The Family Leaves Jamaica

After a year and a half we had found ways of surviving in and enjoying Jamaica but we had known from an early point that we would not stay. I applied for teaching jobs in Australia - particularly Western Australia - and Canada without success. We talked of returning to Rhodesia where the civil war and misery dragged on but it was never anything that we could risk, not with a family. Finally, with my mother's help, I started to apply for jobs in England.

We decided that Gill and the girls would return by sea, taking most of our belongings with them. Saying farewell to their many friends was hard, particularly for Lizzie. She's seen here with Angela, who lived round the corner, and whom we had come to know because she booked guitar lessons with Keith next door - who frequently forgot to be home.

The family sailed on a Fyffes banana boat, the Northland, early in May 1975. I drove them round to Port Antonio (above), on the northeast coast, passing Ports of Call on the way, and saw them embark. I felt very miserable at being left behind, particularly as, at that stage, there was no sign of a job.