City URC Member and distinguished veteran athlete Errol Alexis, who has made quite a few headlines, reaches the grand old age of 90. Errol still holds multiple British Army and Wales sporting record records.
Born in the West Indies on the island of St. Vincent, when it was a British colony, Errol came to this country as a young man in the 1950s. His father was a semen who worked out of Cardiff and had settled his younger family in the city some years before. But it was awhile before he could send for the older children.
After awhile in city Street, Errol joined the army, and it was there his remarkable athletic abilities came to the four. He holds multiple British army athletics records and, back in civilian life, added a number of Wales records to them.
It was the time of the Windrush generation, and Errol‘s life as a young immigrant and prolific athletics record holder has been recorded many times and is held in several archives including Saint Fagans folk museum and the BBC.
As he grew older, Errol exchanged athletics for the park run and was an enthusiastic park Runner with the Butte park park run for some 20 years – until about of sciatica made him a volunteer helper rather than a runner. But he could still hit the headlines. A few years ago, he was shown off to a national television audience when meteorologist Derek Broadway picked out the Butte Park Park run as one of his weatherman walking programs.
Introducing Errol, Derek focused on his amazing fitness in old age. He was then 87 – but was still there at 88! It turned out, Derek was also a volunteer helper at the Butte run so new Arrow well from the post run Coffee mornings.
Then when he was 88 Errol featured as the oldest veteran at the remembrance service for minority– ethnic and Commonwealth servicemen and women in Cardiff, hosted annually by race Council Cymru (RRC), a moving celebration that was widely reported.
Wales online run a picture of Errol and used an extended quote in the report and headline, stressing that when he joined the British army he was one of “ only two black men” in the regiment. He said he thought they would have been more, but there was still a lot of racial tension about at the time.
Today Errol is very ill and rarely gets outdoors. He is a member of city United Reformed Church Daily Devotions Cardiff joining in 1993 when he married Jackie who was already a member.
Though he hasn’t been able to attend Church for well over a year News of him still comes to the Church via Jackie.
