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Erica Powell

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176:. Her close relationship and loyalty to Nkrumah bred a lot of rumours, both in Ghana and the UK. It also brought a lot of resentment from various quarters. She was accused of being a foreign spy whilst in Ghana. Nkrumah married an Egyptian even though they had no common language. He complained of being intensely lonely to Powell and wrote to her in 1965, saying "Did I ever tell you that I married not for myself but for the presidency?" Powell kept in contact with Nkrumah after he was removed from power, while he was in exile in 105:, President of Sierra Leone. She was a controversial figure, who was suspected by the British and by Ghanaians of lack of loyalty, and to have been too close to Nkrumah. She ghost wrote Nkrumah's autobiography, while also writing her own interesting biography, which was eventually published, after Nkrumah's death. 28: 205:
The title was drawn from the advertisement that she had applied to, in the 1950s. The biography was delayed for some years because Nkrumah objected to the tone of the initial drafts. It was noted that missing sections of letters hinted that she had a very close relationship with Nkrumah.
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Powell returned to Ghana in January 1955, to work for Kwame Nkrumah, a position she held for ten years. During that time she largely wrote Nkumah's (auto)biography, although this was not admitted until much later. She became close friends with the leading librarian
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on 15 March, 1921 into a middle-class family. She trained to be a secretary and then to teach. She came top of her class during the 1940
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as his private secretary from 1970 to 1979. She attended Nkrumah's funeral in 1972, as part of the official Sierra Leone delegation.
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On the rebound from a failed romance with a farmer in Lincolnshire, she accepted an offer in February 1952, from the
459: 141: 410:"Brighton Magazine - 'Notable Sussex Women': Award-Winning Author & Publisher Serves Up A Historical Treat" 449: 202: 137: 118: 173: 299: 359: 323: 265: 235: 160:. Her closeness to Nkrumah led to her being dismissed in 1954, and being sent back to the UK. 454: 444: 439: 386:"Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah: visionary, authoritarian ruler and national hero | DW | 24.02.2016" 145: 8: 365: 331: 271: 140:". She said that an attractive swimsuit got her the job of Private Secretary to the 168:, who provided calm during periods of stress. Other ex-patriots in Ghana included 169: 157: 136:
for the Colonies. They offered her the position of "Private Secretary (Female)/
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on 5 June, 2007. Her obituary was covered by the Times and BBC Radio.
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Shorthand and Typewriting exams. She went on to be employed by
