Allan Wilmot recalls "The Mole in the Hole"
From Dish Washer to Super Star and "The Southlanders"
Jul 1, 2008
Allan Wilmot , who now lives in south London surrounded by hundreds of photographs and memories, spoke exclusively to Suite 101.
Suite 101: I believe you arrived in Britain in the late 1940s?
Wilmot: Yes, I came in 1947, from a sea-faring family, that's me in the sailor suit. My father wanted me to be a minister but I was looking for something more exciting. I moved to Britain after serving in both the British Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. At first there was plenty of racial prejudice and accommodation and jobs were hard to find.
Suite 101: What did you miss most when you left Jamaica?
Wilmot: Friends for a start, I missed my friends and family but other things made up for it like travel with the Forces. It was rare to see black faces in Royal Navy uniform. When we went to American ports the Americans would say 'look at them coloured limeys' because as far as they were concerned all English sailors were limeys. Years and years ago when sailors got scurvy lime was mostly the cure and so they call all British sailors "limeys".
Suite 101: What did you enjoy most when you first came here?
Wilmot: At the time jive and jitterbug was the thing and we were in demand. The people here didn't know how to do it. The girls, they caught on to it quick, but the fellows, they were a bit slow and that used to cause a lot of contention because they couldn't dance with the girls so we were in demand. The only time they could get a dance is during the "excuse me". You know, when it is a waltz, that's the only time they could get a look in, and that caused a lot of trouble in the dance halls.
And of course we had big trouble with the white Americans in the beginning until they realised that we West Indians, we'd fight back, and then they'd back off. At that time there was a lot of discrimination in the American forces. They were divided into black and white units, so when the war was on it was terrible, and we were right in the middle of it. We had to defend the black Americans, because poor souls, they were defenceless. If anything happened the white American army police would come and give them a hard time.
Suite 101: What was your first job in the UK?
Wilmot: My first job was washing dishes at the Cumberland Hotel and after my show business success I went back to the same hotel as a star which was really funny. I'll never forget that day - I stood there laughing! I said 'well, look, I used to wash plates in this hotel just to survive and here I am being escorted by police through the fans'.
Allan Wilmot, who by the way, is the uncle of Gary Wilmot, starred with Cliff Richard, Tommy Steele, Don Lang, Bob Hope and many others. This conversation continues in a further Suite 101 article when Wilmot talks about his show business success as a member of the singing group known as "The Southlanders."
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