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Beresford
Nasralla left his home in Kingston, Jamaica and arrived at Tilbury
Dock in London on 22 June, 1948, after a month at sea. He was a
passenger on the Empire Windrush.
We
all obtained accommodation at Brockworth Hostel, where we were
issued with ration books. I was able to obtain employment with
British Rail.
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| Beresford
Nasralla |
At
the age of 24, he had travelled to Britain with his friend, Kelvin,
"to seek employment and see the other side of the world".
He recalls there were troops from the Glorious Glosters on board
who were returning to their homeland.
He
was to have travelled with his friend to Nottingham, where his friend's
brother lived. However, he and his friend were separated on disembarking,
and he found himself all alone.
Kind
English couple
He
went to Nottingham and lodged with "a kind English couple"
for a week, but then left for Kent. Police in Kent directed him
to Clapham South Deep Air Raid Shelter, where 236 of those who had
arrived on 22 June had been housed before dispersal across the country
to areas able to provide them with employment.
Beresford
“came to Gloucester with fifteen others. We all obtained accommodation
at Brockworth Hostel, where we were issued with ration books. I
was able to obtain employment with British Rail”. He retired
from British Rail in 1988.
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| Beresford
met his wife, Gloria, in 1954, at a house party in Lower Barton
Street |
Beresford
met his wife, Gloria, in 1954, at a house party in Lower Barton
Street, where he and many other Jamaicans were living. She had left
her home in Mount Regale in St Mary, Jamaica, to travel to England
on board the Jamaica Producer, travelling first class for a fare
of £99.
She
had been encouraged by her mother to train as a nurse and had written
to an uncle who lived in London, asking him to find the address
of the Gloucester Infirmary.
Sheltered
life
Being
an only child and having lived a "sheltered life", she
did not want the bright lights of a big city. She had chosen Gloucester
as her destination quite simply because it was a city she had come
across when looking through her old geography books and maps of
England.
She
did not come directly to the city, but stayed with her uncle in
London and missed a term at the hospital while working in a factory,
stitching straps on petticoats.
Coronation
year
It
was the year of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth and the activities
and preparations that were taking place fascinated her.
When
I first came to Gloucester, there were only three other West
Indian girls here - two Jamaican student nurses, Dorret Hall
and Pearl Harvey, and a Jamaican woman called Mrs. Golding who
lived with her husband in accommodation at a hostel in Brockworth.
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| Gloria
Nasralla |
“When
I first came to Gloucester, there were only three other West Indian
girls here - two Jamaican student nurses, Dorret Hall and Pearl
Harvey, and a Jamaican woman called Mrs Golding who lived with her
husband in accommodation at a hostel in Brockworth.”
The
Goldings were very kind to the young nurses and occasionally invited
them for a meal. They were not allowed to cook meals at the nurses'
home and missed home cooking.
Life
at the nurses' home was very strict. No visitors were allowed.
After
a "whirlwind romance" she married Beresford on 10 July,
1954. They held the reception at their newly purchased home in Regent
Street.
Distinguished
career
Gloria
enjoyed a long and distinguished career in nursing. She qualified
as an SRN in 1958 and went on to do her midwifery training at St
PaulÂ’s, Cheltenham.
There
followed many promotions; staff nurse, night sister, ward sister,
nursing officer, senior nurse manager, specialist nurse and senior
nurse giving support and advice. She retired in December 1992.
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