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Hindustan Times
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Windrush Day 2025: Buckingham Palace unveils Royal portraits honoring Caribbean men, women and children
The British Royal Family marked Windrush Day by unveiling a selection of portraits of the Windrush Generation commissioned by King Charles III. The ten portraits created to honor Caribbean men, women, and children who came to the UK post-World War II, now hang proudly in Buckingham Palace as part of the Royal Collection. A picture shared by the Royal Family. On Sunday, June 22, the Royal Family took to X (formerly Twitter) to commemorate the occasion writing, 'Today is Windrush Day: a day to mark the contribution of the Caribbean men, women and children who arrived in Britain after the Second World War to help rebuild the country.' Also read: Kate Middleton apologises to Prince William after winning yacht race in resurfaced video. Watch Royal tribute spotlights 10 members of the Windrush Generation The portraits, according to the Royal Family statement, were commissioned in 2023 at the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush. In 1948, the ship carried hundreds of Caribbean migrants. These people would become the foundation of post-war Britain's workforce, especially in sectors like transport, healthcare, and manufacturing, as per. In their social media post, the Royal Family added, 'The King commissioned ten artists to create portraits of ten pioneering members of the Windrush Generation.' BBC iPlayer documentary shares firsthand stories of resilience The Royal Family also invited people to explore the project by watching the BBC documentary Windrush: Portraits of a Generation which is streaming on BBC iPlayer. The documentary focuses the process behind the portraits and features emotional, first-hand accounts from Windrush elders, many now in their 90s. As per BBC, the documentary aimed to preserve their stories as a lasting memorial to those who 'gave so much of themselves to rebuild a nation devastated by war'. What is Windrush Day? Windrush Day started getting recognized in 2018. It is a chance to celebrate and remember what the Windrush Generation went through, especially after the Windrush scandal where many were wrongfully detained or faced deportation threats. FAQs Q: What is Windrush Day and why is it celebrated? A: Windrush Day, celebrated every June 22, honors the Caribbean men, women and children who arrived in the UK in 1948 aboard the HMT Empire Windrush to help rebuild Britain after WWII. Q: What is the story behind Windrush? A: The HMT Empire Windrush brought Caribbean migrants to the UK in 1948. These individuals became known as the Windrush Generation and played a crucial role in rebuilding post-war Britain. Q: What is the Jamaican Windrush? A: Many passengers aboard the Empire Windrush were from Jamaica and other Caribbean nations. The term "Jamaican Windrush" often refers to the Jamaican nationals who were part of this journey. Q: How to celebrate Windrush Day? A: People can celebrate by attending community events, watching documentaries like Windrush: Portraits of a Generation, learning about Caribbean contributions to Britain, and supporting local Black heritage initiatives. A: People can celebrate by attending community events, watching documentaries like Windrush: Portraits of a Generation, learning about Caribbean contributions to Britain, and supporting local Black heritage initiatives. A: Many passengers aboard the Empire Windrush were from Jamaica and other Caribbean nations. The term "Jamaican Windrush" often refers to the Jamaican nationals who were part of this journey. Q: How to celebrate Windrush Day? A: People can celebrate by attending community events, watching documentaries like Windrush: Portraits of a Generation, learning about Caribbean contributions to Britain, and supporting local Black heritage initiatives.
