Background
Charles Thornicroft was born on February 28, 1936, at Fort Johnson, Eastern Province.
Charles Thornicroft was born on February 28, 1936, at Fort Johnson, Eastern Province.
Educated at Katapola School from 1944 to 1951, then in South Africa at Trafalgar High School, Cape Town, from 1952 to 1955 and at Founder’s Teacher Training Centre from 1958 to 1959.
After two years as a teacher he was awarded a Rotary Club scholarship to Bulawayo, Rhodesia, for a two-year course in primary school teaching. He returned to teaching in 1964 but became increasingly interested in politics. In 1967 he left teaching and became Minister of State for Technical Education. In 1969 he was appointed Minister of State for Transport, Power and Works. The following year he was made Minister of State for Education; then in 1971 he took over from Axon Soko as Minister of State for Technical and Vocational Training.
Rhodesian-trained teacher with highly esteemed talents for administration in the educational field which have twice made him the natural choice to supervise the expansion of technical education. A bespectacled, academic-looking person with an earnest but cautious approach to problems.