Service and Sacrifice
On 24th May 1948, 492 Black Caribbean men, women and children departed from Kingston, Jamaica, as passengers on the former troopship Empire Windrush. A passage to Britain was advertised in the Daily Gleaner, a popular Jamaican newspaper. Little did they know that they were taking part in a historic journey that would change the face of post-war Britain. Many Jamaicans on the voyage included ex-servicemen. Trinidadians including calypsonians Lord Kitchener (Aldwyn Roberts) and Mona Baptiste and those from other Caribbean countries were also on board. Most of the passengers were hoping for a better life in Britain, while others were inquisitive and wanted to see what life was like in the land many called the ‘Mother Country’.
Before the Windrush docked at Tilbury in Essex on 21 June 1948, other former troopships had brought settlers to the UK from the Caribbean but the most famous is the Windrush.
A large number of those disembarking from the Windrush were not seeing Britain for the first time; they were making a return trip. More than 100 of the passengers were current or former Caribbean RAF personnel who had served in the war.
During World War Two, approximately 16,000 Black Caribbean men and women had served in many capacities. The largest contingent came from Jamaica. All were volunteers, motivated to contribute to the war effort, defend democracy and come to the aid of Britain. According to the RAF Museum’s website some 6,000 volunteered to serve in the RAF; around 5,500 as ground staff and 450 as aircrew, flying in Bomber, Fighter and Coastal Command. Aircrew from the Caribbean were employed in a variety of roles including pilots, navigators, flight engineers, air gunners and wireless operators. In addition 80 women from the Caribbean volunteered to join the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). And 2,500 West Indians were also employed in war factories in the North-West or as foresters in Scotland.
Following the end of the war, some 3,000 from the Caribbean decided to stay in the UK to make new lives and help rebuild Britain. They also advised friends and relatives in the Caribbean about opportunities in the UK. They formed one of the foundation stones of the Windrush Generation.
However, the majority of personnel returned to the Caribbean after the war. There, economic difficulties, the legacy of damage from a huge hurricane and rising unemployment led many to reconsider their futures.
Many of the Windrush passengers had accommodation and employment offers, but around 200 had neither. Due to the destruction of many British cities during wartime air raids, temporary accommodation was in short supply. Many of the settlers already in the UK made themselves available to offer practical support and advice. One of them was Hubert ‘Baron’ Baker, a charismatic and outspoken Jamaican who had joined the RAF as a policeman in 1944 and stayed in Britain after the war. He greeted the ship on behalf of the Colonial Office and took the responsibility of arranging accommodation for a large number of the Windrush settlers in the London borough of Lambeth. The Colonial Office had made no preparation for the settlers and it was Baker who suggested temporary accommodation in the disused underground air raid shelter in Clapham South. In a month, these settlers had found new positions and one of the biggest employers was London Transport.
With labour shortages in post-war Britain, and to find staff for the newly created National Health Service which came into existence on 5 July 1948, the British Government began to invite people from the Caribbean to come to the UK. Other employers who reached out to the Caribbean included London Transport, the railways and factories.
Until 1951, the numbers of Caribbean settlers arriving in Britain never exceeded 1,000 a year. The majority of settlers came between 1955 and 1961. There was a sense of expectation and hope for a better standard of living in the ‘Mother Country’ but the settlers often faced a hostile environment after their arrival. In 1965 Britain’s first Race Relations Act was introduced and this helped to outlaw racism in public places.
There is a strong heritage of Armed Forces service in the Windrush Generation. For decades the Generation and their descendants have contributed in countless ways to Britain’s economic, social and cultural life and in the building of an exciting, diverse identity for the nation.
We celebrate the Windrush Generation with three personal stories of those with Armed Forces perspectives.
CHECK OUT THE STORIES Below:
Esmon George
Esmon’s father came to the UK in 1962 from Dominica. Followed a year later by Esmon’s mother, the couple then married and settled in Ilford, Essex.
Growing up, Esmon says that it was a very multicultural area. He recalls that at school, “We had a lot of people from different backgrounds, although what I think was interesting is that it wasn’t like ‘your parents are from this island and your parents are from that island’. You were just Black.”
Roma Taylor
“I don’t know what it is about looking after people that attracts me to do it, but all I know is that it is a blessing from God.”
Ever since childhood, Roma has demonstrated that she has a big heart, a determination to help others and to be surrounded with love. Roma was born in Antigua, in December 1943, where she lived with her father and her Nan. She left for Cardiff in 1959 to join her mother.
Johnny Smythe
Growing up in West Africa, Johnny Smythe had no idea that he would go on to play a key role in shaping modern Britain.
Born in 1915, in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Johnny was 25 years old when he joined the RAF, answering the call from Britain to join the fight against fascism in war-torn Europe. Johnny travelled by ship to Britain where he trained as a pilot. However, his high scores in the maths tests saw him being selected and retrained as a navigator for Bomber Command in November 1941.