Meet Bishop Lynwal and Lady Orlene Williams
(Scroll down for audio stories)

"To have people from America in and so close to our culture here was most fascinating to us."​​- Bishop Williams

These audio stories capture the lived experiences of Black Caribbean married couple and church leaders in Cambridge whose religious and cultural work intersected directly with the nearby American air bases during the late twentieth century. Bishop Lynwal Williams and Lady Orlene Williams both trace their journeys from Jamaica to the UK during the later Windrush era.

From the 1980s onwards, their church, Bibleway Global which has origins in the USA, became a point of connection between local Black Caribbean communities and African-American personnel at bases such as Mildenhall and Lakenheath. Through preaching, fellowship and shared worship, they describe how these encounters unfolded on base and in Cambridge itself, and offered the Air Force service members a taste of home.

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Across both interviews, music emerges as a central thread - not simply as performance, but as a cultural language and spiritual bridge. Gospel, R&B, reggae and other Black Atlantic traditions created familiarity for young American service members far from home, reinforcing transatlantic cultural ties. 

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Bishop Williams and son Shean Williams produce their own easy listening and insightful podcast, Yo Pops.

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Orlene owns and runs Orlene's Kitchen Cafe in the Guildhall, Cambridge City Centre. 

Bishop's story