A Leeds woman told King Charles III how she suffered “abuse from her own people” when she volunteered in the police force when she met him today.
Joan Fishley, 60, has been featured in a Jamaica Society Leeds exhibition at Leeds Central Library, celebrating Jamaican and West Indian culture in the city. His Royal Highness visited the ‘Rebellion to Romance’ exhibition today (November 8) and spoke to community figureheads who had been featured in the exhibition.
Joan, who lives in Gipton, became a special constable for West Yorkshire Police when she was in her 20s. The King asked her about what that was like.
Read more: King Charles' visit to Leeds, cheers, huge crowds and a landmark moment for the city
Joan said she received backlash from members of the second generation Caribbean community and ended up losing friends over it.
Joan said: “He talked about when I was a special constable back in the 1980s, he asked me how I felt and I told him it was very challenging. Even though I enjoyed it, it was challenging.
“In those days, you didn’t see Caribbean people on the street wearing a uniform. It was mainly your white counterparts.
“I got a lot of abuse from my own people which was quite sad. The English people, they embraced it and they thought it was lovely but my own people did not like it at all but that was back then. We were young and we didn’t really know much.
“It was hard, some bits were nice but it was hard, I’m not going to lie. My parent’s generation thought it was lovely but my generation wasn’t having it. I lost a couple of friends through it.”
Joan has said the exhibition, curated by Susan Pitter, made her feel vindicated after all those years and she was honoured to meet the King, even if her nerves were rattling throughout the day.
Joan said: “I’ve been up since 5am to get myself ready to meet the King, I was nervous and I’m nervous now but it’s an experience that no one can take away from me.”
The exhibition’s curator Susan Pitter said: “I’m incredibly proud to showcase my generation of second generation West Indians of Leeds. I took the King around the exhibition and explained how this has been shaped by the local community.”
Jeff Walwyn, 62, is a drugs and guidance counsellor who was also featured in the exhibition. His section focuses on his love of vinyl music.
Speaking about meeting the King, Jeff said: “He’s interested in vinyl music. He spoke about how CDs were supposed to be the way forward but obviously vinyl music is on the way back and he loves the vinyls by the sounds of it.”
Lornette Smith, the founder of Jumbo Records in Leeds, said King Charles spoke to her about her shop which is currently in the Merrion Centre. Lornette said: “He was asking me about music, about CDs and vinyl. He said he believes there’s a revival in LPs. I’m quite impressed that he knew.”
The King also met with young achievers during his visit, including the Leeds Children's Mayor Mason Hicks. The nine-year-old suffers with learning difficulties and is a pupil at special educational needs school East SILC.
Mason and members of his class created a birthday card for the king. Mason said: “I’m very excited after I got to meet the King. I gave him a birthday card, I told him happy birthday.”
Hannah Lamplugh, lead of Child Friendly Leeds – a Leeds City Council project to promote children – said: “The King asked Mason lots of questions and was really interested. Mason has had an amazing day and he’s loved visiting the crowds and the Lord Mayor.
“We’re all really happy and over the moon that the Yorkshire young people have this opportunity and lots of young people were in the line up from all different projects.”
The King’s visit to Leeds city centre, was part of a series of engagements across Yorkshire. With visits also scheduled to Bradford, York and Doncaster over the course of today and tomorrow.
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