The Nottingham Black Archive is proud to present the personal accounts of those who worked at Raleigh. Here you can find links to personal testimonies of working life at Raleigh.
Raleigh Industries, with a reputable 130-year history, was one of the largest employers of Black people in Nottingham post-war however, this privilege would be one that the Black community would need to mobilise for politically.
Oswald George Powe, ex-World War II Radar Operator, was one key individual who challenged systemic racism in relation to employment at Raleigh. It was through the work of World War II ex-servicemen like Powe that political protest in a bid to gain social justice began in the city.
Through a series of protests and demonstrations initiated by Powe, beginning with a letter to Raleigh in 1956, he changed the employment status of many of the Black community and ultimately their quality of life. While he advocated for Black people to work at Raleigh he never worked at Raleigh himself.
List of Raleigh Workers:
- Bettina Wallace
- Burnett George Anderson
- Cordova Smith
- David Sinclair
- Densel Davy
- Fay Osbourne
- Gladstone Deslandes
- Govern Murray
- Howard Edwards
- Iona Walker
- Jasmine Deslandes
- Lloyd Dunwell
- Llyod Ferron
- Lydia Benjamin
- Milton Fitzroy Cosdale
- Nigel Sutherland
- Phyllis Mighten
- Rosalind Jordan
- Roydon Allen
- Winston Smellie
- Winston Stewart
When We Worked at Raleigh 