Metro
22-06-2025
- Metro
Interactive map shows where Windrush passengers settled across the UK
Today marks 75 years since HMT Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury, Essex. Since then the vessel has become synonymous with the wider history of migration to Britain. An interactive map at the National Archives in Richmond, south west London, details the individual migration patterns and stories of those who travelled on board in June 1948. From London to Birmingham and Devon to Norfolk, people from the Windrush settled across Britain. The interactive maps are created from passenger lists held at the archives and aim to give the general public a wider understanding about migration patterns from the Caribbean. The maps also feature the destinations passengers from the Empire Windrush's post-war predecessors – the Ormonde and the Almanzora, which docked in 1947, settled. Dr Lisa Berry-Waite, who is the National Archive's Migration and Citizenship Researcher, worked on the project and talked about the importance of this map. She said: 'It is really important in recognising and celebrating the contributions of black people to British society. 'With this new resource and this map we hope to engage audiences in thinking more about Caribbean migration to Britain in the post-War period and the Windrush generation's contributions to it. 'The map really highlights the geographical span of Caribbean communities across the UK and that legacy can still be seen today. 'In terms of how this map helps us understand this part of history today, many people from the Windrush migrated to Birmingham and still today there is a strong Caribbean culture in this city.' The Empire Windrush started its journey at Port of Spain (Trinidad), followed by Kingston (Jamaica), Tampico (Mexico), Havana (Cuba), and Bermuda, before crossing the Atlantic to reach Tilbury Docks. Researchers have then mapped areas every single passenger from The Windrush moved to upon docking in Tilbury. Dr Berry-Waite highlighted that some addresses would have been temporary prior to people moving somewhere permanent. 'People moved to cities, towns and villages across the country,' she said. 'Many people assume those from the Windrush ended up in London but from our research this was far from the case. 'Everywhere from Bodmin, to Brighton, Sunderland, Inverness, Glasgow, Wales, a whole geographical span. 'There are a range of motivations behind migration patterns as well. 'Some may have been meeting friends and family who had previously migrated from the Caribbean. Other people will have organised jobs beforehand. 'The occupation data we gained for the passenger list is also really interesting. 'It shows a diverse range of skills and professions passengers had from carpenters, to plumbers, to clerks, to hairdressers, to dressmakers and accountants. 'Many moved across after the Second World War to rebuild Britain such as the seven people on board who had their occupation down as nurse and went on to work for the newly formed NHS.' During Dr Berry-Waite's research she came across a passenger on board who went on to make a difference. Ena Clare Sullivan was a nurse who travelled over to Britain to work for the NHS on Class A of the Windrush and paid £48 for her ticket (£2,000 in today's value). Dr Berry-Waite talked more about her contribution to the country when she arrived on the Windrush. 'Her onwards address was listed as West Middlesex Hospital, so that's where she trained as a nurse,' she said. 'She worked there for eight years after her training and then went to work as a nurse in Stoke-on-Trent and then later in Manchester. More Trending 'Her story leans into this regional aspect of not everybody settling in London and travelling across the country. 'It also highlights the contribution of Ena in helping to set up and staff the newly formed NHS along with many other individuals as well.' The blog post which includes more information about the interactive map can be found on The National Archives website here. This article was originally published on October 21, 2023 Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Windrush activists rally government to save Notting Hill carnival MORE: 'Delightful' but lesser-known fishing village is the perfect spot for a UK seaside holiday MORE: Chilling joke made by mum-of-four before she died in skydiving accident
Refinery29
20-06-2025
- General
- Refinery29
These Archive Photos Honour The Windrush Generation's Legacy Of Style
My grandfather, originally from Barbados, passed away when I was 2. It didn't leave much time to get to know him outside of family stories, but elders in my community would tell me that they could see him – a very tall man whose suits were always razor sharp — in me. 'Look, she!' they would laugh in patois as I walked past. 