Viva Brighton Issue #45 November 2016

INTERVIEW
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MYbrighton: Bert Williams MBE
Brighton Black History man
Do you live in Brighton? I do, I do. I’ve been
living in Brighton since 1967. I live in the same
house with the same wife and the same two kids.
My connection with Brighton started when my
two sisters were recruited from Jamaica in the
50s. They were some of the first black nurses at
Brighton General Hospital. They came over in
1955 and 1957 as 18-year-old girls, straight from
the country. They loved it. It was freedom. I came
over when I was 16 but had to wait until I was
seventeen and a half to join the Royal Air Force.
When did you first come to Brighton? I first
visited my sisters on the 31st of August 1960,
and Brighton was all colour. They took me to
Preston Park and it was one of the most beautiful
parks I’ve seen. Then we went to see the Royal
Pavilion, which I was blown away by. Then we
went to the Palace Pier and that was a knock out.
I just couldn’t understand how they could build it
on the sea.
How did you get involved with Black History
Month? When I retired from the NHS, I
started doing voluntary work with a group called
Mosaic, which is a black and mixed parenting
group with around 2,000 members. You’ve got to
remember that the BME people in Brighton are
quite isolated. They don’t live down one street,
so really the only way they see each other is if
they go to a meeting or a function. I asked the
children, “If we had an office, what would you
like to see?” and this little kiddie, he said “I’d like
to see more about my culture and heritage”. But
the only thing I could tell them is what I know,
about Jamaica, and I felt really bad so I asked the
library if they had any black history and I was
quite disappointed really. They said ‘there’s no
need really in Brighton because there’s not a lot
of BME people in Brighton. This was in 1992 but
when I started looking I found loads of it and I
couldn’t believe it... There’s so much stuff. The
more you look...
Where’s your favourite place in the city?
Oh man, when I have visitors, I like to show off
Brighton. I love the Downs and the Chattri is a
touching place. I love the seafront, but you take
it all for granted and only appreciate it when
visitors come. When children come down from
London I take them down the beach by the King
Alfred; down there the beach belongs to them…
What’s your local? When I played cricket I used
to be in the Ladies Mile pub all the time. Playing
darts on a Sunday morning. When you play
cricket you end up in a lot of pubs and private
clubs. I played for Brighton Hospital. Oh man,
we had a good side. Couldn’t beat St Francis
Hospital, in Haywards Heath, mind you. Because
they were a psychiatric unit and employed a lot
of men from Sri Lanka, India or the Caribbean.
A lot of the male nurses came from Barbados and
they were always good at cricket. Better than us
really. We’d go and poach them.
When did you last swim in the sea? Listen, I
went to Jamaica and didn’t even go in the sea. I
did roll my trousers up but I wouldn’t go in. It’s
definitely too cold. No, I’m a country person, not
a seaside person. Brighton is a beautiful place, it
is and it’s got such a history. I’ve had a good time
in Sussex. It’s beautiful. Interview by Lizzie Lower
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