20 June 2025
Since 2018, Windrush Day has been celebrated on 22 June every year to commemorate the arrival of the Windrush Generation and to acknowledge their contributions to help rebuild the UK.
To properly understand Windrush Day, it is imperative to appreciate who is the Windrush Generation, why they came to Britain and to understand the Windrush Scandal which unravelled in much more recent years.
Who were the Windrush Generation and why they came to the UK
The Windrush Generation were people in Caribbean countries (including Jamaica, Trinidad, St Lucia, Grenada and Barbados) who immigrated to the UK following World War II to help rebuild Britain. The British Nationality Act 1948 allowed people from the Commonwealth countries to have the right to live and work in the UK. The first individuals to immigrate to the UK arrived on 22 June 1948 on the HMT Empire Windrush which gave rise to the term, “Windrush Generation”. The Windrush Generation are those who travelled to the UK between 1948 until 1971.
Many people immigrated to the UK to help rebuild Britain following the war as job opportunities in their countries of origin were scarce. Whilst the Windrush Generation fulfilled various jobs, they typically became manual workers, drivers, cleaners and nurses in the NHS (which was newly established at the time).
In 1971, the Immigration Act was passed which gave Commonwealth citizens living in the UK indefinite leave to remain.
What was the Windrush Scandal?
The Windrush scandal, which came to light in the late 2010s, involved the wrongful detention, denial of legal rights, and threat of deportation faced by many members of the Windrush Generation.
Hostile Environment Policy: Introduced in the 2010s by the UK government, this policy aimed to reduce illegal immigration by making life in the UK difficult for those without proper documentation. Measures included stringent checks on employment, healthcare, and housing status.
Documentation Issues: Many Windrush immigrants had arrived as children on their parents’ passports and did not retain their own documents. Over the years, some had not applied for formal documentation, relying on their legal status being implicitly recognised.
Impact on Individuals: The lack of documentation led to individuals being wrongly detained, denied access to healthcare, employment, housing and social benefits. A review of historical cases also found that at least 83 people who had arrived before 1973 had been wrongly deported.
Compensation and Apologies: The UK government issued formal apologies and established a compensation scheme for those affected. However, the process has been criticised for being slow and inadequate. The scandal highlighted the harsh impacts of immigration policies on lawful residents and brought to light the broader issues of institutional racism and administrative failures within the UK’s immigration system.
Windrush Day is celebrated all over the UK with community events, including festivals, parades and concerts. The Windrush Generation have had an undeniable impact in making the UK what it is today, and it is only right that their contributions are acknowledge and celebrated.
For the avid readers out there, we would recommend reading the novel, “Windrush Child” by Benjamin Zephaniah. As the title suggests, Benjamin Zephaniah depicts the story of a young child of the Windrush Generation.