Born 6th September 1956, an English historian, writer and broadcaster whose working life has been devoted to the study and popularisation of the city of Birmingham. Born in Sorrento Hospital in Moseley and later went to Moseley School as well as Birmingham University. He initially followed his father and grandfather into bookmaking, before entering academia and attaining his PHD in 1986. He has been a proud Brummie and supporter of the community, in 1994 he was invited to write a 2-page feature on the local history of Birmingham by the Birmingham Evening Mail. His writing and broadcasting are deeply affected by his family’s working-class background and life in the back-to-backs of Birmingham and he is resolute in his belief that history must be democratised because each and every person has made their mark upon history and has a story to tell. In total he has written 35 books, focussing on the city of Birmingham and its people, most famously writing about Peaky Blinders, the real story of Britain’s most notorious gangs – a Sunday Times best seller. This later became a BBC2 documentary where he was a consultant historian. A former professor of community history at the University of Birmingham and is now Emeritus Professor. Awarded the MBE in June 2001 for his services to local history and fund-raising for local charities, and he has also been involved in building homes for orphans in Romania and refurbishing a school in the Andes in Ecuador. He believes passionately that through young people understanding their local and family histories they can reach out to the world, especially to the countries connected to Birmingham through migration. In so doing, they can learn to respect the diverse communities of the city and recognise that which we all have in common – Our Birmingham. It is our great pleasure, this evening, to present Carl Chinn, MBE, The Birmingham Award’s Lifetime Achievement Award.