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The footage was incorporated, together with animations made by Marylebone school children, into a 2010 film describing Ekpenyon's experience in the air raid shelter incident. įootage of Ekpenyon at a 1941 Remembrance Day march was filmed by Marylebone mayor Alfred Coucher the footage was lost but rediscovered in 2010. Ekpenyon wrote a memoir of his ARP service and became "among the most well-known of the black people who experienced the Blitz". He became a postman, a job he held until his death in 1951. Later life and legacy Īfter the war Ekpenyon gave up on his legal ambitions due to a lack of funding to continue his studies. He also took part in BBC Radio's Empire series, speaking in English and Efik, and in a newsreel documenting the handing over of a tank paid for by a Nigerian chief. One of his radio talks was published as Some Experiences of An African Air-Raid Warden.
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During the war he wrote for and spoke on a BBC Radio series entitled Calling West Africa, that aimed to demonstrate the commitment of the Empire to the fight against fascism. He intervened and persuaded the occupants to admit the foreign nationals, stressing the need for "friendliness, co-operation and comradeship" to best survive the war. On one occasion Ekpenyon witnessed some foreign nationals being refused entry into a public shelter by its British occupants. I had heard of such child-like beliefs, but I am delighted that such beliefs exist". He noted that some residents regarded him as a lucky mascot "people believe that because I am a man of colour, I am a lucky omen. Įkpenyon later recalled that he was generally well treated, though he encountered some casual racism.
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Ekpenyon is the only known black air raid warden. Ekpenyon became a senior air raid warden with responsibility for monitoring compliance with the blackout laws, keeping order in public air raid shelters and assisting people to safety during raids. He was enrolled in D Section of the St Marylebone Borough Council Civil Defence Volunteer unit on 5 February 1940.
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Second World War Įkpenyon was too old to serve in the military during the Second World War but volunteered to join Air Raid Precautions, a government civil defence organisation. He also appeared in the 1940 London Films' picture The Thief of Bagdad. As well as appearing in the latter film, Ekpenyon coached the American Robeson in the Efik language, Ekpenyon having previously contributed to a textbook on the language, which was used by British colonial officials. Ekpenyon became an actor and featured, with Paul Robeson, in the 1935 London Films picture Sanders of the River and, again with Robeson, in 1937 Gaumont-British picture King Solomon's Mines. Ekpenyon lived in Great Titchfield Street, near Oxford Circus, and studied law one of a small community of 15,000 black Africans in London at this time. His daughter stated that he was a headteacher in Nigeria before going to London in 1928. Ita Ekpenyon was born in Creek Town in Calabar, Nigeria, in 1899. After the war Ekpenyon gave up on his ambitions for a career in law and became a postman. In 2021 a Lucy Worsley docudrama featured Ekpenyon's life. Ekpenyon wrote a memoir on his ARP service and also featured in wartime broadcasts to demonstrate the commitment of West Africans to the war effort. Ekpenyon witnessed foreign nationals being barred from one air raid shelter and intervened to persuade the occupants to admit the newcomers the incident was made into an animated film in 2010.
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He recounted that some London residents regarded him as lucky because of the colour of his skin, but he also encountered casual racism. When the Second World War broke out, being too old to serve in the military, he joined the ARP service as a warden. Ekpenyon later taught the language to American actor Paul Robeson, with whom he acted in the 1930s films Sanders of the River and King Solomon's Mines. A speaker of the Efik language he contributed to a textbook that was used by colonial authorities in Nigeria. Ekpenyon was a teacher in Nigeria but came to London to study law. Ita Ekpenyon (1899–1951) was a Nigerian teacher and actor who was also the only known black Air Raid Precautions (ARP) warden in the United Kingdom.