Arthur France

Last updated

Arthur France
MBE
BornSeptember 1935 (age 89)
Mt Lily, Nevis, British Leeward Islands
Occupation(s)Founder, Leeds West Indian Carnival
Awards Member of the Order of the British Empire
Hon LLD, University of Leeds
Hon D Arts, Leeds Beckett University

Thomas Arthur Benjamin France MBE (born September 1935) is a British community organiser who founded the first West Indian carnival in Europe, in Leeds in 1967. [1]

Contents

Early life

France was born in Mount Lily village, Nevis, in September 1935. [2] He is the son of Ebenezer France, and a nephew of Saint Kitts and Nevis politician and later national hero, Joseph Nathaniel France. [3] France grew up on Nevis, and in 1957 moved to Leeds in England.

Career and carnival

After arriving in Leeds, France worked as a porter with British Railways from 1957 to 1960. He later worked for the Simpson and Cook building company, Leeds, and began to study at Leeds College of Technology. In 1964, he co-founded the United Caribbean Association. [4] In August 1967, France established the Leeds West Indian Carnival; this was the first West Indian carnival in Europe. [5] [6] France continued to run the carnival committee for many years, and in 2017 the carnival marked its fiftieth anniversary. It remains the largest carnival outside London. [5] [7]

Recognition

France has been widely recognized for his contributions to society and culture, both in the UK and in Nevis. He was awarded an MBE in June 1997 for 'services to the Afro-Caribbean community in Leeds'. [8] He was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Leeds in 2015, [9] and an honorary doctor of arts degree from Leeds Beckett University in 2018. [10] [11]

France's contributions were celebrated by the Nevis Island Administration in 2017, on the 50th anniversary of the Leeds Carnival. [12] His portrait was commissioned and displayed in Harewood House as part of Harewood's 'open history' series, in 2022. His was the first portrait in a series titled 'Missing Portraits', which featured people of African-Caribbean heritage with connections to Harewood. [13] France was honoured with a reception at the House of Commons in 2023. [14]

In 2022, sociologist Max Farrar wrote an authorised biography of France, Speaking truth to power: The Life and Times of an African Caribbean British Man. [15]

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References

  1. ↑ "Harewood House: First Afro-Caribbean portrait for stately home". BBC News. 31 January 2023.
  2. ↑ "Barca-Leeds & Black History Month 2021 - Arthur France | Barca-Leeds". www.barca-leeds.org.
  3. ↑ "Saint Kitts and Nevis Diaspora Digest - Vol 1 Issue 2" (PDF). diaspora.gov.kn.
  4. ↑ "BBC - Leeds - Features - It's carnival time". www.bbc.co.uk.
  5. 1 2 "The Leeds West Indian Carnival is Fifty: Marking its African, Asian and European Heritage | Centre for African Studies (LUCAS)". lucas.leeds.ac.uk.
  6. ↑ "ASKaND Sentinel November 2022 - Vol 2 #003 by Association of St Kitts & Nevis Descendants - Issuu". issuu.com. 4 November 2022.
  7. ↑ "Leeds West Indian Carnival 'brings people together in harmony'". BBC News. 26 August 2024.
  8. ↑ "Page 26 | Supplement 54794, 13 June 1997 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  9. ↑ "Honorary degree for Leeds West Indian Carnival chief". BBC News. 17 July 2015.
  10. ↑ "Leeds West Indian Carnival chief honoured by Leeds Beckett University". BBC News. 16 July 2018.
  11. ↑ "Honour for Leeds West Indian Carnival founder | Leeds Beckett University".
  12. ↑ "Dr. Arthur France to officiate at Culturama opening". The St Kitts Nevis Observer. 26 July 2018.
  13. ↑ "Arthur France: Son of a Small Island – Harewood House". harewood.org.
  14. ↑ "Nevisian Arthur France Honoured at the House of Commons – Ministry of Foreign Affairs".
  15. ↑ Farrar, Max (2022). Speaking truth to power: The Life and Times of an African Caribbean British Man. The Authorised Biography of Arthur France, MBE. Hansib Publications. p. 296. ISBN   9781912662678.
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