Roma Taylor
Former Territorial Army Nurse
“I don’t know what it is about looking after people that attracts me to do it, but all I know is that it is a blessing from God.”
Ever since childhood, Roma has demonstrated that she has a big heart, a determination to help others and to be surrounded with love. Roma was born in Antigua, in December 1943, where she lived with her father and her Nan. Roma recalls the year she spent living in St. Kitts with her mother, when she was 12.
“There was this blind man that lived not far from us. And every day I took him for a walk after school so that his wife could get on with doing other things. When we got back, we would have a meal and then Mrs George, she would bathe him and put him to bed and I would read him a story from the Bible… He just loved it, knowing that I’m coming back the next day to take him for a walk.”
Roma’s elder brother moved to the UK, where he joined the British Army, married and made his home in London. He then sent for his mother, who settled in Cardiff and in turn sent for 15-year-old Roma in October 1959.
“I had lots of expectations about what I’d do when I saw my mum. I kept asking her, ‘Have you got trees? Hotels? Beaches like ours?’ And she said, ‘No, not like ours, they’re not as good as ours but they are nice.’”
“When I was coming to Britain, I came on one of the boats. And the cabin crew looked after me and all the other ladies, because there was lots of people with children coming to Britain. When I got to Southampton, my brother picked me up and I went to his home with him and his wife. And then the weekend went and I had to come to Cardiff to my mum… My brother put me on the train and I got off at Cardiff Central and there was my Mum and her friend, come to meet me… and that’s where my life began in Britain.”
Roma says, “Cardiff was different to Antigua but was still beautiful. Tiger Bay was especially beautiful because the people were multicultural and nobody had anything bad to say about anyone.” Soon after arriving, Roma joined the Rainbow Club, a youth group for children aged 3-15 which had been set up by Mr and Mrs Capener as part of the Save the Children Fund.
“Children of all ethnic minorities used to go there every evening after school. And you did lots of activities: you played doctors and nursing; you played tennis, boxing, cooking. Oh, art, craft, you name it, we did it in the Rainbow Club.”
Less than a year after Roma arrived, Queen Elizabeth II visited Cardiff. “Mrs Capener asked me to dress up in Welsh national costume along with two other little girls and she said I can look after them. When the procession came past, we were standing on the pavement outside the Rainbow Club.”
The girls were photographed with a banner which said “The Rainbow Club welcomes the Queen”, which was published the following Sunday in the News of the World. “All the kids were knocking on my door saying, ‘Roma, you’re in the paper!’ I said, ‘What for?’ and burst out laughing. So, my Aunty said go and get the paper for Uncle Roy. So, I went to the shop and got the paper, and there it was, that photograph.”
When Roma turned 17, she trained as a nurse in Bath. She then returned to Cardiff where she married and eventually had seven children. “I wanted to be a nurse, get married, and have a big family.”
It was when Roma was about 26, that a chance encounter set her on a completely new course. “I used to take my daughters to ballet and tap dancing. And one day, one of the ladies, this Black girl, one day she came in her uniform and I thought, ‘Hmmm, wow! That is lovely. What is that?’ I said, ‘Pam! What’s this uniform for?’ And she said, ‘I’m in the Territorial Army.’ I went, ‘I wanna join, can I come?’ And she said ‘Yes.’ And so, I went up on the Wednesday night and did the training.”
As part of the Territorial Army, Roma joined the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC) as part of 203 Welsh General Hospital, later 203 Welsh Field Hospital. She served for 25 years with the Territorials. “It was lovely, I wish I could go back, but I’m too old now.”
Roma served in Germany, Belgium, France and across the UK, each for two weeks at a time. “We went to the hospitals and we were training in the fields, just mock practices… Just looking back and seeing how much I enjoyed the army and meeting different people every year… It was one of the best things I did. I loved it!”
Alongside raising her family, and being an army nurse, Roma fostered 20 children. “Most of them were mixed-race. I’ve had two Black children, and mixed-race children and white children. All colours, it doesn’t matter. You just look after the children. They needed something and you just have to give them that something.”
Roma would also collect food and clothing for the homeless and on two occasions has slept outside overnight as part of a campaign to highlight the issue and raise funds for the homeless.
Throughout her life, Roma has selflessly served others. Now a proud great grandma, Roma continues to support her community and is the founder and leader of Windrush Cymru Elders. The group was set up to promote an understanding of ethnic minority elders’ concerns and needs, whilst celebrating key milestones and marking the contribution of people of African and Caribbean descent.
Roma’s great-grandson, Jacob, was born on Windrush Day, 22nd June 2019, and her great-granddaughter Darcey was born in October, during Black History Month. Roma sees this as a blessing as God gave her the Windrush Cymru Elders and sealed it with Jacob. While Darcey reminds her that Black History Month is all year round, not just one month of the year.