The Windrush Generation 75 years on
The fight to call England home
Who are the Windrush Generation?
On June 22, 1948, a ship carrying 1,027 passengers from the Caribbean docked in Tilbury, Essex. It is unlikely that the 257 women, 684 men, 36 girls, and 50 boys on board would ever be aware of what was in store for them 75 years on.
This ship was known as HMT Empire Windrush, the first of its kind, and marked the start of post-war Commonwealth migration in Britain. Under the assurance of the 1948 Nationality Act, which sustained the citizenship of the migrants through ‘right of settlement', many took the same journey until 1971. It’s necessary to acknowledge that the West Indian travellers were not provided with any documents for their journey over nor were they needed. It wouldn’t be until up to over 6 decades later that trouble brewing from this Government driven statute would be brought to the surface
There were an estimated 57,000 non UK nationals from Commonwealth countries in England before 1971, 15,000 of them being from Jamaica according to The University of Oxford.
Why did they migrate to England?
Left with a country shaken by destruction, a declining population, and intense labour shortages, the UK government turned to migration as the solution for rebuilding the once-thriving country. They enticed hopeful migrants from Commonwealth countries with promises of prosperity and employment, encouraging them to leave their lives behind for greater possibilities. Reassured with the pledge of a better life, the voyagers had dreamed of England as the land of opportunity, but upon their arrival were welcomed with unemployment and a temporary home address.
Clapham South
New beginnings: Their arrival into London
The shelter where the West Indian migrants lived for four weeks.
The shelter where the West Indian migrants lived for four weeks.
As Britain was also suffering from a post-war housing shortage, at least one-third of the voyagers were temporarily housed in deep air raid shelters set up by the Ministry of Labour and National Service Office in Clapham, South London. Despite the majority of migrants having just five pounds to their name after their journey, for six shillings and sixpence a day (33p today), they were provided with meals and a bed in the shelter that was up to 30 metres below ground. The canteen set up in the shelter served pie in the evening and had a tea cart which was said to be a popular choice amongst the West Indian residents. The underground shelter which was 180 steps below the surface of Clapham South was already furnished with bunk beds and washing facilities following its use as an underground bunker during the war. The windowless accommodation was cramped, humid, and noisy as tubes clanked overhead.
The first-generation immigrants each had an allocated bed but as the shelter was open from 7 AM to 7 PM, they were expected to pack all of their belongings (except the bedding) carry them up 180 stairs above ground in the morning, and unpack them every evening.
The majority of the 236 migrants made their way into London every day in search of work. The new arrivals were also interviewed by the Ministry of Labour and National Service in the hopes of finding jobs. Within 3 weeks, they had all relocated after successfully finding work. It wasn't easy to integrate into British society, considering on their journey to find more permanent housing, they were met with posters, abuse, and protests entrenched in racism. 'NO BLACKS, NO DOGS AND NO IRISH' were found outside thousands of properties. Despite becoming integral parts of the labour force, one thing was clear, the West Indian migrants were going to have to fight to call England home.
Hostels became home to many of the migrants, with the ability to privately rent housing proving difficult with landlords reluctant to rent to the new workforce. Many found jobs working for the NHS, and local factories but the biggest employer was Transport For London (TFL). After leaving Clapham, many of the hopeful job seekers settled in Brixton which was the home of the nearest labour exchange at Cold Harbour Lane.
How they left their mark on London
Brixton
"They can accept you for being a nurse and doing their work but they won't accept you living next door to them."
"When the opportunity arises to make a significant contribution to justice or the civil rights movement, one has to rise to the occasion."
Basil Watson's Story
Basil Watson CD is a world renowned sculptor born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1958. He created the National Windrush Monument that was unveiled in Waterloo station in 2022.
His father, painter Barrington Watson met Basil’s mother on their journey over to England in 1951. They married in 1954 in England and welcomed his brother, sculptor Raymond Watson in the same year. Basil’s mother moved back to Jamaica in need of more support. She returned to England in 1962 before moving back to Jamaica four years later. Basil has no recollection of his time there but acknowledges that England’s ‘architecture and culture felt very familiar’ to him when he returned over 50 years later.
Basil’s return to England was triggered by a call from the Windrush Commemoration Committee (WCC) inviting him to submit a piece of art along with 15 other candidates with the possibility of making a permanent tribute to the Caribbean migrants in Waterloo station. Basil was one of four artists selected from a long list by WCC Chair Baroness Floella Benjamin DBE and was then awarded the commission after public consultation.
