Claudette Bramble JP

Claudette Bramble was born in Plymouth which is the Capital of the Caribbean island of Montserrat. Montserrat is only approximately 10 miles in length and 7 miles wide and is famous for it’s black sand beaches and (the formerly named) WH Bramble Airport which has the 3rd shortest runway in the Caribbean at just 600 metres or 1,968 ft   

The airport's name was changed in July 2008 to honour another family member, John Osborne, long-standing Chief Minister of Montserrat who is Claudette’s Grandfather.

It’s nickname is “The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean” because it resembles Ireland and most of it’s inhabitants have Irish ancestry. You’ll see from the flag that Montserrat is still classed as a British Island with it’s Irish roots represented by the lady in the Emerald Green dress. 

They even celebrate St Patricks Day, but in Montserrat it’s a Festival that can last up to 2 weeks!

You may have heard of Montserrat because of the Soufriere Hills volcano which saw many Montserratians move to the “Motherland” the UK when it first erupted in 1995. The Soufriere Hills is still an active volcano.

Aged 18 months Claudette was sent to live with her grandparents in Antigua where her mother was born. When she was 6 years old her father travelled alone to the UK to find work and her mother joined him the following year.   Communication was limited and letters often took months to arrive. 

After the death of their grandmother, Claudette and her brother arrived in the UK on 12th 

January 1968. Most Caribbean families lived in one house mainly because racist signs were

still very visible in the UK and housing was not easy to find.

Claudette remembers that there was no time to get used to the cold snow – they arrived on 

Friday and started school in Gravesend on Monday! School was a lot less disciplined and there

was lots of bullying which was hard for the siblings to understand because they were always 

told they were British, just like the other children in their class.

In 1974, Claudette started working for Readers Digest in London, but in Kent there were several racist incidents and attacks and in 1982, Claudette helped to form the Gravesend West Indian Association to support the Caribbean community. 

The Association worked closely with organisations such as Kent Police, Gravesham Council, South East Arts and Citizens Advice to hold events and share information and in in 1985, Claudette became the Chair of the Association which also included the management of it’s successful Football Club which was one of the first interracial Football Clubs in Kent.

In the early 90’s Claudette became Chair of the Police Liaison Committee and joined the   Management committee of Gravesend Churches Housing Association.

In 1992, as a result of all of her community work, Claudette was nominated to become a   Kent Justice of the Peace. 

It wasn’t until she appeared in the Kent based newspapers that she realised that she had become Kent’s first Black female Magistrate.