David Lammy’s parents are from Guyana in South America. But wait—there’s a twist. His father’s family roots actually trace back to Ghana in West Africa. It’s a transatlantic tale. And it’s far more interesting than a simple one-line answer.
Think of it as a family tree with branches on two continents. How cool is that?
The Guyana connection
David’s mother, Rosalind, was born in Guyana. That’s a small country on the northern coast of South America. It’s the only English-speaking country on that continent. Quirky fact: Guyana is culturally Caribbean, even though it’s on the South American mainland. So his mum brought that vibrant, rum-and-reggae energy into the family. She was a seamstress. Hardworking. Humble. She raised David and his siblings in Tottenham, London, after moving to the UK in the 1960s.
His father, David Lammy Sr., was also from Guyana. But his story is more tangled. He struggled with alcohol and left the family when David was a kid. Despite that, the Guyana connection remains strong. It’s the land that shaped his parents’ childhoods. The land of jaguars, giant rivers, and the world’s largest single-drop waterfall (Kaieteur Falls, if you’re curious). His mum’s journey from there to North London is a classic Windrush generation story—except she arrived a little later, in the 1960s.
The Ghana surprise
Here’s where it gets juicy. David Lammy has Ghanaian roots on his father’s side. His paternal great-grandfather was from the Ga people in what is now Ghana. That’s right—his father’s ancestors were taken from West Africa to Guyana as enslaved people during the transatlantic slave trade. Centuries later, David’s dad was born in Guyana, but the DNA still hums with Ghanaian echoes. David has visited Ghana multiple times. He’s talked about the emotional power of walking the slave castles on the coast. He once said it felt like “coming home.” Chills, right?
So his family tree has three legs: Guyana, Ghana, and Britain. That’s a lot of passport stamps.
David Lammy and Jenny Chapman: On Father's Day let's show Labour
