The Windrush Generation [Long Shorts]

For those who aren't aware, while they didn't need visas, there was paperwork on file such as landing cards that people filled out when they arrived at customs and immigration. This would have proven that they came over legally at the time. Conveniently, the Home Office destroyed these landing cards at some point very recently (last 10 to 15 years I think). I can't imagine why?

My wife's granddad was windrush generation, we got a letter telling him he was getting deported, but it was too late - he had already passed! Shows how indiscriminately they've been sending out those deportation notices.

My parents were Wind rush generation. They rarely talk about the racist reception they got upon immigrating. As an adult I finally pressed my godfather to talk about it. .My parents were so brave and resolute.

Thanks for the explanation! I keep hearing about it on the news but they always seem to assume you know the basics already and so I had trouble understanding the stories. This was really helpful!

I live in Toronto, Canada, and our main art gallery (the AGO) has a temporary exhibit on until the end of March 2024 featuring art by the Windrush exhibit. Anyone in Toronto should visit it. I've been twice and it is just fantastic.

Thank you for talking about this! My grandparents didnt arrive on the ship, they came by plane but still are considered windrush generation! The celebrations for the 75th anniversary of Windrush were so lovely last year, I hope I get to see the 100th!

It's a beautiful monument. The Windrush generation were a huge factor in rebuilding post-War Britain, and establishing the NHS

👍👍 this is exactly the kind of history we should be remembering in my opinion, learning how to treat people properly, prevent harm and how to keep your government honest.

It's amazing how little we hear about how migrants helped after the wars. Australia was in a very similat boat to England after WWII, without the influx of people we'd have never recovered. It's such a shame this sort of thing isn't spoken about more. It is fantastic that this monument was built. Shame on the Home Office for not treating these people with the respect that they deserve.

Lynval Golding gives his first hand account of this on the Specials track B.L.M. from the album Encore, which I highly recommend.

Interesting because when we were in Sydney 10 years ago we visited the maritime museum and learned about the efforts there to get people from the UK to migrate Down Under at about the same time. Several famous Scottish-Australian musicians families took up the opportunity to go like Colin Hay and most of AC/DC. Colin tells the story during his live set about how they left Scotland on a cold, dank, rainy day, sailed for weeks and came into Melbourne on a cold, dank, rainy day, “Did we turn back round somewhere?”😂

Learned about them from The Repair Shop. They've come in with radios that their parents and grandparents treasured, and their stories are so hard.

Thank you for this. I have heard of the Windrush Generation, but only had the vaguest idea about it. You explained it really well.

This one is long overdue ❤

The stories of these men and women are incredibly moving and often difficult to listen to but listen we must ❤ Their eagerness to help when help was required is incredibly humbling. The treatment that they received upon arrival was disgusting and heartbreaking to hear. This monument is wonderful. Much more education around these events is needed so that this will never happen again. We asked them for help and they came. They left their lives and their families because they wanted to do their bit. To help in any way they could. Thank you to the Windrush Generation and to their families and relatives both in the UK and overseas. Thank you for sharing this information 👍🏽 🙂🐿🌈❤️

Learned about this from a nice little exhibit they had at the London Transport Museum. A lot of the windrush generation became transit workers.

So they tried to collect their pensions and got deportation instead?

And then they were unceremoniously deported

That’s really neat!! As an outside American, it’s been confusing for me since I was a kid how there were people from colonies that identified so strongly as British when - from my perspective - it was obvious that England was racist AF. But it makes sense if they were raised to believe they were British and that it didn’t matter if they were different. Until getting to the “homeland” anyway. But even before and during WW2, there were women from the commonwealth fighting to be allowed to serve in the auxiliary forces or as nurses, like Queen Liz did.

We're definitely going to need more of these, to pay for all our pensions. And better start treating them right