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Through my youth in Jamaica, I was very willing to learn. Education is key.

I excelled in school because my grandmother would also teach me when I got back home. She led with the belief that without manners or education you don’t ‘get’ a good life, but if you do good, you earn it.

At one point my teacher said, “The other children would keep you back”. So I was moved into the Pastor’s house. Beforehand, my mother had asked “why” and the Pastor said, “My children would learn better with you around, Eunice is very polite”.

So, I moved into the mission home and continued to learn there

Graduation photograph

I am constantly learning. After I had the four children I stayed at home for 19 years then trained in Probation Aftercare. In about 1978 I approached my manager and essentially said, “I need more education”. I needed to make sure the children understood what we were teaching them. You get me?! I wanted to be truly right in what I was teaching.

When I requested it my manager said, “You want me to pay for your university education? …No.” To which I said, “Well, the job won’t be done then, will it?”.

He replied, “I will talk to the boss”, and came back a few days later saying, “The boss is going to pay for your university education”.

I was so surprised when I passed my university degree. I was 58 at the time. There is always time for you to learn new things.

Photographs, medal, celebration books, ceramic plate

I have met Queen Elizabeth II twice in my lifetime, once when I received my MBE and once for the Queen’s Special Award. Both of these were for my work with Shades of Black, a community family project I set up in 1989 to enhance the life skills of people of the community. It is still running strong today.

I have been to two further garden parties at Buckingham Palace, received a letter from the Duke and Duchess of York, and twice met Prince Charles, now King Charles III.

I have my own Royal Family too, four children and nine grandchildren.

One of my grandsons, Marcus, graduated from the Royal Air Force. He gave me his medal and certificate saying to me, “You have to keep it, if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be in the position of receiving it”. That was an honour.

Coconut oil, vegetable oil

Schools need to get people in who can understand the children. Who can help.

Teachers can’t spend time with children who are slow. Often, under the stress of teaching the class, teachers think, “If the kids aren’t learning… we gotta let it go”. If the teachers think that, then the kids won’t learn and will also let it go.

Be patient. Kind. And gentle.

Children need different things to feel valued. In order to better support some of the children I was working with, I went to Sutton Coldfield college in 1990 and did a cooking course to learn how ‘the English’ enjoy a meal. I found a lot of oil is used in English cooking, whereas Jamaicans either use less oil or strain it off before serving. For me, I took that course because I just wanted to give all of my children something satisfying in the kitchen.

Dictionaries I give to my scholars, stories they’ve written about me

I work with kids, and their teachers say, “When the kids come to you they learn so much. You should be a teacher”. I just find that if I am gentle, they will try.

Right now, I’m working with three scholars who have come to me from different schools. One has just received a distinction in his course as a barber. I am so pleased for him.

I start with words and spelling first. I’d give them a dictionary and say, “You have to look for the words and write a sentence”. Then I say, “Now write about me. Whether you like me or not it doesn’t matter”.

If you want to look after someone, you want to do that the best that you can.

If I’m doing something for you or anybody, I will be doing it properly. That’s me.

2022 cuttings from Eunice’s garden

In 1995 we started an allotment and invited people to join us in the growing. As far as I know, I was the first lady who brought children to allotments and taught them to grow their own crops.

I never have a holiday because in the holidays I open the allotment. I used to have 30 children in a class.

Since 2014, I have run this garden at the back of my own house. I was struggling to travel back to Handsworth so moved it into my own garden. Home is the best place to do it really.

For me, I enjoy this work as it keeps me healthy too.

Photographs, wedding flowers

I came to Birmingham to join my Royal Navy partner. He came here for his service and wanted to come back so sent for me. But he didn’t understand how to do the hard work with the children.

His mother was in a troubled relationship. When I first met her she said, “I love him, but I hope you can curve him, I hope you’re strong enough” and, “If my son make you like me, it wouldn’t be good. If you feel like he is, move it on”.

I moved it on.

In 1995 I married my second husband who was a much more settled person. He was a Christian, and passed away in 1999. This bouquet is the bouquet from our union.

1957 shillings and pence

If you do not have these conversations, it’s not going away. It’s just bubbling underneath. Racism is on the table.

In 1957 I went shopping and tried to purchase a tin of beans. The shopkeeper replied, "So you can speak English, can you?" and placed my change on the counter rather than in the palm of my hands. I left it where it was and returned three days later to receive my change in the palm of my hands. In that moment, without any argument, lives were changed. Especially for Black people, as racism then was rife.

In my work with the Probation Service I often said, “The word racism will not be exempt”. I still tell my children or grandchildren that they are to drive the car on their own in case they get pulled over. You don’t want to get in trouble for what a passenger has, or what they have done.

Comb, sewing kit, document, botanics, photograph(s)

My grandma was a white woman who married a Black man. In those days that was quite unusual. Her family turfed her out because of this, but they also gave her a plot of land to live on.

My grandma was so kind, instead of keeping this land to herself she gave other families little patches so that they could grow their own vegetables and crops.

She worked as a midwife and from the age of two and a half, she would take me to see the children there. Grandma taught me how to sew, she taught me how to care for other people and she taught me how to nourish potential. Every soul in the district knew how kind, thoughtful and loving she was.

Pair of size 9 shoes, cassette tape, photograph

Mam used to live in the same house as Grandma. I didn’t have a father, because in my early years, my father’s mother sent him to work in the big city, Kingston. The way I was brought up, many people would hate their parents for. But it absolutely wasn’t my mam’s fault.

In part it was my auntie’s. My auntie couldn’t understand why my mother was having such a wonderful life, so she punished her. When grandmother was out, she would lock my mother up in a room. It was a difficult period for us all.

I was always closest to my mother and grandmother and had to follow the footsteps of them. They never left me no matter what they were going through and I would never leave my own children.

A mothers cushion

This cushion didn’t belong to my mother but was gifted to me by a community group I worked with.

They saw me as a mother figure to them.

Rag rug, prayer glass, magazine, vanity set, embroidered cushion, ceramic ornament, medal, photographs

I came here in 1957 when things were really tough. They were really tough for everyone.

I was 22 at the time and I didn’t think it would be so tough. I started doing community action then. I saw the older generation living by themselves without anyone to help them. They would go out, fall over in the snow without support, and well… I didn’t like that. I took it upon myself to help them back to their houses.

As an 88 year old senior citizen, I am still working hard after retirement within the local community or schools to lead basic life skill training, healthy eating courses and positive activities for development. In the 90s I made this colourful blanket out of bin bags with community people. It was a lesson that old useless things have the potential to make something beautiful. You get me?