What is Windrush Day?

Windrush Day was created to recognise the Windrush Generation’s contributions to the UK and celebrate their accomplishments.

The Windrush Generation is a term used to describe people who arrived to the UK from Caribbean countries between 1948 and 1971, to help fill post-war labour shortages. Many in the Windrush Generation had served in the British Armed Forces in World War Two and would fill in many roles such as manual workers, cleaners, drivers, nurses, and campaigners for black-British rights. For example, Sam Beaver King served in the RAF during the War and would go on to become a postal worker, cofound Notting Hill Carnival and be the first black mayor of Southwark.

When is Windrush Day?

Windrush Day takes place annually on 22 June. This day was chosen to celebrate the Windrush generation because the passenger liner and cruise ship, HMT Empire Windrush, was the ship that brought 492 passengers from a number of Caribbean countries to the UK on 22 June.

While not everyone who is a part of the Windrush Generation sailed on the HMT Empire Windrush, it has still been “characterised as the foundation story of mass migration to Britain”, due to the photos and films shown of the Windrush generation arriving dressed in high fashion.

Why is there a Windrush Day?

Patrick Vernon is a social commentator and historian who campaigned for Windrush Day to be recognised as a day for celebration and awareness since 2010.

In his article “Why Windrush Matters” Patrick shares that despite growing up in a multicultural neighbourhood, his local MP Enoch Powell and the National Front made the area very unsafe for Black, Asian, and ethnic minorities in Wolverhampton. This backlash against multiculturalism and migration clashed with Patrick’s appreciation for art, music, and culture from all sorts of people in his area – so he wanted to raise awareness about the good things migration has brought to the UK. Patrick thought recognising Windrush Day as a national day would be the perfect way to do this.

In 2018, Patrick Vernon’s campaign succeeded and the UK government finally announced that Windrush Day would be recognised as a national awareness day.

From our expert:

Alyson Malach, who is an author of a number of publications and articles on education and equality, shares with us her poem ‘Windrush Story’, which she wrote in 2019.

The poem shares some of her father’s experiences of his first arrival to the UK in 1955:

“My father arrived in England in 1955.
He came to work on an invitation, leaving behind his life.
He left his partner and his children three,
to work hard, share his skills and help prop up the UK economy.
I was a just baby, just three and a half weeks old.
He left me, my brother and sister.
To send for us later, my mother was told.”

See Alyson’s blog to read the whole poem.

Listen below to Alyson provide a background to her story and recite her Windrush poem.

Windrush Day facts you should know

Here are a few quick Windrush Day facts to know:

• Windrush Day 2023 is the 75^th anniversary of the HMT Empire Windrush arriving in the UK.
• Everyone is invited to take part in Windrush Day and there are a variety of events taking place which you can sign up to.
• There is a National Windrush Monument at Waterloo station, London. It is located at Waterloo station because many Caribbean people passed through there to start their new lives in the UK.
• According to a passenger on the ship, the HMT Empire Windrush took about 22 days to arrive to the UK.
• Sam King’s family sold three cows to buy their ticket for the HMT Empire Windrush, which cost £28.10s (which would be to the value of £600 today).

How to celebrate Windrush Day in the workplace

There are numerous ways to commemorate Windrush Day at work, including:

• Taking time to celebrate your heroes from the Windrush Generation. Our colleague Cheryl Carty shares her story about her black hero Roy Hackett MBE, her uncle and one of the organisers for the Bristol Bus Boycott.
• Reviewing how inclusive your workplace culture and policies are to refugees and migrants. If you are an Inclusive Employers member you can access our Supporting refugees in the workplace factsheet for free.
• Reading our blog on supporting and including ex-pats and migrant employees.
• Use our Bitesize inclusion toolkit to host discussions about Windrush Day, the contributions of the Windrush generation and the positives of migration.
• Hosting a Windrush Day event. Windrush 75 have put together an event toolkit to help you prepare.

If you’re a member and need more support with celebrating Windrush Day, contact your account manager. If you’re not yet a member, get in touch today to see how we can help.