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Tom Steele was born in 1935, in the small iron ore mining village of Cleator Moore in West Cumberland, and was educated in Whitehaven Grammar School. After National Service in the Royal Air Force, he trained as a teacher at St Mary’s College, Twickenham, beginning his career teaching Physical Education in Notting Hill, but quickly moving into the Approved School Service, working in Kent and Surrey. He obtained a Diploma in Education of Children with Special Needs, and was appointed head of the remedial department of a secondary school in Canterbury, where he remained until his retirement in 1990. While in Canterbury, Tom became interested in the workings of local government, and for many years was a city councillor, his main interest being local planning and conservation.
Tom says: 'Canterbury is a historic and beautiful city, and I was both delighted and proud to have been elected its Mayor in 1988. For many years, Canterbury’s city fathers had requested of the Queen that she decree that the City should be a Lord Mayoralty. Imagine my delight when Her Majesty decided that this would be the case. Thus it was I became Canterbury’s first Lord Mayor. A classic case of being in the right “office” at the right time. To be so closely connected with this new chapter in Canterbury’s history was a great thrill. It became even more exciting when John Ward, a true friend of the City, offered to paint my portrait. Of all the wonderful experiences I had in the eventful year, none gave me greater pleasure than to sit for such a gifted, generous and charming gentleman.'
Tom was also interested in the judicial system and spent 22 years as a Justice of the Peace, becoming Vice-Chairman of the Bench. He retired from this position when he and his wife moved to France in 1999. They live in the Var region, close to the Bay of St Tropez, and find life ‘very acceptable’.
Royal Society of Portrait Painters People's Portraits collection at Girton College, University of Cambridge
Cambridge
Title
Tom Steele, Lord Mayor of Canterbury
Date
2003
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 39 x W 29 cm
Accession number
490
Acquisition method
on loan from the Royal Society of Portrait Painters
Work type
Painting
Royal Society of Portrait Painters People's Portraits collection at Girton College, University of Cambridge
Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB3 0JG England
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