Egbert Sylvester Carless OBE was a politician in Birmingham, England. Carless was born in June 1933. After working as diesel mechanic at a Jamaican sugar refining plant, he migrated to the United Kingdom, arriving in 1956. He was elected as the labour councillor for Aston ward in Birmingham, and was the first non-white councillor to sit on

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local authority for the city of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. Birmingham has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been reformed several times. Since 1974 the council has been a metropo ...

, serving until 1994. He was re-elected, representing Ladywood Ward, in 1998, serving until 2002. He was a member of the council's education committee. He was also chair of the board of governors of the city's Handsworth College, and oversaw its transition to be part of City College (now South & City College Birmingham. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

1998 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppleme ...

"For services to education and to the community in Birmingham". He was also made an Honorary Alderman of the city of Birmingham, in 1994. He died as a result of cancer on 14 August 2003. He had five children. A street in Perry Barr, Birmingham was named "Bert Carless Way" in around 2021. In December 2023, Carless' achievements were marked by the erection of a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

in his honour, in a building at the Handsworth College campus.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carless, Bert 1933 births 2003 deaths Jamaican emigrants to the United Kingdom Labour Party (UK) councillors Officers of the Order of the British Empire Aldermen in England People from Birmingham, West Midlands