'She is Mr Blackett, himself.' I recently began searching through old photographs of my grandparents — they have all 'gone to glory' now, as they would say — and marvelled at their elegant and immaculate presentation. My grandmother on my mother's side, originally from Antigua, passed away earlier this year. She was a woman known for her faith, a powerful voice that turned everyone's heads in church, but also for her style. She was known to wear a fascinator with a long matching dress on an average Wednesday. Like many Caribbean people who migrated to this country in the 50s and 60s, my grandmother's adjustment to the UK wasn't easy. But she took extra special pride in her appearance — a value that was passed down to my entire family. I've been thinking a lot about the legacy of style left behind by this generation. It's soon Windrush Day (June 22), and more than 75 years ago, the first Caribbean migrants arrived on the HMT Empire Windrush in 1948. It's said there were 1027 passengers on board hailing from Jamaica, Trinidad, St Lucia, Grenada, and Barbados. Many of those who arrived had served in the British armed forces during the war and were recognised as citizens of the United Kingdom — part of the 'Empire'. As they arrived in England, hopeful for the life and opportunities promised by the 'Mother Country', many wore their Sunday Best as they traversed to this new frontier. It's said that Caribbean migrants received a pamphlet ahead of going to Britain, documenting how they should dress for the cold (freezing weather my grandma would describe as 'wicked!'). Yet, as was reported in The Thurrock Gazette in 1948, they arrived via the Empire Windrush 'Dressed in an odd assortment of clothes, many wearing ties of dazzling designs.' ' The origins of the Black British aesthetic — the fusing of Caribbean and African influences in British fashion, music and culture — arguably began here. ' You may have seen the incredible photos from this arrival and the other ships that followed over those years: Caribbean men, like my grandfather, in tailored suits, wide-brimmed hats and Fedoras, overcoats, and shined-up shoes. Women, a picture of sophistication, in frilled blouses, dresses, and bold jewellery. In many ways, these photos capture the start of the Caribbean's influence on British culture. The origins of the Black British aesthetic — the fusing of Caribbean and African influences in British fashion, music and culture — arguably began here. Today, we continue to see echoes of that original elegance in contemporary fashion. Cast your mind back to May, when Vogue unveiled the theme for the 2025 MET Gala, fashion's biggest night of the year: ' Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.' With its chair of stylish Black men — Colman Domingo, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams, and Lewis Hamilton — the event successfully introduced the fashion world to Black Dandyism. As Unbothered writer Taryn Finley explained at the time, a Dandy is, by its official definition, 'a man unduly devoted to style, neatness, and fashion…' However, during the transatlantic slave trade, 'enslavers dressed Black people in extravagant clothing and paraded them around, calling them 'luxury slaves.' It was used as a dehumanising form of minstrelsy that further objectified Black men.' Taryn explained that as time went on, Black people reclaimed Black dandyism. The Met Gala intended to illustrate this reclamation, and it largely achieved this. As celebrities stepped out in flamboyant suits, exaggerated wide-brimmed hats, perfectly rounded afros, prints and more in honour of the MET Gala's theme, my immediate thoughts went back to those photos taken on the Windrush ship (Lewis Hamilton's suit, made by Black British designer Grace Wales Bonner, paid a subtle homage in its small details). Though they may not have described their style by the same name, the Windrush generation also embodied the spirit of Black dandyism. The Sunday Best suits and tailoring (from my parents' accounts) gave them an unmistakable swagger that disrupted the common status quo of British fashion. They were seen, and this visibility formed part of the resistance. Mahoro Seward put it best for British Vogue back in April, 'Black contributions to Britain's sartorial canon are as extensive as the existence of Black communities on these isles, with dressing long serving as a crucial means of resisting against and rising above diminishing perceptions – and defiantly asserting an empowered, dignified sense of identity.' Indeed, for the Windrush generation and the generations that followed, dressing wasn't just about style but dignity in a time when they faced the ugliest sides of Britain; from Notting Hill slumlord Peter Rachman's discriminatory housing policies, race riots and rampant racism. Like the best of fashion, it can reflect a time and space — economic stability or instability, social unrest, a disillusionment in government, etc. In this case, by dressing with intention, Black men and women helped challenge dominant ideas about race; tailored clothing was a point of pride, in a time when your skin colour made you both visible and vulnerable. And so, they gave them something to look at. Now, where the injustices of the Windrush scandal — when Caribbean immigrants were wrongfully threatened with deportation and denied rightful citizenship in 2018 — are still felt, looking through these photos has felt like a balm. I am reminded that here in the UK, Black Brits continue to shape culture. Our legacy isn't just stitched into the seams of sharp suits and Sunday hats — it's woven into the very fabric of British culture.
Indian Express
26-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Is the UK really becoming an ‘island of strangers'?
