Windrush in Waltham Forest

802 West Indian migrants stepped off the HMT Empire Windrush at the Port of Tilbury on 22 June 1948, the first of what became known as the Windrush Generation in Britain and the birth of the UK’s modern multiracial society.   

Fuelled in part by British government campaigns to address domestic labour shortages, nearly 500 thousand people moved from the Caribbean to Britain in the following two decades. Nonetheless, issues stemming from societal racism, including systemic disadvantages in employment, housing, and education, leading up to the 2018 Windrush scandal, remain a key factor in the legacy of Windrush.  

Today, Waltham Forest’s 25,000-strong Afro-Caribbean community is a vibrant and valuable part of our cultural fabric. The legacy of the Windrush Generation will surely loom large in Waltham Forest for many years to come.

Windrush celebrations in Waltham Forest will again showcase the very best in Afro-Caribbean music, food art and history in celebration of the Windrush Generation and their legacy.  

This year's programme includes: 

• GB Carnival's Heart of Carnival workshops

• Windrush craft workshop at North Chingford Library

• Windrush craft workshop at Walthamstow Library

• The North Chingford Heritage Festival (June 21 to 6 July)

• Windrush Day Songs and Celebration with the House of La Touche choir and historian Peter Ashan

• Windrush Day Refugee Week lunch

• Mbilla Art Summer Jam Children's Event at Afrobbean Kitchen

• Windrush Adventures family friendly show for children aged three to seven

• 29 North Chingford Freedom Walk with Peter Ashan