My aunt, Claire Andrews, who has died aged 80, was a proud member of the Windrush generation, an LGBTQ rights advocate and a trade unionist. She was a spirited voice for justice, fighting unfairness and inequality in society in a practical and meaningful way. It helped that she was fiercely intelligent, passionate and obstinate.
Born and educated in the town of Marabella, on the Caribbean island of Trinidad, Claire was one of the nine children of Mary (nee Barriteau), usually known as Jennifee, and Reginald Andrews. Her father was a carpenter and her mother played an active part in her local community and Roman Catholic church.
In November 1961, aged 22, Claire moved to the UK, where she initially undertook a range of jobs, including one in a food-processing factory, to make ends meet. Her experience as an immigrant to postwar Britain inspired her to pay tribute to the Windrush generation in her 2003 book, Legacy.
In a short documentary to accompany the book, Claire explained the hateful reception that many migrants faced after moving to the “mother country”. “We had lots of attacks. Some of our people were beaten up,” she said. “We were, more or less, treated [as] inferior. We weren’t well received.”
Claire overcame this prejudice to not just survive in Britain, but to thrive. She briefly studied nursing, but decided against that path, instead carving out numerous careers for herself. She trained as an electrician and engineer, and also worked for many years in Hackney council’s trading standards office.
A lifelong trade union member, she was active in Unison and mixed in political circles, among figures well known both in the UK and abroad, including the activist Angela Davis. No stranger to a picket line or a march, Claire campaigned for equal rights for Unison members and frequently represented Hackney council’s union members at employment tribunals. She also served on Unison’s national lesbian and gay committee and its national black members’ committee.
Claire possessed tremendous joie de vivre. She loved a drink, was rarely seen without a cigarette and had a sharp wit. True to her Trinidadian culture, she loved soca music and playing “mas” at the Notting Hill carnival.
Her only son, Roddy, died in 2002.
