WHEN Emeline Mead reached 30, she had a big decision to make.

She lived in the town of Waitabit in Jamaica: the eldest of five children, her family raised goats and chickens to sell.

Her father had died early and her mother was unwell: she had the responsibility of caring for her siblings.

It was 1956, and many friends and neighbours had discussed emigrating to England. Adverts offered cheap passages on transatlantic ships and good jobs, helping rebuild the mother country after the devastation of war.

With her brother and his wife, they packed their bags and sailed to Southampton, and then travelled by bus north to Nottingham, where they had arranged a place to stay.

Now aged 100, Emeline’s story tells one that resonates in the history of the UK and Commonwealth.

Emeline began by working as a cook and cleaner in the boarding house she had arrived at, while her brother and his wife also found work in Nottingham. Their hard graft allowed them to save a little to move into their own home.

By 1959, Emeline had saved up and was able to send for her children, who came one by one until the family had settled in Nottingham by 1962.

Her husband, Cyril Powell, had moved to America for work and then joined Emeline in Nottingham. He had saved up enough money for the couple to buy a shop. They specialised in international food – bringing a taste of the Caribbean to the Midlands – and they ran a scheme where customers could pay for their groceries weekly, helping families out who were working all hours for low pay to just make ends meet.

Vivine Mead recalls how her grandmother reacted to moving from Jamaica to England.

“My gran thought it was fast-paced, a little dirty, but full of opportunities,” she recalls.

“My grandmother’s mother had always spoken about England and the Queen and its riches, so my gran felt quite in awe to be living what had been something of a dream. My grandmother was very pleased to have received her 100 birthday card from King Charles and Queen Camilla earlier this year.”

Emeline joined a church near her home and settled, setting up a community credit union which helped people save up to buy their own homes.

Emeline and Cyril would have 10 children in total – and her seventh child, Lyn, left Nottingham for London in 1981. Lyn had a daughter, Viviene, and they settled in Camden.

Today, the Mead family story has been recorded by the Windrush Project after the Sheriff of Nottingham noted their contribution to the city.

A portrait of Emeline and an interview of her life can be found in the Windrush Museum in Birmingham.