Sam King was one of the passengers on the Empire Windrush when it docked at Tilbury in May 1948. He was just 22 years old and his family had sold livestock to pay his fare of £28 10 shillings. Like many men who had served in the RAF during the war he wanted to return to the ‘Mother Country’.
A born leader, he worked for 34 years in the Post Office, working his way up to a management position, became a Labour Councillor in 1982 and within six months had become the first Black Mayor of Southwark. In 1988 he was awarded the MBE.
On 19th June 2018 his memory was honoured with a memorial lecture held at St Margaret’s Church in the grounds of Westminster Abbey. Organised by Sam’s good friend, Arthur Torrington (together they created The Windrush Foundation – https://windrushfoundation.com/), the event was hosted by The Reverend Jane Sinclair, Canon of Westminster and Rector of St Margaret’s, and chaired by Lady Benjamin of Beckenham (sorry, she’ll always by Floella from Play School for me!).
There were tributes from Sam’s grand daughter, Dione McDonald, Lord Ouseley of Peckham Rye and Michelle Asantewa and a calypso from Alexander D’Great, before Arthur delivered his lecture, a wide ranging discussion of the influence people from the Caribbean have had on Britain, an influence that, he stressed, started long before the Windrush.
What made the event so special was that it was led by people who had known Sam and were able to speak from the heart about how he had influenced them. He was clearly a man who was widely loved and respected and it was a privilege to be present.