To be British in the present day implies a person who might have their origins in Africa, the Caribbean, China, India, Greece, Turkey or anywhere else in the spectrum of nations. Interestingly, 109 passengers didn't give any address, perhaps indicating they had no fixed plan on arrival. The Empire Windrush is associated with the arrival of Caribbean men, women and children in the UK from 22 June 1948 at Tilbury Docks, Essex. In a sense the journey of the Windrush has never ended. Among the boxing hopefuls on board were Charles Smith, 21, a welder and boxer, Vernon "Boy" Solas, 18, mechanic and boxer, and boxing manager Mortimer Martin, 31, who was also a welder, captured in this photograph on arrival. The ship became iconic and closely associated with ‘coloured immigration’ which was the label given by both Labour and Conservative Governments. © 2020 BBC. From here, large Caribbean communities developed, contributing to the political, social and musical life of Britain ever since. Alongside that debate came the development of arguments about the regions within the United Kingdom - Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. "But then some of us have ended staying for 50.". In 1948, the Empire Windrush was en route from Australia to England via the Atlantic, docking in Kingston, Jamaica. The ship, MV Empire Windrush, arrived at Tilbury Docks in Essex, officially carrying 492 Caribbean passengers from Kingston, Jamaica, who had made the decision to travel after having been promised a better and more prosperous life in the UK. Alongside those travelling from the Caribbean for work, there were also Polish nationals displaced by World War Two, members of the RAF and people from Britain. One misty morning in June 1948 a former German cruise boat, the Empire Windrush, steamed up the Thames to the Tilbury Dock, London, where she disembarked some 500 hopeful settlers from Kingston, Jamaica: 492 was the official figure, but there were several stowaways as well. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 23 June 1948: There was no band, certainly, to greet the immigrants at Tilbury, but it was a welcome, and, for officialdom, a warm welcome The Empire Windrush, 1954. Newly arrived Jamaican immigrants on board the 'Empire Windrush' at Tilbury in 1948. Last updated 2011-03-10. dozens of the Caribbean passengers were also RAF airmen. Many then moved into rented houses and rooms in the Brixton and Clapham areas, working for employers such as the National Health Service or London Transport. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Sam King, who had served in England with the wartime RAF, was among them. An advert had appeared in a Jamaican newspaper offering cheap transport on the ship for anybody who wanted to come and work in the UK. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most popular destination recorded by passengers from the Caribbean was London - 296 people gave the city as their planned place of residence. According to the RAF, dozens of the Caribbean passengers were also RAF airmen returning from leave or veterans re-joining the service. .css-1xgx53b-Link{font-family:ReithSans,Helvetica,Arial,freesans,sans-serif;font-weight:700;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;color:#FFFFFF;}.css-1xgx53b-Link:hover,.css-1xgx53b-Link:focus{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}Read about our approach to external linking. The Windrush 70th Anniversary celebrates the pioneering, Windrush generation that came to Britain. She was the Empire Windrush, a ship that was originally part of Nazi Germany’s fleet before being captured and repurposed by the British. "They tell you it is the 'mother country', you're all welcome, you all British. When you come here you realise you're a foreigner and that's all there is to it.". How do you prove you've been living in the UK? about immigration to the U.K, 5th July, 1948 (HO 213/ 715) 10 Downing Street, S.W.1. Windrush generation: Who are they and why are they facing problems? At that time, there were no immigration restrictions for citizens of one part of the British Empire moving to another part. Caribbean migrants have become a vital part of British society and, in the process, transformed important aspects of British life. By the start of the seventies, West Indians were a familiar and established part of the British population, and they had achieved more than mere survival. This is now referred to as the ‘Windrush generation’. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. The name is a reference to one particular ship, MV Empire Windrush, which transported almost 500 passengers to the UK’s shores with … According to Nicholas Boston of the City University of New York, those who gave Mexico as their last country of residence were a group of Polish refugees - mainly women and children - who had been offered permanent residence in Britain. Explore 1,027 individual landing cards representing each passenger who arrived on the MV Empire Windrush at Tilbury docks on 22 June 1948. As it developed, it became clear that here was a British festival where everyone was welcome, and everyone who wished to had a part to play. Advice for the Windrush generation on what to do next. Even at the time Londoners saw it as a significant moment. Read more. The fightback movement starts Yet, there is some good news: the Windrush Generation reopened demands for ... this country from 1948 to 1973, and this debate is … Among them were John Hazel, 21, a boxer, Harold Wilmot, 32, a case maker and John Richards, 22, a carpenter, seen here in a photograph