Basil cites his family as the inspiration for the Bronze monument at Waterloo station stating: “I thought of my mother, brother and father, the aspirations for what they were trying to achieve so I figured that family would be an essential part of the concept.” The family in the monument stands upon several suitcases, which derive from Basil’s memories of a suitcase his mother had under her bed as well as a Jamaican programme that popularised the style of the suitcase. “By coincidence or design the suitcases had become popular in Jamaican folklore because of a radio programme called Dulcimina. I thought it would be a good addition to use their suitcases as a symbol of them coming with their culture.”
Basil returned to England in December 2021 and completed the sculpture in June 2022. It was unveiled in the presence of the former Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The Sculptor felt that the feeling amongst the community was that of exasperation: “They thought having the monument there was an important thing to achieve because of the social, political controversies and issues surrounding it.”
"Many English people treated them as second class citizens, believing they should return back to Jamaica despite my grandma acting as an essential part of the NHS."
Elicia Thomas who is a student at the University of Manchester. Her Grandparents came to the UK in 1966.
They settled in West London, where Elicia’s grandma worked as a nurse and her grandad worked as a carpenter. Elicia was shocked but unsurprised to learn that her grandparents were faced with racism and racially insensitive comments when they arrived in the country. “Many English people treated them as second-class citizens, believing they should return to Jamaica despite my grandma acting as an essential part of the NHS.” She says. The Thomas’ were able to find refuge within the West London church community, the majority of whom came to England in aid of the country. Faced with prejudice initially within the job market, the West Indian migrants struggled for months before finding full-time work with relatively good pay, after this, they were able to purchase a home and establish themselves in London.
Elicia candidly acknowledges her loss of trust in the government’s handling of the scandal and the way the Windrush generation was treated. “I felt disappointed that a government that was reliant on the Windrush generation to rebuild Britain as we see it today would depreciate the work of thousands of Caribbean's who faced racism and discrimination despite acting as a valuable and imperative part of the British workforce. It showed the bigoted and unappreciative outlook of the brusque whose myopic opinions blinded racial justice.”
The third-generation student hopes to work within the government to encourage reform and the importance of social mobility programs for ethnic minorities that are held at a disadvantage. She feels a weight of responsibility as a third-generation migrant, to challenge the racial stereotypes that she feels place the black community at a disadvantage and have become “embedded within Britain”. University was always part of the plan for the Politics, Philosophy, and Economics student, who sees becoming successful as a way to create more opportunities for young people “who are faced with discriminatory and uncomfortable work environments.”
The ongoing fight
In 2017, Guardian journalist Amelia Gentleman exposed the wrongful detainment of Paulette Wilson, a 61-year-old Grandmother who moved to the UK aged 10 in 1968 but had no documents to prove she had entered the country legally. Further investigation revealed that Paulette was not the only victim of the UK Government’s harsh hostile environment policy. Hundreds of former Commonwealth citizens who had migrated in the 1950 and 60s under the 1948 Nationality Act were wrongly considered illegal migrants, detained or threatened with detainment, and sent back to a country that many of them had not called home since they were children. As the majority arrived on their parents' passports as children, and the Home Office had destroyed thousands of landing cards in 2010, they were unable to provide documentation to prove their citizenship. They began to lose their jobs, access to housing, driving licenses, and bank accounts at the hands of the country that had welcomed them under the guise and promise of citizenship. It was clear to the migrants that the fight to call England home was not over.
After calls for reformation on the immigration policy that facilitated the destruction of the migrants' lives, the former home secretary Sajid Javid announced the Home Office’s commission of a ‘Windrush lessons learned review’ in 2018 and the Windrush Compensation scheme was introduced in 2019. The author of the review gave 30 recommendations for the Home Office and Home Secretary of which only 8 had been acted upon. In January this year, Home Secretary Suella Braverman announced her plans to not implement three measures that were committed to by previous Home Secretary Priti Patel. In 2021, a report by The Home Affair Select Committee found that of those eligible for compensation only 5.8% of them had received their payment. 23 people have passed away since then, without ever having received any form of compensation. As of January 2022, £55.44 million has been paid out across 1467 claims.
75 years on, the Government has apologised in the form of financial compensation, and the declaration of a national Windrush day. However it poses the question: with lives destroyed, families torn apart, and the mistreatment of the migrants who came over to rebuild this country, will justice ever be served?
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