To mark the 75th anniversary of Windrush, Chelsea FC and Chelsea Foundation are releasing ‘Chelsea’s Caribbean Voices’, a photography and interview series with fans of Caribbean heritage from across London.

For the second part of this series, we spoke to the Brandfords. A family of over 20 who have all supported Chelsea for decades. One Brandford family member, Jason, works at Chelsea in the social media team.

We spoke to siblings David, Jeff and Verna, who are all going into their sixth decade supporting the Blues. We sat with them at Stamford Bridge to hear more about their experiences as Chelsea fans with Caribbean heritage...

You all have been going to Chelsea matches since the '70s, so must have loads of great stories. Please share your favourite Chelsea memory.

Verna
Winning the FA Cup against Leeds, that's when we first got into them. Well, first time for me and my cousin who was four years older than me, and we both went to the matches.

David
FA Cup final, 1970, Peter Osgood when he scored that equaliser with a flying header. Yeah, that done it for me.

• Chelsea Foundation celebrates Windrush generation

• Chelsea’s Caribbean Voices – Gill and Felicia Pennant

Jeff
Yeah, they were losing as well, about to draw two-all, in the first game, and in the replay they won 2-1. I think it was David Webb.

What has your experience been like throughout your lives as Chelsea fans of Caribbean heritage? Has that changed? Is it the same?

Verna
There was no distinction made, as long as we were Chelsea fans it was okay. And we were girls as well. We'd stand in the Shed with everyone else, we shouted with everyone else. Once even when we went to West Ham, we ran on to the pitch with everyone else.

David
I just remember in the stands, there was a fair amount of racism coming from all around us, all around us. But we had no fear. We were just Chelsea. We were kids. So it didn't really bother us, we had no fear at all. It was all about Chelsea.

Jeff
The thing is, you don't actually go into the stand looking for other Black people, you just went there to watch the game. You didn't care. We were oblivious to everything that was going on, totally oblivious to it. We just enjoyed the football so much.

I have experienced racism in the stands. I remember when John Terry and Anton Ferdinand had their drama. I was at the first Chelsea v United afterwards, and I'll always remember, the Chelsea fans singing ‘Rio, Rio, you ain't even Black!’ That was awful. I even looked back at them because, seriously? There's no need for that. That would be the worst bit of racism I've heard while I've been in the stadium.

What do you think the difference is today, if there is any difference, for the Caribbean community of Chelsea fans? And if you do think there is a difference today, what do you think has helped to change things over those generations?

Jeff
Paul Canoville. I think it was Paul Canoville. The first Black player to play for Chelsea. Clyde Best [who played for West Ham] was also a trailblazer.

You just see a lot more like Black players now. Back in the days when we used to go, there were hardly any Black players.

Now you see a lot more Black people in the stands, not just Black people but a lot of people of colour too. You didn't used to see that. But where football has grown you would expect that anyway because it's more global now. Whereas before it was just first division, second division. Remember Chelsea got relegated?

Verna
I didn't go to Chelsea matches for a number of years. And then a colleague of mine’s friend was a member and he said, ‘Do you want to come to a Chelsea match?' I said ‘Yeah!’, and I hadn't been to the new stadium. And so I remember I sat next to him. I got here early, and I was sitting drinking water; accidentally dropped my water, and it went over a fan! And he said, 'it's alright love'.

And they'd let me go down the stairs, they'd move out of the way so I could go down the stairs when we went for a break. They were just so courteous. There’s no reason why they shouldn't be, but you wouldn't have got that back in the day!

So as Chelsea fans, this united all of you when you're in the stadium, no matter what your background is?

Verna
You didn't get any bother - I think they were just too surprised! Two women! Because women didn't really go, back in the day. We were teenagers as well.

Jeff
You're right, there wasn't a lot of girls back then. I know we're going on about Black people; there's not many girls and women, definitely not.

Ultimately Chelsea was the thing that united you and made sure that you had a good experience every time.

Speaking a bit more generally now, what do you think is the influence that Caribbean culture has had on English football as a whole? Whether that’s Caribbean players, the fans, or just the general football culture?

Jeff
They are more outspoken because of some of the things that used to occur on the terraces; I can't say it affected the players, but we never really saw much reaction from the players. They just used to play their game. They stayed professional, and you used to think to yourself, that's the way to manage it. It was kind of inspiring for them not to react - as much as they wanted to, because a few of them, they've had worse upbringings than a lot of us - and they didn't react, and that was a really inspirational thing that they did. They could have just looked like thugs, and they didn't.

Do you think that taught a good lesson to the Caribbean fans, incidents maybe in their lives - how to overcome and be strong?

Verna
Exactly. I think they were strong anyway.

Jeff
Imagine the abuse... the abuse Canoville got, from his own Chelsea fans.

What do you think, for you personally or in general, is the most important takeaway from the legacy of our Windrush generation? Following on from that, why do you think clubs like Chelsea should mark Windrush Day and ensure we celebrate our Caribbean communities?

Verna
Well, for me, and my brothers might have two other points, it's important to just acknowledge the diversity of their fans over the years. Because, apart from today, it's never really been acknowledged: the diversity of Chelsea fans, they're always seen as white racists. Even now.

Jeff
And people even now say, 'what, you've been Chelsea for X amount of years. How? How could you be Chelsea?'... They actually ask the question, 'how could you be Chelsea?', and the answer is, we've got blue blood.

Verna
Blue is the colour!

Jeff
And the thing is, we didn't really have to stand up to anything did we? We never had to defend ourselves in all the time that we were coming here.

How would you like to see clubs like Chelsea mark days like Windrush Day and really lift up, showcase and celebrate the diversity of our fans, including our Caribbean community?

Verna
Just acknowledge the diversity in some way, during this period, especially given the team that they have. Just acknowledge it in some way, because Chelsea is representative of the diversity of London.