The "last living Windrush passenger in Leeds" told his fascinating life story on Antiques Roadshow last night.
Alford Gardner, 95, was featured on the popular BBC One show yesterday, speaking alongside his son Howard at Newby Hall near Ripon.
Originally from Jamaica, Alford was one of 10,000 men from the Caribbean who served in the British Armed Forces during the Second World War.
"I joined the RAF in 1944, I was 18 years old," he said.
"I was a motor mechanic. I landed in England two days before D-Day."
After the war's end, Alford took a course in engineering before moving back to the Caribbean in December 1947.
But in 1948 he returned to England on the Empire Windrush as the British Government encouraged mass immigration from the colonies to help rebuild the country.
"I worked in engineering," Alford said. "We used to strip engines from the tanks, then made tractors."
Reflecting on pictures of him and his friends, Alford laughed: "It can't be 75 years since I met them, it can't be. Where has the time gone?"
In a touching tribute, son Howard thanked his dad and said he was "proud".
"The contribution of not just my dad but other West Indian veterans... for this country, it’s an amazing thing for them to do," he said.
"I’m proud of my dad. If my dad hadn’t have come, I wouldn’t be here or my brothers and sisters."
After the show aired, the Jamaica Society Leeds tweeted Alford had become "the last surviving Jamaican WW2 veteran and Windrush passenger in Leeds" since the show was recorded.
"We thank you too Mr Gardner, thank you," the society tweeted.
