Warrant Officer Windell ‘Joe’ Walcott’s name will forever be remembered at RAF Brize Norton, as Building 78 has been renamed, ‘The Walcott Building’, in commemoration of WO Walcott.
The decision was made to name the building after an individual who served RAF Brize Norton through both endeavours on operations and commitment to the community and Joe was immediately thought of.
Windell ‘Joe’ Walcott was born in Refuge, Duncans, Trelawny, Jamaica in 1926. Inspired by the famous ‘Your country needs you’ poster and Kitchener’s pointing finger, Joe joined the Royal Air Force in 1945, without telling his parents until arriving in England.
During a trip back home to Jamaica in 1953, Joe attended a local cricket match where he met his future wife Loretta. Six weeks later they were married and together they settled in Carterton, near RAF Brize Norton, West Oxfordshire. This is where they spent most of their lives together.
Joe served in the RAF for 34 years and reached the rank of Warrant Officer, he served in: Cyprus, Germany, Malta and Singapore as an Air Quartermaster supplying military bases across the globe, before retiring in 1979. After retiring from the RAF, Joe joined the Civil Service and devoted himself to community work. In 1995 he was elected into both Carterton Town Council and West Oxfordshire District Council. Joe became the first black Councillor in West Oxfordshire and one of the first black Conservative Councillors in Britain, before he became Mayor of Carterton in 2000. He held this post for 2 years before spending a further four years as Chairman of the district council. Joe’s ability to transcend political division and his outstanding commitment to the local community led to him being awarded an MBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace in 2006.
Joe was an immensely proud man, not only of his Jamaican heritage and standing within the commonwealth, but also of his family too, especially when his sons, Don and Jimmy followed in his footsteps and joined the RAF. He passed away peacefully on Saturday, 24 November 2018. A truly inspirational man, and still fondly remembered in the local community and at RAF Brize Norton.
“This is a great honour bestowed on our Dad. We’re very proud of him, and that he has been recognised for all his hard work and dedication to the Royal Air Force and the community at large. We would like to thank everyone who’s been involved in making this happen today, thank you”.
The Walcott Family
