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Oral history recording with Roy Grant, born in Jamaica in May 1942. Recorded as part of Race Council Cymru’s Windrush Cymru Heritage Project.

“I wasn’t born with one eye, but I never have two eyes, I grew up and regardless of the incidentals, I achieved what I wanted, to be an engineer.”

Roy Grant was born in Jamaica in May 1942.

“At the age of two, I lost sight in my left eye, twas’ an accident… in 1944, who knows how to get eye mended then, there was no such cure… by the following day… the pupil had punctured.”

“At the age of 15, I wanted to be an engineer… I went to engineering school…”

“At nineteen years of age, I never travel outside my parish… in 1962, 18th of March, I climb aboard the SS Begona…. it carries nearly 5,000 people, massive place. We spend 11 days and nights, on that ship.”

“It wasn’t very easy, to become an engineer, as a Black person then. I wrote my cousin, she came to Wales… the Severn Bridge was being build and there were a few major engineering construction [happening].”

“So I came down here in June 1962, end of June, and, I start working at Top Grinding Engineering.”

“I perfected the cutting tool, that cut [nylon] at high speed… they made me a charge hand. But it wasn’t my name in the paper saying I developed it, it was my boss… I never envisaged in my early days that I would be sitting down and giving an interview, so that’s one, but my greatest moment is when I was awarded Best Book for Wales, in Swansea, Brangwyn Hall, for ‘When Darkness Turns To Light’, that was a good moment.”

“As the older generation die away, you youngsters will start changing the goal posts and changing the atmosphere… enjoy yourself, but learn, learn, learn, learn…it may take a little longer but the opportunity will come…”