I come from a Romany Gypsy family. My name was Smith before I married, which is one of the biggest Gypsy families in England and I’m very proud of coming from a family that is so well-known in the community.
My family travelled round South East England, stopping on Mitcham Common, Belvedere Marshes in Kent and other well-known atchin tans (traditional stopping places). My great grandfather was a bare-knuckle fighter who used to travel around the country and Europe. He was a Bill Smith, like my dad and my brother (and I have a William myself). He was a little man but he had a fierce reputation and he was known as the Man of Mitcham.
My grandparents lived in some yards on Latimer Road, Shepherds Bush – that was very well-known for Gypsy and Traveller sites and yards and a lot of those people have now integrated into the local community. That’s how a lot of our language has become incorporated into cockney rhyming slang.
That’s where my dad was born. But during the war years it became dangerous because of the bombing, and a lot of London families made the journey down the A40 Western Avenue, another well-known Traveller route, and moved out to the West London suburbs. That’s where I was born and lived a very traditional Traveller childhood in a caravan in a yard, with my grandparents and aunts and uncles, lots of cousins and we all grew up together.
I started a career in Traveller education over 30 years ago, and I’ve supported and advocated for our children and families ever since. I’ve been a school governor, a parent support worker, an outreach worker and most recently a Gypsy and Traveller Schools Liaison Officer in Hillingdon. I left that job in April. There have been a lot of changes going on nationally in terms of Traveller education and policy and I didn’t agree with a lot of it. Continuing with my work would have meant reinforcing some of those policies that I didn’t think were right.
Although I miss the children and families, it’s given me more time to devote to my position as an LGT trustee, where I can pursue my passion for promoting inclusion and access to education for our children. I’ve got four children. One is an accountant working for a multinational company and another had been through the SEN school system. So we have a very varied experience of education.
There is a misconception that we, as a community, don’t value education. This is simply not true. I have never met a Traveller parent who doesn’t want their child to succeed or do better than them. What prevents education are the barriers families face – the bullying and the rubbish that people are exposed to online and on television.
In our community respect is everything. In my time working with LGT, I have never thought that that has been brought into question. I know they really value the life experience of its Gypsy, Roma, Traveller trustees. It is important that we feel able to challenge if necessary and make sure that important issues are discussed. We need to bring to the table what is happening to the community on the ground – the racism and attacks that our own families are experiencing, for example.
LGT aligns with my own personal values and principles, and for me that is very important. It’s always been crucial that I feel I can be authentic to my identity and my culture. As a Gypsy woman, it sometimes feels as though you’re walking a fine line by putting yourself in the public eye. We might be viewed differently by our own community. So it’s very important I retain my identity and integrity.
