A refugee who fled Uganda after finding himself on Idi Amin’s death list and ended up the mayor of a small Pembrokeshire town will share his story this month.

Joe D'Cruz, former mayor of Fishguard, Joe will be telling his incredible life story, in conversation with his son Kenny on the evening of August 20.

Joe is originally from Kenya, where he worked as a a steam train driver. Joe moved to Uganda with his wife and family.

A talented trumpeter he played at the Ugandan independence ball in 1962 and his hockey skills got him into the Ugandan team where he played internationally.

However Joe’s life ended up under threat in 1971 when military dictator Idi Amin came to power.

For helping those brutalised by the regime, Joe was put on the state death list.

“We had our phones tapped, we were followed, we had a death threat, we had to go into hiding,” said his son Kenny.

The rest of Joe’s family fled to Britain, made possible by their British passports.

However, they had to leave Joe behind in Africa without knowing if they would ever see him again.

Joe was smuggled out of the country to Italy. The family was reunited in refugee camps in the UK.

The family chose to settle in Fishguard, not knowing anything about Wales but due to the reputation of the local catholic school.

They arrived with nothing and Joe says they experienced only kindness and help from the local community as they started to rebuild their lives from scratch.

To pay the community back for this support, Joe served as a town councillor for 18 years, becoming mayor in 1996.

As well as his service on the council, he founded the local hockey club and was instrumental in the founding Point Young People’s Centre and the Fishguard Friendship Circle.

His love of music continued and he has been involved in the town’s music scene and Aberjazz Festival.

“There will be loads of local stories, loads of wild stories from Africa, loads of questions and probably loads of laughs,” said Kenny.

Joe will be telling his story in Ffwrn as part of Volunteering Matters’ Pembrokeshire Skill Share project.

The free event takes place at 7pm on August 20, with doors opening at 6.30pm.