Sunday 22 June is Windrush Day – an annual celebration to honour the contribution of the Windrush generation and their descendants to British society. The Windrush generation refers to people who immigrated to Britain from the Caribbean between 1948 and 1973.
Linda Pope is a family lawyer and a descendant of the Windrush generation, her parents settling in Britain from Grenada in 1959 and 1965. She talks to two individuals about their experiences arriving in post war Britain.
Judy was born on the Island of St Vincent, and came here in September 1963 as an almost 8 year old little girl with her older brother and sister following her parents who arrived in 1959 and in 1961. Left by her parents to live with her maternal grandmother she remembers this time to be sad as grandmother was not a nice person and was quite cold. By the time she and her siblings reunited with their parents, Judy says it was like they were like strangers which unfortunately was a common experience for many children born in the Caribbean. Her parents, like many young 'British Nationals', left their homes seeking a better life for themselves and their children; not realising their decisions caused resentment and had long lasting negative consequences.
Judy's early years in Britain as a young black girl was not a particularly happy time. Not only did she have to contend with no longer the baby of the family as her mum had given birth to another child. At primary school she was subjected to bullying on a daily being the only black child in the school and got into a lot of fights. After leaving school Judy went to work for Barclays Bank rising through the ranks until she left in the early 2000s. She then started her own successful business as an aesthetician. Despite the challenges of coming to Britain as a child in the 1960s Judy is admires her parents bravery in taking this leap of faith into the unknown and for the opportunities it afforded her, her siblings and family.
Hesketh arrived in London on 8 May 1960. He recalls his journey vividly, leaving his native Island of Dominica on a small boat to Barbados on 21 April 1960. He then travelled on a super liner to Genoa in Italy which took roughly three weeks. From Genoa he went to by train to France, which was a new experience as they didn't have trains in Dominica. From France he took a ferry to Southampton, another train to London Bridge before finishing off his journey on the number 18 bus to his accommodation on the Harrow Road in Paddington.
Hesketh was encouraged to travel to Britain by a school friend who told him he would have many more opportunities. At the time he didn't have the money to pay for his ticket, and says his friend trusted him by lending him what he needed. Hesketh says about 2 years later when his friend wanted to come to Britain he had enough money saved to pay him back. Hesketh was only 20 when he arrived in London. He is now 85 years young and loving life. Although not naïve to the fact there was and still is a lot of racism and many of his peers had had a difficult time. He prefers to focus on the positives and the contributions black culture has brought to brought to British society.
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