Prince's tribute to Windrush pioneer who has died aged 98

The Prince of Wales has paid tribute to Windrush pioneer and cricket trailblazer Alford Gardner, who has died at the age of 98, saying he “changed the lives of so many with his courage and positivity”.

William visited Mr Gardner at his home in Leeds last year for an ITV Windrush documentary, before taking him to Headingley cricket ground for a surprise celebration with stars of the sport.

Born in Kingston in 1926, Mr Gardner was 17 when he applied to join the RAF at the height of the Second World War, having seen an advert in Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner encouraging people to sign up.

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He had to be 18 before he could actually join and arrived in the UK in June 1944. He participated in basic training at RAF Hunmanby Moor camp, near Filey.

Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror Undated handout photo issued by the Daily Mirror of the Prince of Wales with Alford Gardner at his home in Leeds, West Yorkshire as part of Pride of Britain. The Prince of Wales will meet Windrush passengers in a new documentary to be aired on ITV later this year. The programme aims to celebrate the Windrush generation and its "pioneering" contribution to Britain. Issue date: Thursday June 22, 2023.Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror Undated handout photo issued by the Daily Mirror of the Prince of Wales with Alford Gardner at his home in Leeds, West Yorkshire as part of Pride of Britain. The Prince of Wales will meet Windrush passengers in a new documentary to be aired on ITV later this year. The programme aims to celebrate the Windrush generation and its "pioneering" contribution to Britain. Issue date: Thursday June 22, 2023.
Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror Undated handout photo issued by the Daily Mirror of the Prince of Wales with Alford Gardner at his home in Leeds, West Yorkshire as part of Pride of Britain. The Prince of Wales will meet Windrush passengers in a new documentary to be aired on ITV later this year. The programme aims to celebrate the Windrush generation and its "pioneering" contribution to Britain. Issue date: Thursday June 22, 2023.

During the war Mr Gardner worked as a mechanic repairing and maintaining vehicles.

Afterwards he did a six-month engineering training course in Leeds before being sent back to Jamaica at the end of 1947.

But unable to find work, he was among the 1,027 passengers and two stowaways who travelled to England on board HMT Empire Windrush to help to rebuild post-war Britain.

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He returned to Leeds, one of many who started a new life in the city, and was a founding member of the Caribbean Cricket Club, which is still going today.

Mr Gardner and his family settled in the Hyde Park area of the city and he put his wartime skills to use working as an engineer before retiring in the 1980s.

The prince said in a personal message posted on Kensington Palace’s social media: “I was so sorry to hear of the passing of Alford Gardner, one of the last surviving passengers of the Empire Windrush.

“I was delighted to spend some time with him last summer and hear his story. As a leading figure in the Caribbean community in West Yorkshire, he changed the lives of so many with his courage and positivity.

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“He leaves behind a legacy for us all to be proud of and will be remembered for his warmth, his courage, and of course his unwavering love of cricket! W.”

Mr Gardner recalled how he was told by a friend in 1987 that “people like me could be thrown out of the country”, adding that he responded by applying for British citizenship at a cost of £80.

He branded the Windrush scandal a “disgrace”. The scandal erupted in 2018 after it emerged that the Home Office had kept no records of those granted permission to stay and had not issued the paperwork they needed to confirm their status.

Mr Gardner was the figurehead of a campaign run by Leeds barrister Glenn Parsons, which started in 2020, for a plaque in Filey’s memorial gardens to make the 4,000 “invisible” volunteers – the Caribbean servicemen who trained at Hunmanby Moor during the war – “visible again”.

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Mr Parsons said Mr Gardner “epitomised the hard work, endeavour and commitment who travelled to this country from the Caribbean”.

He said: “He was always smiling and full of fun, with a mischievous twinkle in the eye”, adding: “Young people really took to him he was able to educate them, black and white, on the contribution made by people from the Caribbean over the decades.”

The England and Wales Cricket Board said Mr Gardner “did so much for the black cricketing community in this country”.

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