Windrush Day 2025
Windrush Day is celebrated every year on the 22nd of June. It was first celebrated in June 2018 to mark the 70th anniversary of the Windrush Generation’s arrival in the UK.
This day recognises the Windrush Generation, and their descendants, for the contributions they made to Britain during its recovery from the war and have continued to make since.
Who are the Windrush generation?
The name comes from the name of the ship ‘Empire Windrush’ that docked in Tilbury, Essex in 1948. On board, there was hundreds of passengers from the Caribbean. According to the ship’s passenger list, that is kept by the National Archives, there were 1,027 people on board.
The travellers on the first ship, and many others that arrived on different ships, became known as the Windrush generation. Many came from Jamaica, but many arrived from other islands such as Trinidad, St Lucia and Barbados.
Why did they come to Britain?
After the Second World War ended, the government needed more workers to help with job shortages and to rebuild the economy. The British Nationality Act gave people from colonies (British colonies were places governed by Britain, as part of the British empire) the right to live and work in Britain.
Many countries in the Caribbean were also struggling economically, and the call for workers in the UK offered an opportunity. Many of the ship’s passengers had paid £28 (about £1,000 today) to travel to Britain. Jobs included the production of steel, coal, iron, and food as well as roles in public transport and working in the new NHS.
Sadly, many of the Windrush immigrants experienced racism and exclusion when they settled in the UK. Although the British government encouraged them to move and find work, many were excluded from the social and economic life in the UK.
What was the Windrush Scandal?
In April 2018, the Windrush Scandal came to light. Despite living and working in the UK for decades, many had been told that they were in the country illegally. Due to a lack of official paperwork, they couldn’t provide the proof that they had the right to stay, either because they’d never been given this or because the Government had destroyed their own copies of paperwork. Suddenly the responsibility was on individuals to ‘prove’ their right to stay.
The Windrush Generation in Wales
Many came to live and work in Wales. The steel works in the South Wales Valleys and the dock work in Cardiff Bay attracted many people. The ‘Windrush Cymru Project – Our Voices, Our Stories, Our History’, directly responds to calls from people who wanted to ensure that the legacy of their generation is captured.
