powe led a successful campaign forcing Raleigh Bicycle Company to improve their treatment and recruitment of Black workers.
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George Powe is the author of the 1956 publication Don't Blame the Blacks.
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George Powe was born on 11 August 1926 in Spanish Town, Jamaica.
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George Powe was later relocated to RAF Yatesbury, Wiltshire, for radar training.
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George Powe was then assigned for one year to RAF Sennen, Penzance, and then posted to RAF West Prawle, South Devon.
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George Powe returned to Jamaica in May 1948 and was demobilised in August.
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George Powe travelled back to England on the SS Orbita, disembarking at Liverpool on October 2,1948.
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George Powe subsequently worked in Birmingham and the East Midlands as an electrician.
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In 1956, George Powe campaigned for bike manufacturer Raleigh Bicycle Company to improve their recruitment policies for Black workers.
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In 1958, George Powe authored Don't Blame the Blacks, a publication about the UK's complicated relationship between Britain and its Commonwealth citizens.
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In 1964, George 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.
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In 1972, George Powe was the chairman of a committee who successfully campaigned for better treatment of Pakistani workers at Nottingham textile company Crepe Sizes Ltd.
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George Powe was a key part of founding the African Caribbean National Artistic Centre, now one of the UK's oldest Black community centres.
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In 2011, George Powe donated his documents to the Nottingham Black Archive.
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George Powe had five children with Barbara Florence Poole, whom he met in 1948, one of whom died at a young age.
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George Powe's funeral was held in Mansfield Road Baptist Church and he was buried in Wilford Hill Cemetery, Nottingham.
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George Powe was a community elder and a founding member of the African Caribbean National Artistic Centre, one of the UK's oldest Black community centres.
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In 2011, George Powe donated a substantial number of historic documents to the Nottingham Black Archive, as well as being filmed for a documentary about the experiences of black servicemen who came to the UK following WW2.
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In 2021, George Powe's activism was the focus of the Don't Blame the Blacks exhibition at Nottingham Castle.