Immigration has arguably been the most notable demographic and social change in contemporary Britain — and, at the same time, a persistent focus of political debate. For decades, successive governments have vowed closer control over migration, only to be challenged by events. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's recent address encapsulated this tension. In announcing a new white paper to reduce legal migration, he said, 'Nations rely on rules – equitable rules. Without them, we risk an island of strangers, not a country that walks forward together.' But is the UK actually on the brink of turning into an 'island of strangers', or is this perception more closely linked to policy outcomes? The UK's migration tale is neither new nor abrupt. Since 1994, net migration has been positive every year. Earlier, arrival and departure were fairly balanced. But since the mid-1990s, the volume and rate of inflow have drastically changed. Following World War II, the 1950s saw considerable migration to the UK, with net annual migration ranging between 20,000 and 50,000 annually. This migration was stimulated by severe labour shortages in the aftermath of the war. The British Nationality Act 1948 offered citizenship and free entry to Commonwealth citizens, who were invited to help rebuild the country. The arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush in 1948 signalled the start of migration from the Caribbean. Between 1948 and the early 1960s, approximately 500,000 Caribbean migrants, mainly from Jamaica, came to the UK to work in transport, health, and manufacturing. They greatly mixed the urban population, especially in London and Birmingham, laying the early foundations of multicultural Britain. The national population grew from 50.2 million in 1951 to 51.4 million in 1961, with the foreign-born population representing about 4 per cent of the total population, mainly from Commonwealth countries. The 1960s were a time of legislative controls. The Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 established a system of work vouchers, restricting entry each year to between 30,000 and 50,000. Although this reduced Caribbean migration, it also prompted a pre-legislation influx of South Asians from India and Pakistan, leading to the establishment of these communities across the UK. Net migration during this decade was between 10,000 and 30,000 per year, adding an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 to population growth. Between 1961 and 1971, the population grew from 51.4 million to 54.4 million. By the end of the decade, the foreign-born population had risen to 5 per cent, while ethnic minority populations numbered around 1 million, or 2 per cent of the population. In 1968, further controls were introduced through another Commonwealth Immigrants Act, specifically targeting East African Asians holding British passports. This move further restricted Commonwealth migration and reflected growing political and public concerns over immigration levels. Migration levels fell sharply in the 1970s as the UK government tightened immigration policy. The Immigration Act 1971 introduced a framework that subjected non-Commonwealth migrants to eligibility criteria and restricted Commonwealth access to those with direct UK ties. These reforms led to significant decreases in South Asian and Caribbean immigration. The national population increased modestly from 54.4 million to 56.2 million, mainly due to natural increase. The foreign-born population remained steady at around 6 per cent. Emigration also rose during this period, with many British citizens relocating to countries such as Australia and Canada. Net migration tended to be negative, ranging from -10,000 to +20,000 annually, resulting in little to no impact on overall population growth. One notable exception was the resettlement of approximately 28,000 Ugandan Asians in 1972, following their expulsion by Idi Amin. Their arrival significantly boosted the Asian population in cities like Leicester. However, due to restrictive immigration policies, migration's demographic impact during this decade remained limited. The 1980s were marked by low migration levels, driven by economic recession and restrictive immigration policies. Net migration stood between 10,000 and 30,000 annually, contributing about 100,000 to 200,000 to population growth across the decade. The national population increased slightly, from 56.2 million to 56.8 million by 1991. The foreign-born population rose to 7 per cent, and ethnic minority groups reached around 3 million, or 5 per cent of the total population. The British Nationality Act 1981 redefined the notion of citizenship, limiting entitlements for Commonwealth-born individuals after 1983 and reducing the incentive to migrate. Although some migration from Hong Kong occurred amid uncertainty over the 1997 handover to China, most migrants were deterred by the restrictive measures and poor economic conditions. Migration trends shifted in the 1990s. The Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 and the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 had introduced stricter procedures in response to concerns over illegal immigration. The new Labour government in 1997 further liberalised