Obituary: George Powe (1926 - 2013) by Alan Simpson

[This obituary was written by my Alan Simpson, Nottingham South Labour MP, about his friend George.  It has been submitted to The Independent.]

GEORGE POWE

It was never clear whether George Powe was on St Ann's Well Road or not, when Nottingham's ‘race riots' took place in that late August of 1958. It didn't really matter. George knew that if he was not to be defined as 'the riot' he had better be part of the solution. And that's what his life was about.

Although George was probably Britain's first Black Labour councillor, most of Nottingham knew him for his community work. Born in Kingston, Jamaica (on August 11, 1926) George volunteered to fight for Britain in the Second World War.

He returned to Britain after the war, and in the late 70’s helped found the Afro Caribbean National Artistic centre (ACNA) in Nottingham. He continued as its Secretary for all but his final years. More than this, George was a key part of the glue that linked Afro Caribbean and Asian communities into the mainstream of city politics.

George already had a decade of anti-nuclear/CND campaigning tucked under his belt by the time we met in the early '70s. We were part of a movement that easily spilled over into education, anti apartheid and anti-poverty campaigns

George never lost sight of the importance of connecting big picture and small picture politics into a single vision. He was always doing 'casework' for people. It never mattered whether he was 'in office' or not. He just got on with it.

George would smile at today's burgeoning number of community food co-operatives. He had been in the vanguard of these, almost 40 years earlier. Knee-deep in the laughter and confusion of setting up the first St Ann's food coop, I recall George quietly saying "And no South African produce, right?"  It was just about getting the ground rules right. Of course families could supply ourselves with cheaper, better food. But we didn't have to do so off the back of a greater evil. 

George didn't strut any of this. He was content to be the engine that kept things running. 'Tie your ropes together', was the maxim George lived his life by. He did so within the Labour Party, within the peace movement, in education and in the community. 

What he brought as a young man, volunteering to fight in a war against racism and fascism, he continued to bring as part of his own post-war settlement. 

With or without the St Ann's race riots, George would have lived a life that was focused on building the peace, rather than just winning a war. Those who shared some of this with him will be eternally grateful for his company, his consistency and his comradeship. 

George died on September 9, 2013. He was survived by Jill Westby, his second wife (whom he married in 1982), his 4 children, 7 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.

ALAN SIMPSON  - Labour MP (1992-2010) and friend for 40 years.