Agnes Slocombe, the first-ever black mayor of Barnet and a long-serving Hendon church minister, died at the weekend (July 12) aged 90.
Agnes, a former NHS nurse, was first elected a Labour councillor for West Hendon in 1982 and served on Barnet Council for nearly four decades until losing the 2018 local election.
The great-grandmother became mayor in 1997, launching a successful fundraising appeal for the Alzheimer’s Society, her chosen charity as mayor.
But she was also a eucharistic minister at St John’s Church in West Hendon. Her work with the church received royal recognition in 2021 with a Maundy gift from the late Queen Elizabeth.
“Agnes broke down barriers as the first black mayor of Barnet and a role model for many people,” Barnet Council leader Barry Rawlings said. “That legacy will live on through community groups she founded as a pillar of the community for 40 years.”
The Leader of Barnet Council’s opposition group, Cllr Peter Zinkin, also paid tribute. He said: “Agnes Slocombe MBE was a deeply committed public servant who dedicated many years to the people of Barnet. She was a trailblazer. She brought wisdom, warmth and a strong sense of duty to her work as a councillor for the residents of West Hendon, and she will be remembered with great affection and respect by colleagues across all parties.”
Agnes lost her West Hendon council seat in the 2018 local elections in a surprise result, but was phlegmatic about it.
She told the Barnet Times after losing: “I don’t know what happened but if you believe in democracy you need to accept that you win some and lose some. Whatever will be, will be. These things happen.
“But don’t worry about me — I’ve got plenty of work to do.”
Agnes was recognised in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours with an MBE “for services to the community”.
She was also a governor at Whitefield School in Cricklewood, a founder-member of the Barnet Multicultural centre in West Hendon and was instrumental in the establishment of both the Barnet African Caribbean Association and the Barnet Community Relations Group.
The Mayor of Barnet, Danny Rich, paid his tribute this week to Agnes Slocombe, saying: “Agnes was an inspiration to anyone who met her, a servant of the community whether that meant her neighbours, church or the council.”
Agnes was born in Barbados and emigrated to Britain in her 20s as part of the Windrush generation in the 1950s and married a London bus driver.
She gave up her career as a general nurse to raise her three children. But work on Barnet Council kept her busy.
Agnes is survived by her children Paulette, Yolander and Anderson, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
