Louis Mowbray retired from the Bank of Bermuda in 1996 and became chairman of the recently formed St. George's Foundation in 1997.

He has St. George's in his blood through his ancestry with the Tucker and Higinbothom Families.

His grandfather, who founded the Bermuda Aquarium and his father who was its curator for many years were both born and brought up in St. George's. In the 1920s the family lived on Shinbone Alley.

Mr. Mowbray's passion for St. George's has shown in his leadership roles first with the St. George's Foundation and more recently with the World Heritage Committee.

As a leader he describes himself as focused on issues, acting as a facilitator and being persuasive.

He was very complimentary about the people and different agencies who helped with the application for World Heritage Status and made its success possible.

Mr. Mowbray has a quiet, pensive, calmness about him which makes him an ideal civic leader. He sees the big picture.

He mentioned people like Stanley Kennedy, architect and urban designer and Bert Winterbottom of LDR International of Maryland who developed the "St.

George's Heritage Plan -bringing history to life'' in 1995.

In preparing the plan they obtained contributions from the whole of St.

George's community to stimulate interest and support.

Since its inauguration the Foundation has been raising funds through private-public partnerships, working in conjunction with Government, the utility companies and the Corporation of St. George's.

Continued on page 22 Louis Mowbray, a force within The Foundation of St. George's Continued from page 6 Collectively they have been responsible for restoration projects in St.

George's including Barber's Alley, Customs House Square, Taylor's Alley, Featherbed Alley, Pilot Darrell's Square, Pound Alley, West Water Street and the creation of Smith's Garden.

Now the business at hand is turning to various tasks associated with St.

George's new status as a World Heritage Site.

"Recognition by UNESCO of St. George's importance to the World's cultural heritage is a great achievement for the Town and its related fortifications.

We now have a very special stamp of approval and join a powerful club which includes places like the Tower of London, the Taj Mahal, Edinburgh Castle and historic cities in many other countries.'' "The status identifies St. George's and Bermuda as a significant place for travellers to visit and we hope it will help the Foundation to raise funds internationally.'' "What it means to St. George's is announcing to the rest of the world that this is an important and significant site well worth preserving.

He explained some of the reasons why St. George's and its fortifications are considered so unique and have earned such an important international profile: St. George's is the oldest continuously inhabited town of English origin in the Western Hemisphere.

It remains in authentic condition, containing unique and diverse examples of Bermudian architecture spanning the past four centuries.

The forts in and around St. George's are without parallel and represent almost the complete range of British coastal fortification and artillery overseas from 1612 to 1956.

Four of the key objectives of the Foundation are creating a Heritage Visitor Centre at the Queen's Warehouse, restoring town streets, creating a waterfront development and implementing a `revolving fund' to enable the Foundation to purchase, and restore and then sell historic properties.

The funds are secured for the waterfront project by The Bank of Bermuda's Centennial Trust and construction is imminent.

"St. Peters is my favourite historical building in St. George's because it embodies the whole history of the town since 1612. It alone could be a World Heritage Site,'' Mr. Mowbray concluded.

As of January this year Mr. Mowbray resigned as the Foundation's chair but he continues as trustee.

David Rowntree accepted the role as chairman, Greg Haycock is the deputy chair, Carl Musson is treasurer and Sharon Jacobs is secretary.

Louis Mowbray -- outstanding civic leader.

St. George's Town Crier: E. Michael Jones, delights tourists at the Ducking Stool on the Town Square. You can usually find him on King's Square or Town Hall.