immigration policies. The 1993 Maastricht Treaty, which established the European Union, also enhanced freedom of movement across Europe, further increasing EU migration to the UK. After 1997, reforms opened work and student visa routes, encouraging migration from outside the EU, particularly from South Asia and Africa. During this decade, net migration accelerated to between 50,000 and 100,000 per year, adding an estimated 500,000 to 700,000 to population growth. Between 1991 and 2001, the UK population increased from 56.8 million to 58.8 million. The foreign-born share of the population rose to 8 per cent, and ethnic minority groups grew to 4.6 million, or 8 per cent. The early 2000s marked a turning point in the UK migration trends. Immigration began to make a substantial and sustained contribution to population growth for the first time. Between 2000 and 2011, net migration averaged between 200,000 and 300,000 annually, increasing the UK's population by approximately 2.5 million. The total population rose from 58.8 million to 62.3 million by 2011. The foreign-born population doubled to 9 million, comprising 14 per cent of the total, while ethnic minorities made up 10 per cent of the population. A key moment came in 2004 when eight Central and Eastern European countries — Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia — joined the European Union. The Labour government chose not to apply transitional controls on these new members, a decision that led to a sharp increase in EU migration, with net arrivals reaching 100,000 by 2007. This open-door policy resulted in a large inflow of workers from countries like Poland, whose impact was especially visible in sectors such as construction, agriculture, and hospitality. Meanwhile, relaxed visa rules for non-EU migrants further accelerated migration levels. By 2010, as per Migration Watch UK, over a third of births involve at least one foreign born parent, Even the introduction of the Points-Based System (PBS) in 2008, designed to regulate and simplify non-EU immigration, failed to significantly slow down the pace of arrivals. Even the introduction of the Points-Based System (PBS) in 2008, designed to regulate and simplify non-EU immigration, failed to significantly slow down the pace of arrivals. With the Conservatives in power from 2010, the rhetoric shifted. Ministers promised to cut net migration to the 'tens of thousands'. But year after year, the numbers failed to align with the ambition. Between 2010 and 2020, net migration ranged from 150,000 to 300,000 annually, adding around 2 million people to the UK's population. The population reached 66.4 million by 2020. By the time of the 2021/22 Census, the foreign-born population had hit 10.7 million, or 16 per cent of the total population. A series of toughened policies followed. Skilled work visas were capped at 20,700. Minimum salary thresholds rose. But EU migration, which had peaked at 189,000 in 2015, began to fall after the 2016 Brexit referendum. By 2024, EU net migration had reversed to -95,000. Yet the overall numbers didn't drop. Why? Because post-2020, the UK's Points-Based System was revised again. Skill requirements were lowered to A-level equivalent, making it easier to fill labour gaps, especially in healthcare. By 2023, the UK granted 336,007 work visas, many of them to non-EU workers. The decline in EU workers was, in effect, replaced by inflows from elsewhere. For more than 25 years now, immigration has outpaced emigration by over 100,000 people annually. Brexit was supposed to reset that. By leaving the EU, Britain clawed back control of its borders. But when the points-based system was introduced in 2021, the numbers rose even higher. Net migration reached 906,000 in the year to June 2023 and remained very high at 728,000 the following year. Between 2020 and 2025, the UK is projected to add 2.5 to 3 million people through migration alone. The population is forecast to reach 71-72.5 million by 2025. By 2023, approximately 18 per cent of the population was foreign-born, with non-EU migrants accounting for 63 per cent of that group. In 2021, the UK introduced its post-Brexit immigration regime. The emphasis was on skills, salaries, and control, with the PBS applied equally to EU and non-EU migrants. Lower skill thresholds in 2020 and the inclusion of care workers in 2022 triggered a sharp rise in care visas. In 2023 alone, 114,023 care worker visas were issued, primarily to applicants from India, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe. Two humanitarian schemes also added to the total – over 200,000 people arrived from Ukraine between 2022 and 2023. But as pressures mounted – both economic and political – the government pivoted again. In 2024, it began tightening visa rules, raising salary thresholds, and banning student and care worker dependents. These changes are already having an effect: immigration fell 32 per cent year-on-year by mid-2024, and net migration is projected to fall to between 315,000 and 350,000 by 2026. Labour, looking ahead to a possible return to power, has promised to go further. Its 2025 proposals aim to raise skill requirements and eliminate the care visa route. If trends continue, the 2020s may become a decade of attempted correction – a