The Prince of Wales has paid tribute to Windrush pioneer and cricket trailblazer Alford Gardner, saying he “changed the lives of so many with his courage and positivity”.

William visited Mr Gardner, who has died at the age of 98, at his home in Leeds last year for an ITV Windrush documentary, before taking him to Headingley cricket ground for a surprise celebration with stars of the sport.

Mr Gardner was one of the last surviving passengers from the Empire Windrush and worked to break down racial barriers by setting up Britain’s first Caribbean cricket club.

He founded the club in Leeds in 1948 – three months after arriving in the UK from Jamaica on the HMT Empire Windrush.

The prince said in a personal message posted on Kensington Palace’s social media: “I was so sorry to hear of the passing of Alford Gardner, one of the last surviving passengers of the Empire Windrush.

“I was delighted to spend some time with him last summer and hear his story. As a leading figure in the Caribbean community in West Yorkshire, he changed the lives of so many with his courage and positivity.

“He leaves behind a legacy for us all to be proud of and will be remembered for his warmth, his courage, and of course his unwavering love of cricket! W.”

Windrush Day
Michael Gove, Alford Gardner, William and Baroness Floella Benjamin at the unveiling of the National Windrush Monument at London Waterloo Station in June 2022 (John Sibley/PA)

Mr Gardner was 22 years old when he boarded the ship in Kingston, Jamaica, with his brother Gladstone before they and hundreds of other Caribbean migrants called on to rebuild post-war Britain disembarked the ship at Tilbury Docks in Essex.

William met him as part of ITV’s Pride Of Britain: A Windrush Special to mark the 75th anniversary of the Windrush generation, and also during the unveiling of the National Windrush Monument at London Waterloo Station in 2022, with the now-Princess of Wales.

On Wednesday, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said Mr Gardner “did so much for the black cricketing community in this country”.

Actress and campaigner Baroness Floella Benjamin said Mr Gardner “encapsulated joy, dignity and courage”.

Mr Gardner recalled how he was told by a friend in 1987 that “people like me could be thrown out of the country”, adding that he responded by applying for British citizenship at a cost of £80.

He branded the Windrush scandal, which erupted in 2018 after it emerged that the UK Home Office had kept no records of those granted permission to stay, and had not issued the paperwork they needed to confirm their status, a “disgrace”.

Last year, the King hailed new portraits of the Windrush generation, including Mr Gardner, as pictorial records of a “very special” group of people.