Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Swindolena: a home from home for island Saints
THE name Swindolena sounds like it could belong to a fairy-tale princess – or perhaps to a wicked witch, or even a product for cleaning glass.
But it is in fact the nickname given to Swindon by expats from a small island in the South Atlantic who will forever call the Wiltshire town home.
Swindon is home to hundreds of migrants from St Helena, a remote volcanic island more than 1,200 miles off the coast of Africa.
Settled by Portuguese colonists in the 1500s, St Helena was captured by British sailors in the 1650s.
It became Britain’s second overseas colony, after Bermuda, and a base for British ships conducting – and later fighting against – the Transatlantic slave trade.
The territory is now home to more than 4,400 people, many of whom live in the island’s capital of Jamestown.
But there are around a fifth as many “Saints”, as the island’s populace are called – around 800 at the last count – who have made their home in Swindon.
In fact, more than a third of Saints residing in the UK live in Swindolena.
Alongside the Falkland Islands, Britain is a major migration destination for Saints, as those born on the island have been considered full British citizens since 2002.
The main reason for their migration is work, with more varied opportunities available here.
The cost of living is also lower here than on St Helena, which is one of the world’s most remote locations.
Travelling home is something Saints rarely do as this involved a five-day voyage by sea from Cape Town until 2017, when St Helena Airport opened to commercial traffic.
Swindon just happens to be where early migrants from St Helena found success, leading to the town earning a reputation for being somewhere friendly to Saints. Other, smaller Saint centres in Britain include Cheltenham, Southampton and London.
But when officials visit from St Helena, or UK politicians want to meet the Saint diaspora, they find their audience in Swindolena.
Swindon is also home to the charity St Helena Friends United, which hosts five fundraising events each year to provide money and supplies to vulnerable people living on the island.
These events, which feature traditional food, music and arts from St Helena, see thousands of Saints flock from around the UK to support their compatriots more than 4,600 miles away.
Last year saw almost £9,000 raised through charity dances and sports days.
The biggest of these is Reading Sports, an event which takes place at Reading Rugby Club every August Bank Holiday, and which welcomes Saints not only from around Britain but around the world.
Ministers from both Britain and St Helena are now encouraging Saints to return to the South Atlantic island, the population of which is both ageing and shrinking, according to 2021 census data.
It is hoped that the new airport will bring a tourism boom, creating jobs and helping St Helena on the road to self-sufficiency, five centuries after it was settled.
But even if Saints do flock back to their tropical paradise, it seems they will always have a home from home in Swindon.