In 2022, a monument commemorating the Windrush generation will be unveiled at London Waterloo Station.
On 22 June 1948, hundreds of passengers, many of whom had begun their journeys in the Caribbean, disembarked the ship at Tilbury Docks in Essex in search for a better life in Britain. The MV Empire Windrush and its passengers helped create a richer and more diverse British society and today represent generations of migration from the Caribbean.
Tracee Grenardo, Network Rail’s Windrush ambassador, said: “After World War II, the British government were offering jobs in the service sector including running public transport and the National Health Service; many migrants were recruited on the railways. As a company we, too, want to celebrate the contribution of the Windrush generation and their descendants.” “A symbolic link to our past”
In 2022, a monument commemorating the Windrush generation will be unveiled at London Waterloo, a gateway to Britain for many, including the Windrush generation, most of whom arrived in Britain at Southampton.
A year ago, the government said Waterloo -London’s biggest railway station – had been chosen from a list of potential sites by the Windrush Commemoration Committee.
The government said the committee, chaired by Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE, would seek to commission and work with stakeholders and designers “to consider how best to create a lasting, fitting tribute to the Windrush generation and their descendants”.
London Waterloo has been the gateway to Britain for many
The government said the committee, chaired by Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE, would seek to commission and work with stakeholders and designers “to consider how best to create a lasting, fitting tribute to the Windrush generation and their descendants”. Baroness Floella Benjamin said in June last year: “Having a Windrush monument located at Waterloo Station where thousands of Windrush pioneers – including children like myself – first arrived in London, will be a symbolic link to our past as we celebrate our future.
“The committee is determined to build a monument of great beauty and emotional impact which will lift the hearts of those who visit when it’s unveiled. I hope it will inspire pride and a sense of belonging to all those associated with the Windrush story.”
Asquith Xavier, a campaigner for equality Asquith Xavier made history in his fight for racial equality
For many, finding work in Britain was hard – and met with racism – despite the government’s invitation to help bolster the country’s workforce after the war. In the 1960s, Asquith Xavier was among those fighting for racial equality on the railway. From the West Indies, Asquith became an ‘accidental campaigner’ when he ended a colour bar at infrastructure operator British Railways to become the first non-white train guard at London Euston station in 1966. Asquith was already an experienced guard at Marylebone station when he applied for the job at Euston and his case is often seen as a precursor to the Race Relations Act in 1968, which made it illegal to refuse employment to people because of their ethnic background. In 2016, the BBC spoke to Asquith’s family as a plaque was unveiled at Euston in his honour.
Asquith Xavier’s plaque at London Euston. Celebrating positive change on the railway
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