UK:Zim-born Marilyn Le Feuvre appointed deputy Lord Lieutenant for West Sussex

By Staff Reporter & Agencies

UK: Zimbabwe-born Marilyn Le Feuvre was recently named as one three new Deputy Lieutenants for West Sussex, deputising Lady Emma Barnard, who was appointed in 2022.

According to the office’s website, “As the King’s representative, the Lord-Lieutenant’s first and foremost duty is to uphold the dignity of the Crown by promoting a spirit of co-operation throughout the county, in encouraging voluntary service and charitable work, and taking an active interest in the business, industrial, social and cultural life of West Sussex.”

West Sussex currently has 26 deputies, although the Lord-Lieutenant is allowed to appoint 52 based on the county’s population of 882,700.

Marilyn Le Feuvre was born in Rusape and became a British Red Cross volunteer at the age of 11. She was employed by the University of Zimbabwe as a research midwife before moving to Crawley Hospital in 1990.

Marilyn then completed her BSc (Honours) Podiatry degree at the University of Brighton in 2000 and continued her community engagement by co-founding the Crawley Black History Foundation (2000-2015) and also co-founding DIVERSECrawley in 2017, which she still chairs.

In 2021 Crawley Borough Council recognised her 25 years of community service, including setting up food parcel distribution with her Gatwick Seventh Day Adventist Church members, by giving her the Crawley Community Volunteer Award.

Marilyn continues to collaborate with many local organisations and groups such as Crawley Interfaith Network, Ugandan Association, Gambian Association, Tamil Group, GHU and NHS Retirement Fellowship. She is currently a trustee of the Longley Trust, Crawley Community Action and Crawley Museum.

After being widowed, Marilyn recently became engaged to Peter Mansfield-Clark, MBE. She has two children, Charlene and Marlon, and six grandchildren, and she enjoys reading and travelling.