When his dad left Jamaica to get work in England, Stan was sent to live with his grandparents in St Elizabeth, to the southwest of the island.
His grandfather passed away shortly after, so Stan was brought up by his grandmother, who owned a shop and his auntie, who worked in nearby Appleton, where they make the famous rum.
Stan did well at school and wasn't a naughty boy - 'You can't be naughty when you have Jamaican parents' But by the time he'd got to 17, he'd become too much of a handful for his grandmother, so he was sent to England to live with his dad.
Stan took the boat from Kingston to Italy and then had to get the train across Europe back to London.
His dad lived in a house in Balham with his new wife. (He had split up with Stan's mum). Stan moved in with them and got on well with his dad's new partner.
Stan hoped to continue his education, but his dad told him to get a job. So he started out working for a firm doing the sweeping up. He then got a job in a factory that made batteries before getting a job at Royal Mail. His round was on Lavender Hill in Battersea, and he loved the job. He got to know the residents and would often help if they wanted their shopping carried or their milk brought.
Battersea changed so much during the time that Stan worked there. He saw the start of gentrification with new people and shops moving in. During his time as a postman, Battersea Power Station, which always belched smoke from its iconic chimneys, shut down for good. The Power Station is now a shopping centre.
Stan said that most people were friendly, but there was also racism back then.
The Teddy Boys were the worst. They'd always be on the lookout for targets. He remembers being on his round and emptying letters from a Pillar Box when a group approached him. Stan said something, and as soon as they heard his accent, one of them said, “Let's not bother; he's Jamaican.” Jamaicans had a reputation for fighting back, so they left him alone.
Stan also used to love football, but the National Front and the racists amongst the fans at Chelsea FC put him and a lot of his black friends off from going.
