Book Review: Believe – The story of Betty Campbell

Malachy Edwards

The inspiring life of Betty Campbell MBE (1934–2017), a native of Butetown and Wales’ first Black headteacher, is a story close to my heart.

This engaging novel, by Casia Wiliam, available in both Welsh and English, presents Betty narrating her life story to a class of children at Mount Stuart Primary School – an approach that proves highly effective.

The headteacher begins by responding to a pupil, Yassir Hassan, who shares an encounter with a racist comment from a stranger. Drawing on examples from her own life, Betty teaches the children how she responded to, challenged, and overcame racism and hardship.

Betty Campbell was born in Tiger Bay, Cardiff, in 1934 to parents of West Indian heritage. As headteacher, she became well-known for promoting Black history and a multicultural curriculum in schools.

The novel explores how her philosophy of inclusive education was rooted in her childhood experiences of the multi-ethnic, multilingual, and multi-faith community of the docks.

Pride

Through her story, we meet a range of characters from Betty’s childhood—Welsh friends and peers from Egyptian, Somali, Norwegian, and Malaysian backgrounds—as Betty explains to her pupils: “It is possible to belong to more than one country and heritage. It is something to be proud of.

“I’m Welsh, and very proud of that, but I have roots in Jamaica, Ireland, and Barbados, so the culture of all these places also belongs to me. We can all be proud of our background and learn about each other’s backgrounds too.”

The novel skilfully paints a portrait of a capable, kind, resilient, and determined woman. Betty’s childhood was challenging; her father, a sailor, was often away at sea, leaving a noticeable absence at home.

As a child, she was evacuated during the Second World War after the docks became a target for Nazi bombers. Sent to Aberdare, she learned a few Welsh phrases, while her mother traveled on weekends to help her carer with her hair care.

Moving

One moving chapter describes Betty learning of her father’s fate during the war—an emotional episode handled with sensitivity.

Despite these challenges, Betty excelled academically, winning a scholarship to a grammar school where she faced prejudice. A teacher, dismissing her aspiration to become a schoolteacher, told her, “Go back to sit down and think again, Betty.” Undeterred, Betty pursued her dream.

Betty Campbell was a trailblazer in teaching Black history in schools—a legacy now reflected in the Welsh curriculum, which includes the history of Black, Asian, and ethnic minority people.

Representation in the curriculum is as essential as it is in literature, and this accessible, informative book has brought the inspiring story of one of the most influential Black Welsh figures of our time to children and young people across Wales.

The novel is available in English and Welsh from Gwasg Carreg Gwalch and the Books Council for Wales website.

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