Politician, Author. He is remembered as an influential British Tory politician of the 20th century and author. Born John Enoch Powell in the English city of Birmingham, Powell studied classics at Cambridge University and became Professor of Greek at Sydney University in Australia in 1937 at the age of 25. He mastered several languages. He returned to England at the beginning of World War II and enlisted in the Royal Warwickshire regiment, quickly rising through the ranks from private to brigadier. On leaving the army, at the end of the war, he worked as a political researcher for the Conservative Party, before being elected as the member of Parliament for Wolverhampton South-West in 1950. During his political career, he held several positions including Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Local Government from 1955 to 1957, Financial Secretary to the Treasury from 1957 to 1958, and Minister of Health from 1960 to 1963. His strong stance against what he considered to be disastrously lax immigration policies, especially from British Commonwealth nations, and the problems that they could cause Britain in the future led to his sacking from the shadow cabinet, following his infamous "Rivers of Blood" speech in Birmingham on April 20, 1968. With his non-white statements, some sources labeled him as a racist. He was also firmly against Britain joining the European Common Market. Donned in his brigadier uniform, he is buried alongside other Warwickshire Regiment veterans at Warwick Cemetery. He had two funerals, one was at Westminister Abbey. He published four collections of poetry: "First Poems", "Casting Off", "Dancer's End" and "The Wedding Gift". He wrote a number of books including "Common Market: The Case Against" in 1970, "Joseph Chamberlain" in 1977, and "A Nation or No Nation?: Six Years in British Politics" in 1979. He has 24 images at the National Gallery.
Politician, Author. He is remembered as an influential British Tory politician of the 20th century and author. Born John Enoch Powell in the English city of Birmingham, Powell studied classics at Cambridge University and became Professor of Greek at Sydney University in Australia in 1937 at the age of 25. He mastered several languages. He returned to England at the beginning of World War II and enlisted in the Royal Warwickshire regiment, quickly rising through the ranks from private to brigadier. On leaving the army, at the end of the war, he worked as a political researcher for the Conservative Party, before being elected as the member of Parliament for Wolverhampton South-West in 1950. During his political career, he held several positions including Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Local Government from 1955 to 1957, Financial Secretary to the Treasury from 1957 to 1958, and Minister of Health from 1960 to 1963. His strong stance against what he considered to be disastrously lax immigration policies, especially from British Commonwealth nations, and the problems that they could cause Britain in the future led to his sacking from the shadow cabinet, following his infamous "Rivers of Blood" speech in Birmingham on April 20, 1968. With his non-white statements, some sources labeled him as a racist. He was also firmly against Britain joining the European Common Market. Donned in his brigadier uniform, he is buried alongside other Warwickshire Regiment veterans at Warwick Cemetery. He had two funerals, one was at Westminister Abbey. He published four collections of poetry: "First Poems", "Casting Off", "Dancer's End" and "The Wedding Gift". He wrote a number of books including "Common Market: The Case Against" in 1970, "Joseph Chamberlain" in 1977, and "A Nation or No Nation?: Six Years in British Politics" in 1979. He has 24 images at the National Gallery.
Bio by: Kieran Smith
Family Members
Advertisement
See more Powell memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
