Toxteth 'saint' who gave poor kids a good meal to start the day

A man who came from Nigeria during WW1 and made Liverpool his home is still remembered with love by the community he served. Pastor Daniels Ekarte arrived in Liverpool in 1915 and in 1931, he founded the African Churches Mission (ACM) in Hill Street, Toxteth which stood for over 30 years until its demolition in 1964.

The pastor touched the lives of many people in Toxteth by helping poor families, as well as housing sailors and other people who were denied accommodation because of their skin colour. Speaking to the ECHO, Ann Monaghan, 71, who grew up in King Gardens in the 1950s said: "It always irritated me that there was little to no recognition of him. He was a lovely man. He was already elderly when we were kids, but I remember he'd stand at the front of the mission, and as children we would say hello to him and he always had a smile for everyone."

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Ann added: "There was a lot of poverty. He looked after kids and fed them. It wasn't called a breakfast club back then, but that's what it was. They'd have their breakfast on the way to school thanks to him. He'd help anyone who had nothing, no matter their colour."

Bea Freeman has equally fond memories of the pastor. She told us earlier this year about the wonderful parties Pastor Daniels organised for local children in Toxteth. "My memories of Pastor Daniels are going to the mission's Christmas parties," she said. "It was one of the things Black children in our community looked forward to. My memories are vivid because I got a musical box, the first time I ever saw one, and my sister got a sewing set.

“They set up, at Stanley House, the first Black Christmas concert and we were all made Black fairies. My grandmother and aunt made us all little fairy dresses with wings, which was fantastic".

Pastor Daniels also helped mixed-race children fathered by Black American GIs who came to Britain during WWII. Some babies were cared for by the mission after being given up by their mums as a result of racial prejudices at the time and the prohibition on inter-racial marriage in the US armed forces.

Brian Lawrenson, 79, was one such baby. He told the ECHO last year: "I was three months old when I went into the orphanage [run by Pastor Daniels] in 1944. My father was a Black American serviceman, and according to Mrs Roberts [a housekeeper in the orphanage] all the children were the children of American GIs.

"It was closed to children in 1949 and after that it served the seamen and became a worship centre. It was a legal and political decision to close it, as he [Pastor Daniels] was a thorn to society. It was a way to punish him, it was payback time.

"When they came to take us away in 1949 we ran away in the building and tried to hide, as we didn't want to leave. I can remember we were forcibly removed, they came for us at seven in the morning and even now I can see the big black cars coming for us. They eventually did catch us and I ended up in Fazakerley Cottage Homes on the other side of the city. But, I always came back to visit, others did too, and I would visit on a Sunday to listen to him preach".

Despite his remarkable contributions to the community, Pastor Daniels was buried in an unmarked grave. Last year, Liverpool Black History Research Group unveiled a memorial to the pastor, engraved with the words: "My people believe that the problems of the present and the future could be solved through careful and sympathetic study of the past."

For more information on Pastor Daniels, visit the Liverpool Black History Research Group website.