William Farquhar Conton was born on 5 September 1925 in Bathurst, Gambia, to the union of Cecil Conton (1885–1926) and Olive Conton, née Farquhar. The Contons and Farquhars were first-generation Sierra Leone Creoles of Caribbean origin who settled in Sierra Leone during the late nineteenth century.
William Conton was educated at CMS Grammar School in Sierra Leone before proceeding to Durham University in England, where he read for a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, graduating in 1947 as a member of St John’s College. Conton also served in the Officer Training Corps during the Second World War.
After graduating in 1947, he taught at Fourah Bay College for the next six years, moving on to become principal of Accra High School in Ghana. Returning to Sierra Leone, he was principal of two high schools, before rising to be chief education officer in Sierra Leone. He subsequently worked for UNESCO in Paris.
In 1960, Conton’s novel The African was the twelfth book published in the important Heinemann’s African Writers Series. In 1961, Conton published his two-volume work entitled West Africa in History, which covered various aspects of West African history and combined his interests and experience as a historian with his literary flair. In 1987, Conton published The Flights, which is in some respects a sequel to The African.
The African is a powerful novel about a young guy named Kamara who gets the chance to leave his village and go to school in Sagresa, the capital of Songhai, during a period when many African countries were in the process of achieving their independence. He is transferred from Sagresa to England to continue his schooling after clearing his examinations. The entire community, including his family, is counting on him to succeed. It is expected of him to return to his town and contribute after graduating. Along with them on their journey to England is Samuel, who ends up being his best buddy. They each have the same duties to their respective populations.
In 1949, William Conton married Bertha Yvonne Thompson, an educator, principal, and school proprietress, and the couple had five children. William Conton died in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in July 2003.
