‘I’d completed my nursing training in St Kitts, the neighbouring island to my home on Nevis, in the Caribbean, and I was inspired by my matron there to come to the UK. It was 1959 and on my acceptance, aged 21, I flew over with my boyfriend, James Nesbitt, to begin a new life.
‘I had family already living in England who had described it to me, but when I arrived, I was still shocked by all the fog and smog, and smoke coming out of chimneys.
‘I headed to Leeds, where my family were living, and applied to St James’s Hospital in the city. There, I was made to complete 12 weeks of basic training, all of which I already knew. I was one of just two Black nurses…
