Windrush - News, views, pictures, video - The Mirror (original) (raw)

Windrush, or the Windrush generation, refers to the arrival of people from the Caribbean to the UK between 1948 and 1971, before UK immigration laws changed.

The name comes from HMT Empire Windrush, which docked in TIlbury, Essex, carrying 492 passengers on June 22, 1948.

Many of the people on board helped fill post-war labour shortages in Britain, and some had already served for the British armed forces during the conflict.

The Windrush generation helped staff the newly-formed National Health Service, and over the years many broke new ground for Black Britons in UK society.

However, in 2018 it emerged that the government had inaccurately recorded the details of Windrush arrivals who had been granted the right to stay in Britain - meaning many were wrongly deported.

UPDATED 16:56, 4 Oct 2024