Alvin was born November 1960 in Jamaica, the youngest of 7 siblings at the time. 4 sisters and 2 brothers, but another sister was born 10 years later.

His parents left Jamaica for England early 60’s. Father went first followed by Mother in 1965. Alvin and his siblings were left in the care of his maternal grandmother. Eventually all the children joined their parents in England with the exception the oldest brother.

Alvin, being the last to leave, left Jamaica in 1968, a few months before his 8th birthday. He travelled on his own and was looked after by a stewardess for the journey. Alvin was met at Manchester airport by his mother, but unfortunately, he did not know who she was. He was then taken to the family home in Crewe, Cheshire,
where he spent the next 12 years.

Alvin attended junior school and secondary school in Crewe, but he deliberately failed his eleven plus because he didn’t want to go to grammar school with the toffs, as they called them in those days. Alvin later learned that it was a bad decision.

Alvin left school in 1977 and struggled to get a job due to racist attitudes. Eventually he got one, which was the worse job in the world. He then worked for British Rail, before joining the RAF in Dec 1980. He left the RAF after 6 years and joined Greater Manchester Police Force and retired after just over 26 years service.

Alvin went into Acting doing film and television background work, but also pursued his interest in photography, gaining a “Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society” qualification.

Now he is just enjoying life, playing football, going to the gym and generally doing what he wants.

Conclusion

Alvin shares his journey of life to date, some of which is similar to many others who were separated from parents and to reunite many years later as strangers to each other. It is however the unique path that normally make us into individuals and therefore separates us as a person in terms of the lens we use to view and experience life.

Editor’s Note

There is a particular note of father son relationship that is may be typical in many of our lives. There is often a disconnect between father and son relationship that is often never resolved. This is rather unfortunate as I believe that these kinds of relationships often filter into children and grandchildren. It’s a subject that I believe needs to be discussed more to try and understand why we do certain things that we don’t do very well in our relationship with our children.

Image Source: Industry Casting