Prince of Wales leads tributes to Windrush passenger

Prince William said Alford Gardner "changed the lives of many" through his work

Prince William has lead tributes to one of the last surviving passengers of the Empire Windrush, a ship that brought many Caribbean people to the UK after the Second World War.

Jamaica-born Alford Gardner came to the UK in 1948 on the famous HMT Empire Windrush.

He made his home in Leeds, where he founded Britain's first ever Caribbean cricket club.

He's now died aged 98, and Prince William, who visited him in Leeds last year, has paid tribute to the work he did in his community.

Here Alford and Prince William can be seen at the unveiling of the National Windrush Monument at Waterloo Station in London

The Prince posted on 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.

"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!"

Mr Gardner's children said his "laughter and larger-than-life personality were infectious".

They added: "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."

The life of Alford Gardener

Alford Gardner was a mechanic in the Second World War

Alford Gardner served in the Royal Air Force as a mechanic, and was stationed at Filey in North Yorkshire during World War Two.

In 1948, he came to the UK on the HMT Empire Windrush.

After settling in Leeds, he set up a cricket club and started working on improving community relations.

In November last year, Mr Gardner's name was inscribed on the wall at Leeds Civic Hall, to celebrate his contribution to the city.

A painting was made of him in 2023 to mark Windrush's 75th anniversary.

He also won Outstanding Contribution at the 2023 Pride of Britain awards.

What is the Windrush Generation?

The HMT Empire Windrush

Windrush Day takes place on 22 June, remembering the day when around 500 migrants from the Caribbean arrived at Tilbury Docks in Essex in 1948.

Lots of Caribbean people who had served in the UK armed forces during World War Two answered an advert to come to Britain where there were lots of different jobs to do.

In the years that followed, many more people from the Caribbean came to the UK, and now an estimated 500,000 people are considered to be part of the Windrush Generation as they are sometimes called.

500 people arrived on the first crossing and Alford Gardner was one of the last two surviving passengers

But when the passengers landed they didn't always get the friendly welcome they had hoped for.

Many of them experienced racism and discrimination and often found it hard to get proper home to live in and to make friends with British people.

And some of the people who arrived in the UK as children with their parents were later told - wrongly - that they live here illegally.