On 22 June it will be 75 years since Nazi cruise liner turned Allied troop transport ship turned unofficial emigrant ship HMT Empire Windrush moored at Tilbury, on the Thames Estuary. It wasn’t the first ship to bring passengers from the Caribbean seeking a new and, they hoped, more prosperous, life in the ‘Mother Country’, but it is undoubtedly the best known and most celebrated.
A major part of that is down to a certain Aldwyn Roberts – better known to us as calypsonian Lord Kitchener – whose performance of his newly composed London is the Place for Me while he stood on the ship’s gangway was filmed and photographed. His timing was impeccable: the image is iconic, defining the optimism of the new arrivals and the dawn of a new era in British history.
Even while it was still steaming up the Thames, Empire Windrush was making headlines and generating controversy, but it was Kitchener who turned the arrival of Windrush into a cultural moment. Windrush became the ship that launched a thousand articles, books, plays and debates. It gave its name to a generation and to the deportation scandal that shamed a government. It’s a name with the power to elevate the humble and bring down the mighty. So how can we mark this Caribbean Arrival Day?
Events
As the Windrush Generation ages and inevitably passes, interest in the ship, its passengers and their impact on British life seems to grow ever stronger. The number of events this year is remarkable, and we can mention only a few of them here.
First off, on Friday 9 June, is the Windrush 75 Concert including calypsonian Tobago Crusoe, Craig David, Beverley Knight and the Chineke! Orchestra. Royal Albert Hall, London, 7.30-10pm, £29.50-90.00. The concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Sunday 18 June.
On Saturday 10 June, there’s a chance to listen in to Arthur Torrington CBE, rightly described as ‘Keeper of the Windrush Flame’, in conversation with presenter Diane Louis Jordan. Torrington set up the Windrush Foundation, years before there was talk of a Windrush Monument. V&A Museum, Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL, 2-5pm, £6 (use promo code ARTHURSIX).
Opening on Monday 12 June is Between Two Worlds, a display of photos by the Jamaican ‘Godfather of Black British photography’ Vanley Burke and 18th-century Jamaican writer Francis Williams. Galleries 88a & 90, V&A Museum. Free. There also a free talk about the exhibition at 1pm on Thursday 22 June in the V&A’s Gorvy Lecture Theatre.
Wednesday 14 June sees a Windrush Foundation Zoom presentation Misconceptions about Windrush, with discussion led by Arthur Torrington. Free from Eventbrite; more details: [email protected]
In a fun, family-friendly presentation on Friday 16 June, Kwaku will offer Another Lambeth Windrush History? that will challenge “some of the prevalent and deeply held views of the Windrush narrative”. Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton SW2 1RW, 5-7pm. Free, but must prebook through https://bit.ly/23June1948
The National Archives is running several Windrush-themed events and activities. Windrush Stories, covering hundreds of years of Black British history in its collection, takes place on Saturday 17 June. You can also see the original list of everyone who arrived on the Windrush. TNA, Bessant Drive Kew TW9 4DU. 11am to 4pm, free. Over at the Imperial War Museum the same day, From War to Windrush offers talks on a range of topics and performances from Trevor Phillips, Bonnie Greer, Anthony Joseph, Patrick Vernon and others. IWM, Lambeth Rd, London SE1 6HZ. 2-6pm, £30 (£15 students). The Royal Air Force Museum is putting on Wings and Waves: Windrush 75 Family Day, which will feature calypso from Alexander D Great, steelpan, carnival costume-making and a song-writing workshop. Royal Air Force Museum, Colindale NW9 5LL. 10.30am-4pm. Free.
On Windrush Day itself, Thursday 22 June, take a look at the Windrush Monument, which was unveiled a year ago at Waterloo station, before heading over to the National Maritime Museum (www.rmg.co.uk), which has joined up with the Caribbean Social Forum. There’ll be live music, a memories workshop, talks about the ships that brought migrants to Britain, poetry, creative workshops and even classes “to experience calypso dance culture first hand”. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich SE10 9NF. 10am-5pm. Free. Starting at Brockwell Lido, the Windrush Procession will head down Railton Road and finish in Windrush Square. The five themes, Ancestry, Caribbean Roots, Building Britain, Carnival and Future, is “an artistic and cultural commemoration” based on Hew Locke’s remarkable artwork. Brockwell Lido, Dulwich Rd SE24 0PA. 2pm. Free.
This is only a small selection of the talks, family days, workshops, dances, music events, flag-raising ceremonies, exhibitions, inter-generational discussions and other celebrations taking place around the country from now until September. To find what’s happening near you, explore windrush75.org.
