George was born in Jamaica in 1926, when it was part of the British Empire. During the Second World War, George joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) and travelled to Britain. He enjoyed life in the service and stayed in the RAF until 1981.
George was born in August 1926 in Port Maria, Jamaica. He was still at school when the Second World War broke out in 1939. His head teacher read out news of the war’s progress to the school every morning.
In 1944 George, now eighteen years old, decided to join the Royal Air Force to ‘go across to get to know the Mother Country’.
He arrived in Britain a few months later. It took some time for him to get used to the food, which he thought was ‘terrible’, and the ‘bitterly cold’ weather.
As the war came to an end, George recalls
‘People used to ask us, “when are you going to go home? You know, because the war is finished.”’
After the war he did go home. But he came back to Britain with nearly 500 others, mostly ex-servicemen from the West Indies on the MV Empire Windrush in June 1948 and chose to stay in the RAF.
‘They laid things like boiled onions you know and we weren’t accustomed to eating things like that...’
During his time with the RAF, George has served in Egypt, Aden, Germany, Christmas Island, Cyprus and over twenty postings throughout Britain. He reached the rank of Flight Sergeant and left the RAF in 1981.
George now lives in west Oxfordshire. Since retirement, George has been very active in his community. He has been a town councillor, deputy mayor, district councillor and a cricket umpire.
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