The long lost relative

Andrew Flynn, 11

St Ninian's Primary School, Dundee

It was a bleak, wet Sunday morning in London. A 9 year-old boy named Nathaniel Brown was at home watching tv in his bedroom. Suddenly, the power went out.

Nathaniel’s Mum told him to get a board game from the under-the-stairs cupboard. He pulled out a large box and searched through it for a game. Nathaniel spotted a thick photo album inside the box and picked it up. A photo fell from inside the album. The photo showed a man who looked like Nathaniel. There was a boat in the background of the photo. Nathaniel turned the photo over and saw Agwe Brown 21 June 1948.

Nathaniel thought that was strange as this man had the same last name as him but he hadn’t heard of him before. He took the photo into his livingroom and asked his Mum who it was. She said she didn’t know but suggested that they go to his grandparent’s house which was at the end of their street to ask them.

When they got to Nathaniel’s grandparent’s house, Nathaniel asked them who the man was. Nathaniel’s Grandad said he didn’t know the person was but spotted the boat in the background. He suggested that it might be the Empire Windrush and that the man may have been a Jamaican immigrant.

Nathaniel became fascinated with the story of the Empire Windrush, a ship which brought Jamaicans over to London 3 years after WW2 ended. He asked his parents almost every day if they could go to Jamaica for a holiday.

During the summer holidays, Nathaniel’s family drove to the airport and Nathaniel asked them excitedly if they were going to Jamaica. He was so happy when his parents said, “Yes!”.

Nathaniel learned that they were flying to Kingston in Jamaica. The Empire Windrush sailed from Kingston in Jamaica and Nathaniel’s parents explained that this is where they had the most chance of finding out who Agwe Brown was.

After a ten hour journey Nathaniel looked out the window and saw an island with tropical trees and sandy beaches.

After the plane had landed, they flagged down a taxi and headed to their hotel. They checked in and went to their room to freshen up. One hour later, they headed to the beach. They saw a young boy who was roughly the same age as Nathaniel.

Nathaniel smiled at the boy and asked him his name. He said that he was called Aidan Brown. Nathaniel laughed and told him that his surname was also Brown…

Nathaniel noticed that Aiden looked like him. He showed Aiden the photograph and asked if he knew the man. Aiden’s grandparents walked over and his grandad said, “That’s my father, Agwe. He was the first Jamaican to go on the Empire Windrush to London”. They soon realised that they were related to each other. This was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. The Jamaican and English families visited each other every couple of years.