Sam Beaver King MBE (20 February 1926 – 17 June 2016) was a Jamaican-British campaigner and community activist. He first came to England as an engineer in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) during the Second World War but returned to Jamaica in 1947. Failing to settle there, King took passage to London in 1948, sailing on the '' Empire Windrush''. He later became the first black mayor of

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 ...

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 most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, on 20 February 1926. He was one of ten siblings in a strong Christian household and helped on the family's banana farm. Vernon, Patrick OBE (6 July 2016)
"Sam King MBE — Windrush Pioneer and Christian Advocate (1926–2016)"
''Keep the Faith''. 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. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper in the Western Hemisphere. Original ...

'' that called for volunteers to join the British

(RAF) to fight in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After carrying out initial training in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, he was posted to an RAF training centre at

Filey Filey () is a seaside town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is located between Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Scarborough and Bridlington on Filey Bay. Although it was a fishing village, it has a large ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

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 Roya ...

, a fighter base near

Folkestone, Kent Folkestone ( ) is a coastal 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, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

, 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 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

, 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 United States, where she became a Communist political activist, feminist and bla ...

in St Pancras Town Hall in January 1959 that was a precursor of the

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

. He also helped to found the '' West Indian Gazette'', 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 the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council ...

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 Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE is a Guyana, 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 h ...

, 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 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 ...

in 1998 as part of the 50th-anniversary celebrations of Windrush Day. That same year he published his autobiography, ''Climbing up the Rough Side of the Mountain''. He is the subject of a 2023

ebook An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. A ...

by Angela Cobbinah and Arthur Torrington, issued by the Windrush Foundation.

Personal life

King was a

lay preacher A lay preacher is a preacher who is not ordained (i.e. a layperson) and who may not hold a formal university degree in theology. Lay preaching varies in importance between religions and their sects. Overview Some denominations specifically disco ...

, having taken a ministerial course at

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a Member institutions of the University of London, constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The G ...

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

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

'' 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, Unit ...

'' 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 leader

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

, 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 ( ), formally the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, is a Church of England cathedral in Southwark, London, near the south bank of the River Thames and close to London Bridge. It is the mother c ...

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 Brito ...

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

References

External links

Samuel King's account
of his life and World War 2 career,

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

oral history recording, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Sam Beaver 1926 births 2016 deaths Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Black British activists Black British politicians Councillors in the London Borough of Southwark Jamaican emigrants to the United Kingdom Jamaican activists Mayors of places in Greater London Members of the Order of the British Empire People from Portland Parish Royal Air Force personnel of World War II