A commemorative blue plaque has been installed at the former home of a South African journalist and ‘freedom’ writer.

Celebrated anti-apartheid writer Peter Abrahams lived at 37 Jessel Green, Loughton, before settling in Jamaica in 1956.

Abrahams, who was born in 1919 in Vrededorp, a suburb of Johannesburg, wrote novels exploring the injustices of apartheid and complexities of racial politics.

Loughton Town Council has installed a blue plaque at his former home in recognition of Mr Abrahams and in celebration of Loughton’s rich cultural history.

In 1939 Mr Abrahams left South Africa and worked first as a sailor, then as a journalist in London.

While working in London, he lived latterly with his wife, Daphne, in Loughton.

In London he met several leading black activists and writers including George Padmore, a leading figure in the Pan-African Community, Kwame Nkrumah of the Gold Coast, and Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya (both of whom later became heads of their respective nations).

In 1942 Allen and Unwin published his Dark Testament (made up of pieces he had carried with him from South Africa). Other works published included, Song of the City and Mine Boy (which became the first African novel written in English to attract international attention).

In 1956 he moved to Jamaica, where he settled, and was awarded the Musgrave Gold Medal for writing and journalism by the Institute of Jamaica in 1994.

Abrahams was found dead (aged 97) at his home in Jamaica in January 2017. A forensic examination showed he had been the victim of foul play.

Norman Tomlinson, a 61-year-old man, was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for seven years in 2018.

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