As Easter weekend comes round once more, Londoners are trying ahead to a protracted weekend the place some could head to church for an Easter Sunday service.
The London Borough of Croydon is way from the non secular significance of a Jerusalem or Bethlehem however it did play a component in making UK historical past.
The South London borough acquired the first Black Church of England bishop – Bishop Wilfred Denniston Wood.
Wilfred Denniston Wood turned Bishop of Croydon in 1985 in a interval the place racial tensions in Britain have been at fever pitch.
The 1981 Brixton race riots have been adopted by one other riot in the space 4 years later.
As a person of the material, Bishop Wood did not maintain again on talking towards racial injustice, which might be a big a part of his legacy, resulting in him being voted second to iconic nurse Mary Seacole, in a 2004 listing of 100 Great Black Britons.
How it began
Bishop Wood was born in Barbados in 1936 the place he was ordained a deacon.
1962 was when he first started working in London the place he served as a priest of Grade II listed church, St Stephen’s and St Thomas in Shepherd’s Bush.
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Bishop Wood gained consideration in the UK talking out towards racial injustice.
He famously proposed a alternative for the National Committee for Commonwealth Immigrants (NCCI) with a Community Relations Commission with some members to be straight election by ethnic minority associations.
He sat on the 1978 Royal Commission on Criminal Procedures the place it was really helpful that there be a impartial prosecuting service, which has now been established, referred to as the Crown Prosecuting Service.
This prevented having the similar officers who examine a case additionally prosecute a case.
Bishop Wood was additionally the moderator of the World Council of Churches Programme to Combat Racism, served as a lay Justice of the Peace and spoke out towards the honours given to Enoch Powell upon his loss of life.
When Bishop Wood was made Bishop of Croydon in 1985 it was a “nice day”, as he described it. Bishop Wood mentioned he acquired over 700 letters of congratulations and effectively needs when his appointment had been introduced.
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In 2000 the Bishop was honoured by Queen Elizabeth II who made him Knight of St. Andrew (Order of Barbados) for his contribution to race relations in the UK.
In 2002, Bishop Wood retired as Bishop of Croydon aged 66 and moved again to Barbados the following yr.
How it is going
Today, Bishop Wood has housing blocks and streets named after him for his relentless resistance to racism in the UK.
Bishop Wood continues to be alive in Barbados aged 84, though diabetes has induced him to lose his sight.
