Tributes are still being paid during this Black History Month, to Alford Gardner, one of the last surviving Windrush pioneers, who recently passed away.
One of the last surviving passengers of the Empire Windrush, Jamaica-born Alford Gardner served in the RAF as a motoring mechanic while stationed at Filey in North Yorkshire during World War Two. Returning to the UK in 1948 on the famous HMT Empire Windrush, Alfred settled in Leeds - creating the first ever Caribbean cricket club in the country and pioneering multi-community relationships in the West Yorkshire city.
Leeds's Caribbean Cricket Club, which was a focal point for the city's West Indian community in the 50s and 60s, is the longest running Black-led organisation in the city and the oldest of its type in the UK. The Lord Mayor of Leeds, councillor Al Garthwaite, said: "Alford Gardner is a true inspiration and a pioneer who has made a lasting impact on his adopted home while blazing a trail for so many members of the city's Caribbean community.
"We are proud to honour him for the contribution he has made to Leeds and to ensure that his remarkable story continues to be told for many generations to come." At a celebration to honour his endeavours, Prince William praised his "positive spirit" and said: "We are here because of one person, who changed the lives of so many."
"He approached it all with humility and humour but never shied away from mentioning the struggles for equality and fairness as well as the happier times too."
The HMT Empire Windrush, which docked at Tilbury in Essex, brought 492 passengers to the UK from a number of Caribbean islands, including Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, to help fill post-war labour shortages.
Paying tribute on X, formerly Twitter, The Jamaica Society Leeds posted that Mr Gardner had been "a proud Jamaican and part of a generation who helped to rebuild postwar Leeds and Britain".
"We owe him more than a tweet can say. Thank you, Mr Gardner. For everything," the society added.
Former England and Yorkshire cricketer Darren Gough paid tribute to Alford’s legacy, saying: "In Yorkshire, everyone knew about the Caribbean Cricket Club.
"To set up something that's lasted that test of time is an amazing testament to Alford himself and with the turnout today, it shows how well he's regarded in cricket." Well-known forgiving talks to students, community groups and a number of national bodies, the WW2 veteran – and a recipient of the 2023 Pride of Britain Outstanding Contribution Award - his name will be inscribed on the wall at Leeds Civic Hall in recognition.
Paying tribute to their father in a statement, Mr Gardner's children said his "laughter and larger-than-life personality were infectious," adding: "We are so very proud of our dad, all he achieved and the impact he made – not just on our lives, but on Leeds, the city he called home for 76 years, and on Britain too.
"As both a WW2 veteran and 1948 Windrush passenger, he was a true pioneer, a member of a generation of West Indian men and women to whom the country owes so much. And yet he found it amusing that a barefooted boy with big dreams growing up in rural Jamaica would be celebrated by communities, the nation and Royalty alike.”
Alford was 96.
