Bert Carless
BornJune 1933 Edit this on Wikidata
Died14 August 2003 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 69–70)
OccupationMechanic, politician Edit this on Wikidata
Political partyLabour Party Edit this on Wikidata
Awards

Egbert Sylvester Carless OBE was a politician in Birmingham, England.[1][2]

Carless was born in June 1933.[3] After working as diesel mechanic at a Jamaican sugar refining plant, he migrated to the United Kingdom, arriving in 1956.[2]

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, serving until 1994.[2][1] He was re-elected, representing Ladywood Ward, in 1998, serving until 2002.[1] He was a member of the council's education committee.[4]

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.[2]

He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1998 Birthday Honours "For services to education and to the community in Birmingham".[5] He was also made an Honorary Alderman of the city of Birmingham, in 1994.[1]

He died as a result of cancer on 14 August 2003.[2][1] He had five children.[2]

A street in Perry Barr, Birmingham was named "Bert Carless Way"[lower-alpha 1] in around 2021.[4]

In December 2023, Carless' achievements were marked by the erection of a blue plaque in his honour, in a building at the Handsworth College campus.

Notes

  1. ↑ Bert Carless Way coordinates: 52°31′00″N 1°53′50″W / 52.516722°N 1.897348°W

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Death of Birmingham's First Black Councillor". Local Government Chronicle. 20 August 2003. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jolly, Bradley; Clarke, Nathan (13 December 2023). "Brum's first Black councillor to be honoured - but activist says 'it's too late'". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  3. ↑ "Egbert Sylvester CARLESS personal appointments". UK Government.
  4. 1 2 "Perry Barr street to be named after Birmingham's first black councillor". Birmingham City Council. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "No. 55155". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 1998. p. 10.
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