Windrush: 'Train driver promotion was a big deal'

Oldain Williams was the first man from the Caribbean island Nevis to be able to drive a train, his friend says

A man who moved to Manchester from the Caribbean in the Windrush era showed how success was possible when he became a train driver, his friend said.

Oldain Ezekiel Williams arrived in 1959 aged 19 and was later given the key role for British Rail.

His friend, Whit Stennett, said his promotion was "a big deal" among his peers.

"We all shouted because we all felt that there was a place for us within Britain at the time," he recalled.

Mr Stennett, who also arrived in the city in the same year, said Mr Williams, who died in August 2020, was a "quiet and unassuming man" who would "always have his newspaper".

"At that time he was the only man from Nevis who was given the opportunity to drive a train," he added, remembering the jubilation felt by all of his friends when he was presented with his badge.

Mr Stennett, who played cricket with Mr Williams, said there were societal pressures at the time as he felt "the host community wasn't quite sure where they were going with us as employees, both in the NHS and others… and whether we should have been promoted".

Whit Stennett said his friend's promotion as a train driver was "a big deal"

This year marks the 75th anniversary of HMT Empire Windrush arriving in Britain.

It docked in Tilbury, Essex, on 22 June 1948, carrying more than 800 passengers from the Caribbean to fill labour shortages in the UK.

Many more emigrated to the UK between 1948 and the Immigration Act in 1971.

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Mr Stennett who served for almost 30 years as a councillor in Trafford and became the first black Lord Mayor of Old Trafford in 2003, said he was inspired by Mr Williams' promotion that he too could be successful in the UK.

"With his promotion, I felt yes there was a place for me in the post office and two years after I got promoted to be a higher grade postman - it was big deal," he said.

BBC Radio Manchester presenter Simone Riley says her late grandad was fascinated with trains

Mr Williams' granddaughter, BBC Radio Manchester presenter Simone Riley, said she had fond memories of being taken to visit Manchester Victoria as a child.

"My grandad always used to bring me here to take us on trips to Blackpool, to Morecambe and Scarborough, and he always used to say to me, come and look at the engine, he was fascinated about the way that the trains worked," she said.

Mr Stennett is campaigning to get a blue plaque put up on Mr Williams's former home in recognition of his contribution to the area.

He recalled him using a push bike to get to work for night shifts from Moss Side to Manchester Victoria railway station as there was no public transport and how the friends would joke about whether he had seen a ghost on his journeys.

"It was all of these things that made life bearable," he said.

Oldain Williams moved to England in 1959

Mr Williams was a keen cricketer

Mr Williams' British passport is a treasured keepsake for Ms Riley because her name features in it.

"I was added there as an infant and that was because from the age of eight my grandad used to take me to St Kits and Nevis in the six weeks holidays.

"I thought it was bleurgh - because my aunt over there was a headmistress which meant that I had to go to school, everybody here was on holiday, playing on their bikes, but I was at school."

She said she had now realised that would have been a "big achievement to save that money to take me away".