Our People, Our Spirit, Our Stories | Una Marson

Una Marson’s connection to Camden sits at the heart of her groundbreaking broadcasting career. Living at The Mansions on Mill Lane in West Hampstead, the Jamaican-born poet, playwright and campaigner began working for the BBC and became its first Black broadcaster and producer in 1942.

Her home was also a place of welcome. Sharing a flat with her sister and others, Una hosted gatherings and welcomed Caribbean servicemen, bringing friendship, music and a sense of belonging into wartime London.

Born in Jamaica in 1905, she had already established herself as a creative force before arriving in Britain. In 1928, she founded The Cosmopolitan magazine, championing women’s perspectives alongside literature and social debate. Her poetry and plays explored identity, inequality and the experiences of women finding their own voice.

At the BBC, her work on Calling the West Indies connected Caribbean servicemen with families back home. In 1943, she launched Caribbean Voices, creating a platform that would become an important meeting place for Caribbean literature and help bring emerging writers to wider audiences.

Una’s achievements place West Hampstead within a much larger story of cultural exchange between Britain and the Caribbean. An English Heritage blue plaque, unveiled at her former home in 2025, now honours that connection.

Her legacy remains one of creative courage and opportunity as a woman who helped change whose voices could be heard, and whose Camden home was part of that remarkable journey.