James Isaac Alexander Manswell (2 June 1927 – 18 September 2006), was born in Brighton La Brea, Trinidad and Tobago. He briefly entered the teaching profession in 1945 before joining the Civil Service on 14 July 1946 as a 2nd Class Clerk at the Port of Spain Magistracy. In 1950 he was elected Secretary of the Staff Side of the Magistracy Division of the Civil Service and followed that in 1955 by being elected to the Executive of the Civil Service Association(CSA) representing the Eastern Counties.