A memorial garden and plaque is to be unveiled to honour Caribbean RAF veterans in Leeds, to celebrate their legacy and contributions to the city, as the JSL (Jamaica Society Leeds) was set to unveil a memorial garden and plaque to honour Caribbean RAF veterans who settled in the city after serving in the Second World War.
The plaque, bearing the names of 49 veterans, will be unveiled at a special event outside the JSL offices at Jamaica House in Chapeltown. Describing them as “true pioneers”, JSL chair, Wendy Henry, said: “Leeds and the UK owe a great dept of gratitude to these heroes.
“As well as serving the country during the war and helping to rebuild post-war Leeds, they were at the heart of early community relations, the fight for equality and justice and helped to set up organisations that still operate today - including Jamaica Society Leeds”.
She went on: “Our members, partners, volunteers and friends coming together to transform our garden into a space of reflection and dedication in their honour is a testament to the respect and remembrance that they deserve.
“That so many of their relatives, from children to great-great-grandchildren, will be a part of the garden unveiling makes it all the more poignant.” More than 40 relatives are expected at the private event, alongside invited guests including His Excellency Alexander Williams, Jamaican High Commissioner to the UK.
Family members and RAF cadets was set to read the roll of honour, which also acknowledges unnamed veterans, with the unveiling followed by a wreath-laying ceremony and a rendition of ‘The Last Post Tenor Steel Pan Solo’ by Melvin Zakers of New World Steel Orchestra. Yvonne English, widow of Hubert ‘Glen’ English MBE (1926–2018), a founder of Jamaica Society Leeds, said it is an honour to pay tribute through a dedicated space.
“My late husband Glen was 17 when he left his parents and place at college behind to serve in a war thousands of miles away,” she said.
"Knowing that the garden and plaque with the veterans’ names inscribed on it, including Glen’s, helps to keep his legacy alive means the world to our family.” Barbara Goodison, daughter of Astley ‘Tommy’ Roy Thomas (1928–1960), said: “It’s just wonderful to see the veterans, including my father, remembered in such a meaningful way after all these years.
“They have not always been given the recognition they deserve for their services and contributions so it will be an incredibly emotional moment that I hoped but never believed would happen.” The Society has worked with families and the community since 2019 to compile the names.
The city’s last surviving Caribbean World War II veteran, Alford Gardner, died in 2024. The memorial was funded by Unity Housing, Wades Charity and the University of Leeds’ YPIP grant.
