Black History Month: Dzagbele Asante
There is old skool and then there is old school when it comes to nursing.
Dzagbele Matilda Asante arrived in the UK from Africa’s Gold Coast in 1947.
The 20-year-old was made to sign an agreement before leaving that she would return after several years so the country could benefit from her experience.
The 97-year-old subsequently trained as a nurse and spent time at several hospitals including Central Middlesex.
She has no recollection of the arrival of Empire Windrush the following year which brought more than 1,000 young men and women from the Caribbean in search of a better life.
She did, however, share their experience of racism, with some patients refusing to be looked after by African nurses.
Dzagbele said: “It was interesting years later when people told me about this ship. We never really heard anything about it.”
Her favourite pastime after the gruelling shift work was going to the cinema where she would happily sit for hours watching films followed by window shopping in Oxford Street.
She found herself on display when a photographic studio used a picture of her in a promotional display in its window (see picture above).