Vandals attack Bristol statue of black playwright with bleach

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Vandals launch bleach attack on Bristol statue of black playwright and actor Alfred Fagon that turns it white

  • Avon and Somerset Police investigating the attack on 1987 Alfred Fagon statue
  • Vandals have poured bleach over the statue of the black playwright and actor 
  • Fagon was born in Jamaica and was a member of the Windrush generation
  • He was the first black person to have a statue erected in their honour in the city 

By Jemma Carr For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Vandals have poured bleach over a statue of black playwright and actor Alfred Fagon in Bristol this week.

Avon and Somerset Police are investigating the attack on the monument, which was erected in 1987 in the St Pauls area of Bristol.

Bleach – or another corrosive substance – was poured onto the bust in the attack believed to have happened on either Tuesday or Wednesday. 

It comes after Black Lives Matter anti-racism protesters tore down a statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol on Sunday.

Vandals have poured bleach over the statue of the black playwright and actor Alfred Fagon in Bristol, in order to discolour the monument

Avon and Somerset Police are investigating the attack on the monument, which was erected in 1987 in the St Pauls area of Bristol

Avon and Somerset Police are investigating the attack on the monument, which was erected in 1987 in the St Pauls area of Bristol

FAGON’S LEGACY 

Alfred Fagon, was born in Jamaica and was one of 10 children. His father worked on a sugar plantation in Cuba. 

He came to England in 1955, and he started to work on the railways in Nottingham. In 1958, he joined the army where he served for four years and also became a middleweight boxing champion. 

On leaving the army, Alfred travelled around England singing calypso and then settled in St. Paul’s. Here he trained and worked as a welder then started acting and writing.

Alfred made his first stage appearance as an actor at the Bristol Arts Centre (off Jamaica Street, St. Paul’s) playing the Nigerian Officer Orara in Henry Living’s play, The Little Mrs Foster Show. 

After that, he took worked as an extra in television before he researched, wrote and performed John Bull, a play for HTV in 1969. As he had lived in Bristol in the 1960s and 1970s, and did youth work in Kingswood, much of his early writing was based on his experiences and what he knew about people in St. Paul’s. 

In 1970, Alfred made his first professional stage appearance in a play in London called Black Pieces. 

After that he appeared in many television, film, radio and theatre roles, including BBC television’s five part drama series, Fighting Back. 

Fagon was born in Jamaica and was a member of the Windrush generation, coming to England as an 18-year-old in 1955.

He settled in Bristol, where he forged a career first as a renowned actor in the 1960s and 70s and then as a playwright and theatre director before he died in 1986.

The statue was erected on the first anniversary of his death.

He was the first black person to have a statue erected in their honour in the city.

The annual Alfred Fagon Award was named after him. The award honours playwrights of Caribbean or African descent who are resident in the UK.

A police spokeswoman said officers in St Pauls were appealing for witnesses to the vandalism.

‘The incident, which seems to have left the statue covered with an unknown substance, had not previously been reported to police,’ she said.

‘It’s not clear when it happened but officers have recorded the incident and are making inquiries with Bristol City Council to clarify ownership and establish whether the statue has suffered permanent damage.’

The statue is owned by the Friends of Fagon Committee and maintained by the city council.

A spokesman for the authority said: ‘Council officers are investigating and will assess any damage that may have occurred.’ 

The vandalism comes after Black Lives Matter anti-racism protesters tore down a statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol on Sunday.

The vandalism comes after Black Lives Matter anti-racism protesters tore down a statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol on Sunday.