‘We looked forward to Carnival more than Christmas’

In 1955, Adrian Stone’s grandfather took the boat from Jamaica to Britain to build a new life, followed by his wife and their children two years later. Their daughter Elaine grew up in Montpellier from the age of two, attending Baptist Mills School (now Millpond Primary) and was invited to participate in the first ever St Paul’s Festival in 1968 by her teacher Carmen Beckford, one of its founders.

“We were a group of friends who all went to Baptist Mills, and they asked us if we wanted to take part,” she recalls. “Over a few months we had to practice the dance steps and get fitted for costumes. We had to learn the folk dance because the majority of us had come over from the Caribbean young. We were one of the first families to come to Bristol.”

That first ever Carnival, it rained all day. “It never eased up, we were drenched!” Elaine laughs. “It was to bring the community together, and it did.”

Elaine McCarthy pictured on the float at the first ever St Paul’s Carnival in 1968, where it rained relentlessly

Years later, settled in St Paul’s with six children of her own, Elaine’s old next-door neighbour Ian Menter was teaching her youngest son Adrian at Baptist Mills and was on the lookout for a subject for his upcoming book: a children’s book documenting the day in the life of a family who attend Carnival. He approached the family and they agreed that Adrian and his sister Samantha, then aged eight and six, would make good subjects to photograph at the 1982 Carnival.

“Carnival – we looked forward to that day more than Christmas,” Adrian remembers. “That was the day you’d see your friends and wear your best clothes. Those years are so special. You have wings when you’re young, you think everything is green.

“For the book, our route to school was followed: there are pictures of us running to school, which is what we always used to do. I remember having to re-enact it and being happy about it all – being on the floats, being at this massive celebratory event, hearing the music and eating the food and celebrating our culture. At that time there was tension between black and white, but at Carnival there were no boundaries in terms of colour, it was a chance to celebrate everyone.”

A page from Carnival, published in 1982, featuring Adrian and his sister

Adrian’s sister, Sammy, also remembers being part of the book as a happy experience. “It was good times! There were lots of people there, lots of family. It was really nice back then,” she recalls. “Being photographed for the book was a bit strange but it was exciting – we were young and we didn’t pay too much attention to it all. It was all very true to life: we were on the floats, and I was on the front of the parade as one of the flower girls.”

Sammy is pictured on the front cover of the book clutching a flower with two of her friends from nursery and primary school. “I still remember their names,” she says. “I keep the book in my bedroom. I love that book!”

Sammy Henry featured on the front cover of Carnival as a flower girl on her school’s float

Adrian grew up in St Paul’s surrounded by the culture of the Windrush generation but went to school at what was then Cotham Grammar School as one of just a handful of black pupils, which was a challenging dichotomy. “There was such a culture of being black in St Paul’s. It was the tail end of the height of the racism but we still felt it. I was rooted in my culture – the food, the music, the Carnival – and I was embracing my heritage. But because my father and my grandparents died young, when I was thinking about my connections and how I should live my life, I had to find those connections elsewhere.”

Adrian began to delve deeper into his family’s history and their roots in 2008, when their mother Elaine was taken seriously ill. “Sitting in the intensive care ward I was thinking we may lose her: she was the centre of the family, the nucleus, the matriarch, and the connection to other families. I was thinking about where she gets her strength and how that makes me who I am as a person; the things that have shaped and grounded who I am today.

“For me, looking into the family tree was a way to reinforce certain values and my role within the family. The past was going to go with her, so it was about becoming a family historian and maintaining those relationships – both here and in Jamaica.”

Adrian Stone with his mum Elaine McCarthy

Adrian’s research took him on an incredible journey to discover more than 5,000 ancestors, through slavery and colonialism. Now, after the years of research, he wants to share not just his findings but also his genealogy tips and tricks that could help others with Caribbean heritage to find out more about their families and discover the lost stories that are to be found in the records.

“Genealogy is about empowerment, and I want to encourage young people to find their deeper roots, to bring the family together. The workshops help with practical computer-based skills to find the history and the most elusive records. While I could do this for people, I think there’s something in discovering things for yourself and going through the emotions yourself.”

Adrian’s first genealogy workshop will be held in St Paul’s because “it’s in the heart of that diaspora”, he explains. “For me that’s home, and it’s so important to empower those people. It’s like returning home for me: Bristol is always home and it’s important to contribute to and build up your home community in various efforts. An educational tool is my way of doing that.

“Finding your ancestral roots, your grands and greats, can make you come to the realisation you’re standing on the shoulders of giants, and that there are close family members on your doorstep. We’re all connected in some way. If I hadn’t had that great childhood growing up in St Paul’s, I wouldn’t have had that interest in family and history and connections, which is why genealogy is so important and can be used as an educational tool to find your own history.”

Photographs of Adrian’s grandfather and grandmother, who were part of the Windrush Generation

Tracing Your Windrush Roots takes place at St Paul’s Learning Centre on July 21. Tickets cost £20 and can be booked from www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tracing-your-windrush-roots. Adrian will have a stall on Grosvenor Road, sharing the story of his own family, when St Paul’s Carnival returns on July 7.

Main image of Adrian Stone by Barbara Evripidou

Read more: Going back to his roots