Category: Windrush Generation

Historycal Roots in Liverpool

We recently visited Liverpool where we had the great pleasure of meeting up with friends Ray Costello, historian and author, and Adam Duckworth, who works in the education department at the International Slavery Museum. We took the opportunity of handing over copies of ‘Windrush Pioneers and Champions’ to Adam and Ray and also to donate a copy of each of the ‘Fern and Kate Meet…’ books to Adam.

In addition to being a very good historian, another of Ray’s talents is to organise fabulous weather whenever we visit!

Later, we had a very enjoyable afternoon in Ray’s company as he took us on a walking tour of aspects of Liverpool’s black history that even many Liverpudlians are unaware of.

Let’s start with a quote from Olaudah Equiano’s ‘Interesting Narrative’, Equiano, having been promised his freedom, now finds that he is being sold, he argues that, as they are in England this is not legal:

‘I have been baptised; and by the laws of the land no man has a right to sell me.’

He was given short shrift:

‘Upon this Captain Doran said I talked too much English; and if I did not behave myself well, and be quiet, he had a method on board to make me.’

Needless to say, Equiano lost the argument and was duly bought by Captain Doran.

Being such fine, upstanding citizens, the Doran family have a street named after them in Liverpool:

Ray showed us the building that used to be the headquarters of Heywoods Bank. By introducing a system of promissory notes the bank effectively became a key enabler of the slave trade. The building is now occupied by a restaurant but it’s earlier function is still evident from the doorway:

Ray also showed us the site of the headquarters or unofficial embassy of the Confederate side in the American Civil War.

Britain was officially neutral but there were plenty in Liverpool’s merchant class whose sympathies, because their wealth owed so much to slavery, lay firmly with the Confederacy.

That Liverpool (like several other British cities) owed much of its wealth to the transatlantic slave trade was hardly a surprise but, visiting with someone steeped in local history, showed us how reminders of the shameful trade linger on if you know where to find them.

More Mayors than you could shake a stick at!

It was a pleasure and honour to be invited to a surprise party at Lambeth Town Hall in honour of Allan Wilmot, a World War 2 veteran who served in both the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force.  Allan was in fine form and announced his firm intention to make it to 100 (currently he’s 93). As Allan likes to point out, he was part of the Windrush generation who came before the Windrush, arriving at Southampton on a ship called the Almanzora in December 1947.

The event was hosted by the Mayor of Lambeth who made the presentation:

The Mayors of Croydon, Westminster and Bromley (and one other, whose borough I didn’t catch!) were also present as was Helen Hayes, MP for Dulwich and West Norwood. I can’t remember the last time I was in a room with five mayors – yes I can, never!

Also present was another WW2 veteran, Neil Flanagan. Neil was the man who foolishly gave me his i-pad and asked me if I wouldn’t mind filming while he took the salute at the 2017 Remembrance Day event in Windrush Square. I’d never used an i-pad before and have been worried ever since that I messed up. He reassured me that the pictures had turned out really well – phew! Commenting at the time of that event, Neil said “The Remembrance Day service on Windrush Square is an example of how we are gradually bringing realisation that West Indians were here serving their country, and still do … but it’s taking a long term to have our voices heard. I am proud and honoured that the memorial is there but I am sad that it has taken such a long time and that we have had to fight, step-by-step, for the recognition.” These sentiments were echoed by several speakers at Allan’s event.

Neil is shown in the picture while Allan cuts his special cake.

You can’t help but feel honoured and humbled at being in the presence of such distinguished veterans.

Windrush Pioneers and Champions

We are pleased to say that the book we worked on last year with the Windrush Foundation is now available and can be obtained via the Windrush Foundation website or downloaded as a free pdf:

https://seancreighton1947.files.wordpress.com/2019/03/w70-book-i

.pdf

The book was produced as part of the celebrations to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush at Tilbury. It tells the stories of over seventy passengers on the Empire Windrush itself (the ‘Pioneers’) or who came in the following years (the ‘Champions’). The stories aim to document the outstanding contributions that these pioneering men and women have made to British society.

The Historycal Roots team contributed to almost half of the profiles included and, although some of the stories are relatively well known, others are not. We are particularly pleased that our work with Edna Chavannes is included. Edna is a lady you are unlikely to have heard of but, she is one of the thousands of unsung heroes from the Caribbean who helped build the NHS. You can read about Edna in the book or in more detail on the page dedicated to her on this site (in the ‘Windrush Generation’ section).

We hope you enjoy the stories as much as we enjoyed !researching them!

Windrush 70 project – closing event

Two thirds of the Historycal Roots team attended the final event of the Windrush 70 project at Lambeth Town Hall. It was a varied evening of: entertainment (calypsonian De Alberto, supported by Alexander D’Great and flautist Keith Waithe, performing with Manjeet Rasiya on tabla); education (Ansel Wong, who spoke about the many different components of the Caribbean diaspora and how they had transformed British society); and inspiration (Baroness Floella Benjamin, who spoke about some of the obstacles she had faced and overcome during her life).

The event was well supported by Lambeth council. The current mayor, Councillor Christopher Wellbeloved, spoke from the heart about his own experiences growing up as a young man of mixed heritage in the UK. Councillor Sonia Winifred spoke about the importance of education and the need to love our young people and help them turn away from violence (if you live in London the subject of knife crime is hard to avoid).

I will focus though on the presentation by Arthur Torrington, founder with the late Sam King, of the Windrush Foundation. Arthur spoke about the e-book that the project has produced. The book, which will be available shortly through the Windrush Foundation website (https://windrushfoundation.com/profiles/), tells the story of 70 ‘Windrush Pioneers and Champions’. The Historycal Roots team are proud to have played a part in producing this book.

