The Windrush Generation
The Empire Windrush was not the first ship to leave the West Indies for Britain in the post-war period. In March 1947, the SS Ormonde had docked at Liverpool with 107 people from Jamaican. In December 1947, the Almanzora followed, with a further 200 people, all hopeful of a new and better life in Britain. These newcomers were not classed as migrants because, as citizens of the empire, they were British citizens. They were merely relocating from one part of the empire to another, as was their right.
Not only were the migrants officially classed as British; but they also identified as British themselves. Around 10,000 people from the West Indies volunteered to fight for Britain during the war. Thousands joined the merchant navy, and the RAF was composed of 400 RAF aircrews and 6000 ground staff from the region. These people did not join up because they were conscripted but volunteered due to their patriotism. Patriotism was also at the root of their desire to move to Britain in the aftermath of the war. ” We were coming to the mother country,” explained Bristol’s first black ward sister, Princess Campbell in an interview for the BBC series The Great British Story.
The migrants also had high hopes for a better future in Britain. Some were ex-members of the wartime RAF hoping to rejoin. Others were skilled and educated people: engineers, musicians, academics, nurses and civil servants. As travel in the post-war period became cheaper and more accessible, they decided to take the chance and leave their homeland behind to try their luck in Britain. Many did not see it as a permanent move; just an adventure for a few years. They had no reason to believe there would be anything other than a warm welcome awaiting them. After all, wasn’t the ‘mother country’ calling out for people with their skills?
So in May 1948, the Empire Windrush began her voyage from Kingston, Jamaica. The reason why her landing specifically attracted so much attention was a question of the right time, right place. The ship, a former 1930’s German cruise liner for members of the Nazi party, captured during the Second World War by the British and re-commissioned as a troops ship, landed at Tilbury on June 22, 1948. At the time, parliament was in the process of debating the British Nationality Bill. The passengers of the Empire Windrush were seen as visible evidence of the shape of things to come.
When the Windrush landed, reporters and film crews mobbed its passengers, who were from Trinidad, Guyana and Bermuda, as well as Jamaica. Noted Trinidadian calypso singer, Lord Kitchener gave them an impromptu performance of his song “London is the place for me.” Reporters, such as Peter Fryer later documented the day with headlines such as “Hundreds of Pairs of Willing Hands.”The media celebrated the new arrivals as brave pioneers leaving behind economic hardship in their homelands to help Britain out of hers. However, the reception of the newcomers in wider British society was mixed.