Finding Home: A Windrush Story author Alford Dalrymple Gardner dies at 98

Windrush generation author Alford Dalrymple Gardner has died at the age of 98, his publisher Jacaranda Books has confirmed. 

The Royal Air Force Veteran’s groundbreaking memoir Finding Home: A Windrush Story was written in collaboration with his son, Howard Gardner. 

Born in 1926 in Kingston, Jamaica, Gardner first came to England in 1944 to support the war effort, serving in the RAF. After going back to Jamaica briefly, he decided to return to England to help to rebuild the country, boarding the famous “Empire Windrush”. 

Gardner passed away at home on 1st October 2024, just days before his memoir was due to be published in paperback. 

At 98 years old, Gardner was one of the last surviving passengers to have arrived from Jamaica in 1948 on the “Empire Windrush”.  

A portrait of Gardner was commissioned by King Charles III to hang in the National Portrait Gallery as part of the “Windrush: Portraits of a Pioneering Generation” exhibition. 

Alford responded to seeing the painting, with the words: “I’ve had a beautiful life”. 

Valerie Brandes, c.e.o of Jacaranda Books, said: “It is a tremendous honour to have played a small part in sharing Alford Gardner’s remarkable journey by publishing his memoir. Through an introduction by Arthur Torrington, I had the privilege of meeting Alford, his son Howard, and the wonderful Gardner family. Alford’s cheeky, indomitable spirit shone brightly, well into his nineties. His loss leaves us bereft, yet deeply honoured that his legacy will endure through his words in both prose and film. My deepest sympathies are with his family during this difficult time.”