Trini-born British actor awarded CBE from Prince Charles

Trinidad and Tobago born actor Rudolph Walker has been awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the Prince of Wales for services to drama and charity.
At the investiture ceremony at St James Palance yesterday Walker 81, said he had not “in my wildest dreams” imagined he would receive the honour.
“My message to all the youngsters is if I can do it, so can they. Things are tough but everything is achievable,” he said.
“Who would have thought that when I set sail for the shores of the UK in 1960 that I’d be at St James’s Palace receiving an award. Not in my wildest dreams.“It sends a message to the people in the UK but also young people in the Caribbean But there is still a long way to go.”
CBE is the highest-ranking British Empire award. King George V created the Orders of the British Empire awards during World War I to reward services to the war effort by people bravely working on the homefront. They are given to people for the profound positive impact they have made in their work.
Walker, who is originally from San Juan, began acting as an eight-year-old in primary school, going on to join Derek Walcott’s Trinidad Theatre Workshop as its youngest member.
He migrated to Britain at age 20 in 1960 after fellow T&T actor Errol John convinced him to go to the UK, where the training was considered to be superior.
Walker was one of the first black actors to be seen regularly on British television and is well known for his comedic roles in Love Thy Neighbour which ran from 1972 to 1976.
Since 2001, he has played Patrick Trueman in the British television soap opera EastEnders.
Minister of Culture, Tourism and Arts Randall Mitchell took to social media to congratulate Walker on his award.
Source: Trinidad & Tobago Guardian, June 25, 2021