The 1966 General Election included a rather glamourous and unusual candidate. Gibraltar born Elisa Sherif stood as an independant Liberal for womens' right and also campaigned to save Gibraltar from Spain. She achieved a creditable third place. Many Gibraltarians living in Sands End voted for Elisa, who was the Managing Director of a Mayfair cosmetics firm.

It was at a time when the late Spanish dictator General Franco was trying to prise the colony away from Britain by closing his frontier and depriving many of the citizens who worked on the Spanish mainland of their livelihoods. Our pictures (published in the West London Observer ) show Elisa on the election trial and trying to present a symbolic rock to sitting MP and Foreign Secretary Michael Stewart  but being thwarted by his agent Leslie Hilliard. 

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Large numbers of Gibraltarians migrated to Britain during the last War when their homes were requisitioned by the armed forces. Many eventually settled in Fulham like Angela Walford's father Jose Berini. Writes Angela; "My father's mother and sister were evacuated to Kensington. My father lost a lot of money since he was a money lender. After the war they encouraged him to join them. He eventually moved to Querrin Street with my mother Maruja, who was Spanish. Gibraltarians worked hard , bought their own homes and quickly settled in the UK."

Angela recalls another Gibraltarian family- the Parody's. "They were a lovely and were great friends with my father. There were three daughters and I am still in touch with the youngest Elizabeth."

Francis Czucha lived in Broughton Road and although his mother Esperanza was Spanish he says that she got on very well with her Gibraltarian neighbours, like the Cerisola and Trinidad families, inspite of the political tensions of the time.  "We lived opposite Henry and Antonia Cerisola and always stopped for a chat with them. There were never any arguments about Spain and Gibraltar."

"The Cerisolas had two daughters-Evonne and Sonia. Evonne was in my class at St Thomas More Secondary School and I had a secret crush on her but she already had a suitor, who her very protective father used to stand in the street and watch out for. Sonia was a pretty girl with a lovely smile. They also had a son called Charlie, who I believe was a useful footballer and had a few trials with professional clubs. He went on to have his own picture framing business."

"Tom and Juana Trinidad  lived at 84 Broughton Road. They had two boys Tommy and his younger brother Tito. I seem to remember that Tito was very popular with the opposite sex because of his latin good looks and he had a successful plumbing business."

Marilyn Luckson nee Buckingham who lived in Stephendale writes that one of her best friends was "a Spanish cockney from Gibraltar" who lived in Lindrop Street and was called Ludies Britto. Other local Gibraltarians included the Danino, Mantas, Yeats and Cardona families.

But one of the best known  was Fulham goalkeeper Tony Macedo. He was a very skillful and popular player at Craven Cottage during the 1950s and early 60s, who was actually barred from playing for England because he was Gibraltarian! The ban was eventually lifted and he represented the England under 23 team. Like with so many couples, Tony's mother was born just across the border in Spain and his father in Gib. Macedo was just two years old when the War ended and the family returned to Gibraltar but they decided to come back to the UK after 18 months to improve their prospects. They settled in North London and Tony's goalkeeping potential was spotted by a Fulham scout when playing for Middlesex Boys. His brother worked at Drayton Paper Works for a period. 

Angela Walford offers this description of Gibraltar and Gibraltarians; "Gibraltar is a fascinating place made up of Italian (mainly Genoese fishermen), Jews, Hindus, Maltese and of course Spanish speaking people. It's a peaceful place to work and the Gibs feel strongly British. The cusine is a rich mix from all these different nationalities."