https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Rosalind_Howells%2C_Baroness_Howells_of_St_DavidsRosalind Howells, Baroness Howells of St Davids - Revision history2026-06-19T23:16:31ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.44.2https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=Rosalind_Howells,_Baroness_Howells_of_St_Davids&diff=291075&oldid=previmported>Necrothesp at 16:50, 11 November 20252025-11-11T16:50:17Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|British politician (1931–2025)}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}<br />
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}<br />
{{Infobox officeholder<br />
| honorific-prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]<br />
| name = The Baroness Howells of St Davids<br />
| honorific-suffix = [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] [[Order of Grenada|COG]]<br />
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1931|01|10|df=y}}<br />
| birth_place = [[Saint David Parish, Grenada|St Davids]], Grenada, British Windward Islands<br />
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2025|10|14|1931|01|10|df=y}}<br />
| death_place = <br />
| image = Official portrait of Baroness Howells of St Davids crop 2.jpg<br />
| spouse = John Charles Howells (m. 1955; died 2004)<br />
| children = 2<br />
| party = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]<br />
| office = Member of the [[House of Lords]]<br/>[[Lords Temporal|Lord Temporal]]<br />
| termstart = 21 July 1999<br />
| termend = 10 January 2019<br />
| office2 = [[Chancellor (education)|Chancellor]] of the [[University of Bedfordshire]]<br />
| 2blankname2 = {{nowrap|Vice Chancellor}}<br />
| 2namedata2 = [[Les Ebdon]]<br>[[Bill Rammell]]<br />
| termstart2 = 2009<br />
| termend2 = 2014<br />
| predecessor2 = Sir Robin Biggam<br />
| successor2 = [[John Bercow]]<br />
| education = [[St Joseph's College, Reading]]<br>[[South West London College]]<br />
| alma_mater = [[University of the District of Columbia]]<br />
| birth_name = Rosalind Patricia-Anne George<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Rosalind Patricia-Anne Howells, Baroness Howells of St Davids''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE}}, [[Order of Grenada|COG]] (née '''George'''; 10 January 1931 – 14 October 2025) was a British [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] politician, who served as member of the [[House of Lords]] from 1999 to 2019.<ref>[https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2019-1-10/debates/F2774523-354F-477D-97A7-094399415EFE/RetirementOfAMemberBaronessHowellsOfStDavids][[Hansard]]: "Retirement of a Member: Baroness Howells of St Davids"</ref><ref name=":0" /><br />
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Having been appointed an [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) in the [[1994 New Year Honours]] for voluntary services,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=53527 |date=31 December 1993 |page=12 |supp=y}}</ref> she was made a [[life peer]] as '''Baroness Howells of St Davids''', of [[Charlton, London|Charlton]] in the [[Royal Borough of Greenwich|London Borough of Greenwich]] on 21 July 1999.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=55564 |date=27 July 1999 |page=8076}}</ref> The name [[Saint David Parish, Grenada|St Davids]] refers to the parish in [[Grenada]] where she was brought up, to the south-east of the island. She retired from the House of Lords on 10 January 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.parliament.uk/biographies/lords/baroness-howells-of-st-davids/2486|title=Baroness Howells of St Davids|website=UK Parliament|language=English|access-date=2019-10-31}}</ref><br />
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Howells was appointed a [[Order of Grenada|Companion of the Order of Grenada]] (COG) in 2009.<ref>{{cite news|date=7 February 2009|url= https://www.grenadianconnection.com/Grenada/ViewNews.asp?NID=6565&CID=15008&TC=825&EP=113&yr=2009&Cat=0000&Sch=|title= Message from Prime Minister Hon Tillman Thomas|work=Grenadian Connection|archive-date=19 January 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119183515/https://www.grenadianconnection.com/Grenada/ViewNews.asp?NID=6565&CID=15008&TC=825&EP=113&yr=2009&Cat=0000&Sch=}}</ref><br />
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==Early life==<br />
Born in Grenada on 10 January 1931, she moved to Britain at the age of 20, "joining the early wave of Caribbean migrants who would go on to shape the nation's social and cultural fabric", in the words of political commentator [[Patrick Vernon]].<ref name="Vernon">{{cite web |last=Vernon |first=Patrick |author-link=Patrick Vernon |title=Remembering Baroness Rosalind Howells |url=https://patrickvernon.org.uk/remembering-baroness-rosalind-howells/ |access-date=20 October 2025 |website=patrickvernon.org.uk}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><br />
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Howells was educated at St Joseph's College in Grenada, at [[South West London College]], and at the [[University of the District of Columbia]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name=":0" /><br />
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==Career==<br />
