Cecil E. A. Rawle (27 March 1891 – 9 June 1938),Gabriel Christian

Dominica Academy of Arts and Sciences, May 2011. . was a

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

n barrister and activist."Cecil Rawle"
, Caribbean History, ItzCaribbean.com.

Early life and education

Rawle was born in

Roseau Roseau (Dominican Creole French, Dominican Creole: ''Wozo'') is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725 as of 2011. It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George Parish, Dominica, Saint George Pa ...

, Dominica, where his

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The population of Trinidad is notably diverse, with approximately 35% Indo-Trinidadian, 34% ...

parents, William Alexander Romilly Rawle and Elsie Elizabeth Sophia Garrett, had moved. His father was head of the local branch of the West India and Panama Telegraph Company, the precursor of Cable and Wireless."Rawle, Cecil, Edgar, Allan (1891-1938)"
A to Z of Dominica Heritage, LennoxHonychurch.com. . Rawle attended Dominica Grammar School and

Codrington College Codrington College is an Anglican theological college in Saint John, Barbados, St. John, Barbados now affiliated with the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill. It is one of the oldest Anglican theological colleges in the Americas. It was ...

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. He subsequently moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he went on to graduate as a barrister at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1913.

Career

He practised law in

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

and Trinidad, before he returned to Dominica and went on to found the Dominica Representative Government Association. In 1924 a new constitution was granted and Rawle was elected to represent Roseau in the elections the following year. He was an avid campaigner and activist in the political arena in Dominica. In addition to practising law, Rawle owned the '' Dominica Tribune Newspaper'', which in 1924 he incorporated with the ''Dominica Guardian''. In 1932 he chaired the Dominica Conference,"West Indies: Conference"
''

The Crisis ''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly M ...

'', January 1933, p. 19. which became known as The West Indies Conference, at which there were representatives from Trinidad, Barbados, Dominica,

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...

St. Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305 ...

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

St. Kitts Saint Kitts, officially Saint Christopher, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis constitute one ...

and Grenada. The first regional meeting to be initiated by Caribbean leaders to discuss the future of the region, it led the way for the

West Indies Federation The West Indies Federation, also known as the West Indies, the Federation of the West Indies or the West Indian Federation, was a short-lived political union that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. Various islands in the Caribbean th ...

. In his final address, Rawle stated:

"We suggest that there should be a Governor General of the whole of the West Indies who in the exercise of the powers and authorities entrusted to him must act upon the advice of the Federal Executive Council....the Federal Assembly will from its own membership select for the Governor his advisers. The most radical change of all perhaps, is the proposal that the Governor General and in similar manner the Officers administering the Island Governments shall not have the power to disregard the advice of their Executive Councils. In Canada, Newfoundland, New Zealand, and even little Malta, the officers administering the Government act upon the advice of their Executive Councils. Why should the peoples of the West Indies continue to be burdened with executives irresponsible to the Legislature?"

In 1937, Rawle was appointed Attorney General of the Leeward Islands and moved to Antigua.

Personal life

Rawle married Eva Shillingford in 1919, the eldest daughter of planter Albert Charles Shillingford, and sister of businessman A. C. Shillingford.

Death & legacy

After moving to Antigua, Rawle died suddenly the following year, on 9 June 1938, at the age of 47. In 2007, a bust monument was erected of Rawle in Roseau.

References

External links

Cecil Rawle on itzcaribbean

Cecil Rawle - Dominica Heritage
* Gabriel J. Christian

Dominica Academy of Arts and Sciences.
''The Dominica Guardian'' issues from 1893 to 1924
available freely and fully as

Open Access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which nominally copyrightable publications are delivered to readers free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 de ...

in the

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rawle, Cecil 1891 births 1937 deaths 20th-century Dominica politicians Dominica people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Attorneys general of the Leeward Islands Dominica lawyers 20th-century lawyers People from Roseau