political reckoning with decades of migration policy misalignment. The demographic shift is undeniable. But does that make Britain an 'island of strangers'? According to experts, Europe's growing scepticism toward immigration is not a spontaneous development but the result of decades of accumulated pressures — economic stagnation, social fragmentation, and inconsistent policy enforcement. As Dr Manish Barma, a Research Associate at the Chintan Research Foundation, a think tank based out of New delhi, explains: 'Europe's industrial base has shrunk and one after the other, they have been faced with several crises… So, things have to be put into a particular context, your sovereign debt crisis, your refugee asylum crisis, which is wrongly attributed to an immigration crisis, and of course, now the war in Ukraine.' This economic downturn has directly impacted public attitudes. Dr Barma adds that Britain, for instance, has yet to return to pre-Covid industrial manufacturing levels, in contrast to India's quick post-pandemic recovery. 'Social fissures are always managed as long as the economy does good… but once you have this very combustible combination of societal unrest coupled with economic distress, this is when things get difficult for the government.' A deeper examination of public opinion supports this view. According to a survey conducted in May by More in Common, an initiative founded in memory of Labour MP Jo Cox, pessimism about immigration now spans across Britain's political spectrum. The survey used advanced political science and anthropological tools to map attitudes, not just yes-no answers, revealing anxieties about identity, integration, and economic strain. This backdrop is what informs remarks like Prime Minister Keir Starmer's controversial reference to Britain as an 'island of the strangers.' As Dr Barma notes, 'This comment hasn't come from nowhere. There is a history behind that comment. This has been building up, simmering tensions.'
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The 'surprising' legacies of Windrush generation
"Surprising stories" from a city's first African Caribbean residents are being shared in an exhibition looking at the legacies of the Windrush generation. The project was the brainchild of Dr Carol Brown-Leonardi, founder of the African Caribbean Research Group (ACRG), in partnership with the Museum of Cambridge. She said: "Stories I didn't expect to hear came flowing out and I thought, 'Oh my gosh, we need to put them in a museum and let people see them'." They include an artist whose works are now in national collections, a midwife who set up a clinic in Sierra Leone - and a forgotten cricket team. Open University lecturer Dr Brown-Leonardi began gathering the oral histories in 2023 and found them "so surprising and unexpected" that she approached the museum about showcasing them. "We didn't realise we had an elder who is an artist called John Lyons, now 92, who is part of the Cambridge community, who has his work in several national collections in art galleries all over England," she said. "And there's a 92-year-old Windrush nurse called Lileth Warford, who was in a dual-heritage marriage in the 1960s. She and her husband went to Iran and then to Sierra Leone, where she opened a mother and baby clinic." In 1948, the British Nationality Act gave people from colonies the right to live and work in Britain to help fill post-war labour shortages and rebuild the economy. That year, HMT Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury, Essex, bringing hundreds of passengers from the Caribbean to the UK. It became a symbol of a wider mass-migration movement. These travellers - and those on other ships which came to the UK until 1971 - became known as the Windrush generation. Many had served in the British armed forces in World War Two. Jamaican-born Albert Gordon was the landlord of the Midland Tavern, on Devonshire Steet, now the Devonshire Arms, and it turned out he had a link to a forgotten cricket team. Dr Brown-Leonardi said: "His grandson discovered he was very instrumental in forming a Caribbean cricket team in Cambridge which lasted until the 1980s. "The ACRG thought we were the first to set up an African-Caribbean cricket club - which is open to people from any ethnicity in Cambridgeshire - but we weren't the first at all." The project also unearthed the first soldier of Caribbean-heritage to serve in Northern Ireland, the woman who set up the city's first African Caribbean church and a man who fought in Borneo while serving with the RAF. "It's really important to have these stories in a local museum because the city's Caribbean community is very much in the shadows and people will see the contribution they made, how dynamic they were - what they did is incredible," she said. Legacies of Windrush in Cambridge was funded by a £48,000 grant from the Arts Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It runs until January. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. The city where one in four has a non-UK passport 'Film is an act of love from the whole community' Windrush was 'the best decision I ever made' Project celebrates legacy of Windrush families What is Windrush Day? Museum of Cambridge African Caribbean Research Group
