The bounce in his step as he dances to the music of the Mighty Sparrow belies his age, and the satisfaction on his face as he sips his rum and coke is a dead giveaway of his T&T roots.
For although WWII veteran Prince Albert Jacob left Trinidad in 1943 to join the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and had not visited as frequently as he would have liked, he never lost touch with life in his country of birth or his childhood days in Diego Martin.
“You see, the kids at home now, all they have to do is turn taps on and off. I remember what we had to do before we went to school in the morning, and even when we came home at night. We had to go and fetch the goat or the cow and tie them… or walk a quarter of a mile to bring a bloody bucket of water to keep mum or dad going during the day while we were at school.”
Jacob was a few months shy of 18 when he left his job at the Government Printery to join the RAF during the war, which began in 1939 and ended in 1945. Now 100 years old, he is one of the few surviving Caribbean RAF veterans from that time.
“My duty was as an equipment assistant; a plane must not be on the ground too long,” he said, explaining that he was also responsible for keeping the flow of supplies moving at his stations in Lancashire, Burtonwood, and Carlisle.
“Clothing, food, or anything like that, I had to make sure it was available,” Jacob told Guardian Media.
After the war ended, he returned to T&T but couldn’t find work and left again for Britain in 1947. While a student of the RAF Burtonwood Technical College, he met the love of his life—a white woman—whom he married in 1953 despite fierce opposition from her family.
“Mary and I were married for 72 years, and she died in February this year. The starting was bad, in the sense that her parents didn’t agree with a black man taking their daughter. But we had a damn good life,” he said, his expression softening into a blend of contentment and sadness.
“She had Alzheimer’s, so I had to put her in a home. I used to go and see her at 12 o’clock in the day and leave her at 6 o’clock at night, every day.”
Their life as a bi-racial couple was difficult. For although he had served the country with dedication during the war, he and his wife fought a mental and emotional battle for years. They were socially ostracised and faced an onslaught of discrimination that could have destroyed their marriage had they let it.
She, an educator, and he, an inspector at the post office, struggled to build a comfortable life for themselves, finding solace in their love for travel—especially during the winter—as they grew older.
“We travelled pretty often; we travelled the world to get away from the winter. Our last place together was South America from top to bottom,” he recalled, a wave of nostalgia washing over his face before giving way to despondency.
“She was supposed to come to Trinidad with me this time, but she didn’t live to do so,” he said of the trip—one prompted by a request from his nephew, Dr Joseph Jacob, and which coincided with the funeral of his 96-year-old brother, Anthony Jacob. Albeit a sad occasion, Jacob said the silver lining shone through.
“I didn’t know my brother had died until I arrived here. But I met so many parts of my family who I hadn’t met before, and I was so happy.”
He even paid a courtesy call to President Christine Carla Kangaloo on November 21.
Despite the discrimination he faced for being Black, and the fact that he didn’t receive his medals for serving in the war until three years ago—after the intervention of a neighbour—Jacob continued to serve Britain. A talented athlete, he represented the country in track and field, winning medals at the Maccabiah Games.
“In 1950, I walked into the arena in Israel to the Maccabiah Games, which is like the Olympic Games, carrying the flag for Great Britain as an athlete. I ran in the 100 metres and the 200 metres. That was one of my proudest moments.”
And even when he retired in the 1980s, his service to the people of his adopted home continued through volunteerism.
“When I finished working, I got myself a volunteer job with the probation service… I used to drive the van, pick up the young offenders to take them to, perhaps, a pensioners’ club, where they do the sweeping, the cleaning, washing up, take the grown-ups to the toilet. You know, things like that. I did that for at least five years.”
From time to time, he is called upon by the RAF to lay wreaths in honour of fallen heroes and attends events that recognise veterans for their valour and dedication.
“I’ve been invited to most of the big functions in London, like the Albert Hall, several times. And then I was invited to this place, and sitting in front of me sat this young kid,” he said with a grin. “And he stretched his hand and shook my hand and said, ‘Best of luck,’ and I said, ‘Best of luck,’ as he’s the only King of England”—referring to King Charles III at a Black History Month event in October.
Jacob believes this commemorative month is extremely important for historical posterity.
“We need to start learning more about Black history, the African days, the days of slavery. And so we can then sit back and enjoy what we have done and where we are going.”
He said he is elated every time he visits RAF camps and sees young female officers—something unheard of in his RAF days.
“Even young men of colour were hard to find in the RAF. Those were the tough times. But today, when you see it, it brings such joy at how far we’ve come.”
And as someone with war experience, he is certainly paying attention to the current developments between the US and Venezuela.
“I’m an old man now, I’m 100 years of age, plus. And as a young boy, I remember the days when people from Trinidad used to go over to Venezuela and go up in the mountains looking for gold… I remember Venezuelans; they’re very nice people.”
He believes T&T should not get involved in whatever is going on between the two countries.
“If Venezuela and America has anything, it’s between them… Trinidad wants peace. If possible, the more we can avoid things like war, the better.”
