Levi and Sylvia

Levi was born over 100 years ago in Mount Salus, in the district of St Andrew, in the Jamaican countryside.

He had a happy childhood in a loving family, with one brother and six sisters.  Levi's father was a farmer who grew a variety of crops. According to Levi, "Whatever his hands found to do, he did it."

As soon as he reached school age, Levi would walk a mile and a half to Mannings Hill School. He used to love playing with his school friends on the journey there and back. When he finished school, he joined his father and helped out on the farm.

It was a small neighbourhood; everybody knew each other and attended the same church. One of the congregation was Sylvia, and she and Levi became a couple. According to Levi, there were lots of things that he liked about Sylvia. Sylvia liked the fact that Levi was a gentle, quiet man. They married in 1957.

Levi worked on orange and sugar cane farms in the USA for a couple of years before coming to England with two family friends in 1961.

He remembers it being freezing when he first arrived in London. This was before The Clean Air Act, and the pollution was terrible. Levi recalled that men with lanterns would walk in front of buses to guide the drivers through the smog. Levi saw the signs, "No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs," and often experienced racism when trying to find places to live and work.

They found accommodation in Battersea, and it was basic, to say the least. The three men had to share a single room. There were regular power cuts, no central heating, just a small paraffin heater in the corner.

On top of this, Levi desperately missed Sylvia and their three young kids. But he hoped that coming to England was a way of building a better life for his family. He knew that if he worked hard, he'd save enough to send for them so they could all be together again.

In the 60s, there was plenty of work in London, and Levi did many different jobs. He worked in factories and on building sites, and after a year, he had saved up enough to send for Sylvia. She left their three children with their grandparents, and once she found work in London, it was only a short time before the couple got enough together to send for their children.

Around this time, the couple also bought their family home. A house in Wandsworth that they still live in today.  They love the area. It's changed a lot over the years. It has become more diverse and, thankfully, less racist. It's close to the church, which both Sylvia and Levi regularly attend. Faith has been a big part of the couple's life. Levi was a Sunday School teacher back in Jamaica, and since becoming a Christian in his early teens, says that "God has always been my rock."

Levi worked in the United Biscuit Factory in Isleworth for many years. He loved this job and regularly baked at home. He and Sylvia would make Caribbean Patties and Carrot cakes for all their family. This includes four children, nine grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren. The couple also fostered several kids over the years, which they found immensely rewarding.

The couple have no regrets about coming to England. They own their own home and still live independently. They recently celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary, but to Levi, it feels like he's been married to Sylvia for just a few months because "The love is still going on between us."