153: 188: 94: 431: 201:In 1984, she published her autobiography, 26: 353: 351: 293: 291: 289: 287: 300:"Private Secretary (Female)/Gold Coast" 432: 357: 263: 259: 257: 255: 203:Private Secretary (Female)/Gold Coast. 348: 284: 267:Private Secretary (female)/Gold Coast 230: 228: 226: 172:, who visited her husband Thomas and 364:. Xlibris Corporation. p. 136. 358:Amamoo, Joseph Godson (2011-12-16). 316: 297: 475:British expatriates in Sierra Leone 252: 13: 223: 101:, President of Ghana and later to 14: 486: 180:until his death in April, 1972. 402: 378: 361:Ghana: 50 Year of Independence 1: 465:Ghanaian women civil servants 216: 470:British expatriates in Ghana 7: 236:"BBC - Radio 4 - Last Word" 10: 491: 142:Governor of the Gold Coast 119:London Chamber of Commerce 156:'s independence from the 81: 73: 51: 37: 25: 18: 146:Sir Charles Arden-Clarke 460:Ghanaian civil servants 414:Magazine.brighton.co.uk 304:www.britishempire.co.uk 108: 264:Powell, Erica (1984). 85:Presidential secretary 194:She later worked for 450:People from Brighton 174:Conor Cruise O'Brien 127:the second world war 298:Luscombe, Stephen. 183:Powell was made an 152:, then bidding for 113:Powell was born in 89: 88: 482: 424: 423: 421: 420: 406: 400: 399: 397: 396: 382: 376: 375: 355: 346: 345: 343: 342: 320: 314: 313: 311: 310: 295: 282: 281: 261: 250: 249: 247: 246: 232: 62: 60: 30: 16: 15: 490: 489: 485: 484: 483: 481: 480: 479: 430: 429: 428: 427: 418: 416: 408: 407: 403: 394: 392: 384: 383: 379: 372: 356: 349: 340: 338: 322: 321: 317: 308: 306: 296: 285: 278: 262: 253: 244: 242: 234: 233: 224: 219: 209:Powell died in 170:Dorothy Hodgkin 111: 69: 64: 58: 56: 47: 42: 33: 21: 12: 11: 5: 488: 478: 477: 472: 467: 462: 457: 452: 447: 442: 426: 425: 401: 377: 370: 347: 330:. 2007-06-23. 324:"Erica Powell" 315: 283: 276: 251: 221: 220: 218: 215: 158:United Kingdom 110: 107: 87: 86: 83: 82:Known for 79: 78: 75: 71: 70: 65: 63:(aged 86) 53: 49: 48: 43: 39: 35: 34: 32:fair use image 31: 23: 22: 19: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 487: 476: 473: 471: 468: 466: 463: 461: 458: 456: 453: 451: 448: 446: 443: 441: 438: 437: 435: 415: 411: 405: 391: 387: 381: 373: 371:9781462837618 367: 363: 362: 354: 352: 337: 333: 329: 325: 319: 305: 301: 294: 292: 290: 288: 279: 277:9780905838939 273: 269: 268: 260: 258: 256: 241: 240:www.bbc.co.uk 237: 231: 229: 227: 222: 214: 212: 207: 204: 199: 197: 196:Siaka Stevens 192: 190: 186: 181: 179: 175: 171: 167: 161: 159: 155: 151: 150:Kwame Nkrumah 147: 143: 139: 135: 130: 128: 124: 123:Barclays Bank 120: 116: 106: 104: 103:Siaka Stevens 100: 99:Kwame Nkrumah 96: 93: 84: 80: 76: 72: 68: 54: 50: 46: 41:15 March 1921 40: 36: 29: 24: 17: 417:. Retrieved 413: 404: 393:. Retrieved 389: 380: 360: 339:. Retrieved 327: 318: 307:. Retrieved 303: 270:. C. Hurst. 266: 243:. Retrieved 239: 211:Peterborough 208: 200: 193: 187:in 1958 and 182: 166:Evelyn Evans 162: 134:Crown Agents 131: 112: 92:Erica Powell 91: 90: 67:Peterborough 20:Erica Powell 455:Secretaries 445:2007 deaths 440:1921 births 74:Nationality 55:5 June 2007 434:Categories 419:2019-11-06 395:2019-11-03 341:2019-11-02 309:2019-11-02 245:2019-11-02 217:References 138:Gold Coast 59:2007-06-06 336:0140-0460 328:The Times 191:in 1960. 125:, during 115:Brighton 45:Brighton 77:British 57: ( 390:DW.COM 368:  334:  274:  178:Guinea 154:Ghana 366:ISBN 332:ISSN 272:ISBN 109:Life 52:Died 38:Born 189:OBE 185:MBE 95:OBE 436:: 412:. 388:. 350:^ 326:. 302:. 286:^ 254:^ 238:. 225:^ 144:, 129:. 422:. 398:. 374:. 344:. 312:. 280:. 248:. 61:)

Index


Brighton
Peterborough
OBE
Kwame Nkrumah
Siaka Stevens
Brighton
London Chamber of Commerce
Barclays Bank
the second world war
Crown Agents
Gold Coast
Governor of the Gold Coast
Sir Charles Arden-Clarke
Kwame Nkrumah
Ghana
United Kingdom
Evelyn Evans
Dorothy Hodgkin
Conor Cruise O'Brien
Guinea
MBE
OBE
Siaka Stevens
Private Secretary (Female)/Gold Coast.
Peterborough



"BBC - Radio 4 - Last Word"

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