Howells served as the Director of the [[Greenwich]] Racial Equality Council, as well as a Community and Equal Opportunities Worker. She was a trustee of the [[Stephen Lawrence]] Charitable Trust, and served as the unofficial advisor to the Lawrence family.<br />
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Howells was the first black woman to sit on the [[Greater London Council]]'s Training Board; the first female member of the Court of Governors of the [[University of Greenwich]] and was the Vice Chair at the [[London Voluntary Service Council]]. She worked with the Carnival Liaison Committee, Greater London Action in Race Equality, and was an active campaigner for justice in the field of race relations. She was a trustee of the [[Jason Roberts (footballer)|Jason Roberts]] Foundation, which aims to provide a range of sporting opportunities for children and young people in the United Kingdom and Grenada.<ref>[http://jasonrobertsfoundation.com/thetrustees.htm Jason Roberts Foundation website.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120809082131/http://jasonrobertsfoundation.com/thetrustees.htm |date=9 August 2012 }}</ref><br />
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In March 2009, she was inaugurated as the Chancellor of the [[University of Bedfordshire]] in [[Luton]].<ref name="chancellor">[http://www.beds.ac.uk/news/2009/mar/090319-chancellor "Baroness Howells announced as new University Chancellor", University of Bedfordshire, 19 March 2009.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330003954/http://www.beds.ac.uk/news/2009/mar/090319-chancellor |date=30 March 2010 }}</ref> Howells was a trustee of St George's University's UK Trust and served on the board of the [[Windward Islands]] Research and Education Foundation (WINDREF), the research institute affiliated with [[St. George's University]].<ref>[http://www.sgu.edu/news-events/news-archives13-over-80-global-scholars-wcc.html#sthash.bFpBWp6g.dpuf St George's University.]</ref><br />
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==Personal life and death==<br />
Howells was the younger sister of Dame [[Hilda Bynoe]], who served as the first female viceregal representative in the history of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] as [[Governor of Grenada]] from 1968 until 1974.<ref>{{cite news | url= https://nowgrenada.com/2025/11/obituary-baroness-ros-howells-10-january-1931-14-october-2025/ | title= Obituary: Baroness Ros Howells (10 January 1931 – 14 October 2025) | work=Now Grenada | date=5 November 2025 | accessdate=6 November 2025 | author= | location=}}</ref><br />
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In 1955, she married John Charles Howells, and they had two daughters. He died in 2004.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2025-10-28 |title=Baroness Howells, the ‘quiet storm’ who battled racism and supported Stephen Lawrence’s family |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2025/10/28/baroness-howells-fought-racism-stephen-lawrence-obituary/ |access-date=2025-10-28 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref><br />
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Howells died on 14 October 2025, at the age of 94.<ref>{{cite news |title=Community mourns 'trailblazer' Baroness Ros Howells |url=https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/uk-news/2025/10/17/community-mourns-trailblazer-baroness-ros-howells/ |access-date=20 October 2025 |publisher=[[The Voice (British newspaper)|The Voice]] |date=17 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://blackwallst.media/baroness-howells-a-bridge-between-two-worlds/|title=Baroness Howells – A Bridge Between Two Worlds|website=Black Wall Street Media|access-date=20 October 2025}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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==External links==<br />
* [https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199899/minutes/991025/ldminute.htm Announcement of her introduction at the House of Lords] House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 25 October 1999.<br />
* [http://www.100greatblackbritons.com/bios/baroness_roselind_howells.html 100 Great Black Britons.]<br />
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{{Succession box<br />
| title = [[University of Bedfordshire|Chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire]]<br />
| years = 2009–2014<br />
| before = Sir Robin Biggam<br />
| after = [[John Bercow]]<br />
}}<br />
{{S-end}}<br />
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{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Howells, Rosalind Baroness Howells of St Davids}}<br />
[[Category:1931 births]]<br />
[[Category:2025 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Black British women politicians]]<br />
[[Category:Grenadian emigrants to England]]<br />
[[Category:Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II]]<br />
[[Category:Life peers created by Elizabeth II]]<br />
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]<br />
[[Category:Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014]]<br />
[[Category:People associated with the University of Bedfordshire]]<br />
[[Category:Labour Party (UK) life peers|Howells of St Davids, Rosalind Howells, Baron]]</div>imported>Necrothesp