taken on arrival - alongside their records from the National Archives passenger list. First called Monte Rosa, it was converted to a troopship and renamed HMT Empire Windrush in 1947. I was very excited.". This event is often cited as the start of the postwar immigration boom that was to change British society forever. Below is a new transcription of the Windrush passenger list held at The National Archives. Housing was a huge problem and stayed that way for the next two decades. Windrush: Arrival 1948 Passenger List. Mr Richards, interviewed by the BBC in 1998, was, like many others, shocked to discover the difference between the "mother country" he had seen in books and the reality he was confronted with. Many were enticed to cross the Atlantic by job opportunities amid the UK's post-war labour shortage. Believe it or not, very few of the migrants intended to stay in Britain for more than a few years. Oswald "Columbus" Denniston, who was the first of the Windrush passengers to get a job according to the Daily Express at the time, told the BBC in 1998 that the atmosphere on the ship was "jolly". Letter from Prime Minister Attlee to an M.P. Many of them had paid £28 (about £1,000 today) to travel to Britain in response to job adverts in local newspapers. But 1948 marked a change. They were invited by Britain to assist with post-war reconstruction. The SS Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury docks on 22 June 1948 carrying passengers from the Caribbean. Read about our approach to external linking. The ship - full name HMT Empire Windrush - was originally a German passenger liner given to the UK as war reparation in 1945. All of its passengers were saved. But, despite living and working in the UK for decades, it emerged last year that some of the families of these Windrush migrants have been threatened with deportation, denied access to NHS treatment, benefits and pensions and stripped of their jobs. Passenger berths to England were now being advertised, such as in Jamaica's Daily Gleaner newspaper … If it hadn't been for the Second World War, the Windrush and her passengers might not have made the voyage at all. The most noted occupation, though, was "HD" - or "housing domestic" - meaning a housewife, servant or cleaner. There were also 86 children aged 12 and under. of the ship's records kept by the National Archives. I am replying to the letter signed by yourself and ten other Members of Parliament on the 22nd of June about the West Indians who arrived in this country on that day on board the “Empire Windrush”. Overall, 802 passengers gave their last country of residence as somewhere in the Caribbean. Read more. The Windrush generation refers to the half a million people who came to the UK from the Caribbean between 1948 and 1971. The British troopship HMT Empire Windrush anchored at Tilbury Docks, Essex, on 21 June 1948 carrying hundreds of passengers from the Caribbean hoping for a new life in Britain - … Photograph: Hulton Getty During the war, thousands of Caribbean men and women had been recruited to serve in the armed forces. .css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link{color:#3F3F42;}.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited{color:#696969;}.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited{font-weight:bolder;border-bottom:1px solid #BABABA;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link:hover,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited:hover,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link:focus,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited:focus{border-bottom-color:currentcolor;border-bottom-width:2px;color:#B80000;}@supports (text-underline-offset:0.25em){.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited{border-bottom:none;-webkit-text-decoration:underline #BABABA;text-decoration:underline #BABABA;-webkit-text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;-webkit-text-decoration-skip-ink:none;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;text-underline-offset:0.25em;}.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link:hover,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited:hover,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link:focus,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited:focus{-webkit-text-decoration-color:currentcolor;text-decoration-color:currentcolor;-webkit-text-decoration-thickness:2px;text-decoration-thickness:2px;color:#B80000;}}The UK government was forced to apologise and offered compensation for anyone who had "suffered loss". And Jamaican people are happy-go-lucky people. They have helped to shape British social, cultural and political life. BBC © 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The Empire Windrush's voyage from the Caribbean to Tilbury took place in 1948. There were 684 males over the age of 12, alongside 257 females of the same age. Excluded from much of the social and economic life around them, they began to adjust the institutions they brought with them - the churches, and a co-operative method of saving called the 'pardner' system. In pictures: the Windrush generation. In June 1948, a ship docked at Tilbury, Essex, and changed the United Kingdom forever. A party. `` debate about identity and citizenship was sparked off when the first Caribbeans stepped the. 684 males over the issue of accommodation the British Empire moving to another part atmosphere on the MV Empire packed. 1948 ( HO 213/ 715 ) 10 Downing Street, S.W.1 12 and under had no fixed plan arrival! 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