Shadow Minister for Communities, Mark Isherwood AM, has spoken today at a North Wales event to mark UK Windrush Day held by Colwyn Bay-based NWAMI (Networking for World Awareness of Multicultural Integration), thanking the Windrush Generation for their magnificent contribution to the UK’s cultural, social and economic life.
Backed by UK Government funding, UK Windrush Day is designed to encourage communities across the Nations of the UK to celebrate the contribution of the Windrush Generation and their descendants.
The annual event is overseen by a body of British Caribbean representatives’ and a Windrush Day grant of up to £500,000 is available each year to charities and communities seeking to hold commemorative and educational events.
The Welsh Government has also recently announced £40,000 of new funding so that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic or - BAME - community groups can mark Windrush Day, celebrating the contributions of the Windrush generation and all migrants to Welsh society, economy and history.
The British Caribbean community have been consulted widely to ensure the legacy and contribution of the Windrush Generation and their descendants is recognised and celebrated.
Speaking at today’s NWAMI Windrush Day event in Colwyn Bay, Mr Isherwood said:
“MV Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Docks, Essex, 71 years ago today and its passengers disembarked a day later. The ship carried 492 Caribbean migrants, many of them veterans of the Second World War. Their arrival marked a seminal moment in Britain’s history, and has come to stand for the rich diversity of the UK family of nations.
“The Windrush Generation made a huge contribution to rebuilding the Country following the Second World War. Both their settlement and their descendants have continued to enrich social, economic, political and religious life.
“The Windrush Generation, subsequent migrants, and their descendants have made a large contribution to the UK’s cultural, social and economic life.
“The intention of this celebration is to recognise and promote understanding of this contribution and to make clear to those of Caribbean descent that Governments across the UK value their enormous contribution to our national life and wish to recognise that contribution.
Mr Isherwood added: “It is clear that these early post-war workers made a huge contribution to the British economy and economic growth, not only in the immediate post-war period but also across decades of continuous employment. As the demand for both skilled and unskilled labour continued to grow throughout the 1950s as the economy recovered, employers and managers in key sectors actively began to recruit in the Caribbean, rather than waiting for workers to arrive in the UK.
“London Transport, for example, recruited more than 3,500 Barbadians in the ten years from 1956, paying workers’ fares to the UK and then recovering them though a deduction from their wages: a common practice that tied economic migrants to particular employment and which continued throughout the succeeding years.
“The British Hotels and Restaurants Association also recruited in Barbados, and the NHS sent managers to various parts of the Caribbean to recruit both already trained nurses and young people to come to Britain to train as nurses.
“Hospital matrons and British politicians also visited the Caribbean, and by 1955 16 then British colonies had set up selection and recruitment agencies to ensure a good supply of candidates to train as nurses in Britain.
“It was evident that the NHS could not meet the health needs of the population without recruiting foreign-born women and men.
“As we look forward, we must thank the Windrush Generation for their magnificent contribution and celebrate the children of Windrush as they contribute to the shared future of our Island history.”
