Former member of the Royal Navy elected as new Telford & Wrekin Mayor
A councillor who served with the Royal Navy in the second Iraq war has been elected as the new mayor of the Borough of Telford and Wrekin.
Councillor Kevin Guy was elected at Telford & Wrekin Council’s annual council meeting last night with Councillor Leon Murray elected as deputy mayor.
Councillor Guy said: “I am very proud to be elected as the Mayor of the Borough of Telford and Wrekin.
“It is a great honour to be taking on the role of civic head in such an historic year.
“As a relatively young person, I intend to inject a new lease of life into the office of Mayor. I will take great pride in representing the best interests of all generations of our great borough.”
His family has lived in the Telford area for generations. He went to school in Wrockwardine Wood before studying Public Services at Telford College of Arts and Technology.
He then followed in his grandfather’s footsteps by joining the Royal Navy and served for seven years and saw active service in several theatres of operation. The last two years were spent working for NATO military intelligence in Naples.
After leaving the Navy, he studied at the University of Aberystwyth and graduated in 2009 with a degree in International Politics and Social & Economic History. He now works as an A Level lecturer at Stourbridge College.
Councillor Murray was born in Jamaica and emigrated to England in 1961. He was raised a Methodist and attended the New Street Methodist Church just two days after arriving in England. To this day, Leon regards the Methodist Church as his spiritual home.
He involved himself fully in the local community, becoming a lay preacher, a magistrate and helping West Mercia Police with the production of training materials.
He has also done much important work to tackle racial discrimination, including writing a thought provoking book on the subject called Being Black In Britain.
He is a member of the West Mercia Probation Board, director of four charitable trusts and was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Shropshire in 2004. He also was awarded the MBE in 2004
Councillor Guy has replaced outgoing mayor, Councillor Malcolm Smith, who was thanked by the meeting for his successful year in the post.