We were lucky enough to have several pioneers in the room with us: Allan Wilmot, who arrived in December 1947 on a ship called the Almanzora; and Alford Gardner who was on the Windrush itself.

Also present was Edna Chavannes. Edna came to the UK in 1951 as a trainee nurse and served the NHS for 45 years before retiring in 1996. Edna was delighted to be presented with a silver salver commemorating her role as a pioneer. 

Edna Chavannes – Windrush Pioneer

Without Edna and the thousands like her who travelled to the UK in the 1950s and 1960s there really would not be an NHS. As the event’s compere, Burt Caesar, said, the story of the Windrush itself is usually a story about men, the story of the many thousands of women who migrated to Britain has never properly been told. 

Another pioneer who featured was Mona Baptiste. Although Mona is no longer with us, the Windrush Foundation had nevertheless produced a silver salver in her name.

Mona Baptiste – Windrush Pioneer

We collected this on her behalf and hope to have the great pleasure of presenting it to her family in 2019. 

Returning nicely to the theme of education from earlier in the evening, Arthur also spoke about the education resource pack the project has produced to help teachers tell pupils at Key Stage 2 (about the ages 7-11) about the contributions of the Windrush generation.

It was a lovely evening and well done to Arthur and his team for this event (and the others that preceded it) and for the delivery of a very successful project.

To conclude, I can’t resist including a link to the song that De Alberto performed live. Ardent monarchists may prefer not to click on the link!

Mona Baptiste Update

The Historycal Roots team’s quest for the truth knows no limits, well very few anyway!

Our search for more information about Mona Baptiste took us to Dublin recently where we: visited her grave at Deansgrange cemetery; visited the house where she used to live in Ballsbridge, a mile or so from the centre of the city; and obtained a copy of her death certificate from the General Register Office.  As you might imagine, this was thirsty work, fortunately Dublin was not short of places where weary travellers could quench their thirst.

Our first stop was the cemetery, situated several kilometres to the south of the city:

We had the reference number for Mona’s plot but, almost inevitably, it was incomplete and inaccurate. For the record, she is actually buried in the St.Patrick’s section, row Q, plot 56.  She was interred in the Morrison family grave and lies with her mother-in-law and father-in-law – not perhaps everyone’s ideal scenario!

It’s a little surprising how worn the stone has become, Mona only died in 1993.

Having paid our respects we next went to her old home in Ballsbridge.  Here we were in for a pleasant surprise because the front door of her old house still bears her name. It was quite moving to think that this door must have changed very little since she passed through it for the final time twenty five years ago:

Our final visit was to the Register Office which we walked past at least three times before finally locating the entrance at the back of a car park. The staff, possibly surprised that we had managed to find them, were very helpful and after only about ten minutes we held a copy of Mona’s death certificate in our hands. Such certificates always make sad reading, this one was no exception. It showed that Mona died from natural causes after a short illness. She passed away on 25th June 1993 at St James’s Hospital, Dublin. just four days after her 65th birthday and 45 years and three days after she stepped off the Empire Windrush at Tilbury.

Until very recently Wikipedia and other sources stated that Mona died and was buried in Krefeld, Germany, it’s nice to have set the record straight.

Daphne Steele – First Black Matron in the NHS

‘A woman of courage with a heart of gold’ – the words her sister, Carmen Munroe, used to describe Daphne Steele, who became the first Black matron in the NHS in 1964. The occasion, the unveiling of a blue plaque to commemorate Daphne’s contribution, took place at the site of St James’ Hospital, Balham, where Daphne trained when she first arrived in England.

The Windrush and the ships that came after it, transported around a quarter of a million people from the Caribbean to the UK between 1948 and 1961. In some cases many people from the same family made the trip. The Steeles were one such family and they were among the earliest to come.

My own father-in-law, Allan Steele, was on the SS Cottica when it docked at Plymouth in May 1952. He got the train to Paddington where he was met by his cousin, Carmen Steele. Carmen would go on to make her name as Carmen Munroe, the actress. Carmen herself had been met when she arrived in 1951 by her sister, Daphne Steele. Alan would himself meet his cousin William Steele following his arrival at Plymouth on 6th March 1953. At least two other members of the Steele family also made the journey. The Steeles were among the earliest arrivals, official figures show that 2,200 arrived in each of the years 1951 and 1952 with a total of 3,600 in the years 1948 to 1950.

Born in British Guyana (as it then was) in 1929, Daphne Steele was one of the many people from the Caribbean who dedicated their lives to the National Health Service and, on 16th October 2018, a blue plaque was unveiled in her honour (actually, thanks to a gust of wind, it unveiled itself!). Daphne became the first Black matron in the NHS, when she successfully applied for that role in 1964 at St.Winifred’s hospital in Ilkley, Yorkshire. Her son, Robert, also present at the unveiling, commented that when he and his mother arrived in Ilkley the Black population of the town increased by two, to a total of … two. It was clear from his comments that he and his mother were soon made to feel very welcome in the town and in fact Daphne remained there until she died in 2004.

Daphne’s sister, Carmen, at the unveiling:

Another sister, June, was also at the unveiling. She too had warm words of praise for her sister: ‘Daphne was someone with the most heart- warming smile and a great sense of humour.  She put 110% into everything she did, giving freely of her time and was always willing to help people.’

The Nubian Jak Community Trust must be thanked for their tremendous work in getting blue plaques in place to commemorate the Black contribution to our history (40 and counting!). You can find out more about Nubian Jak’s work here: http://nubianjak.org/. On this occasion the Trust was ably supported by AGNAP (The Association of Guyanese Nurses and Allied Professionals). London and Quadrant Housing must also be acknowledged for welcoming the placement of the plaque on one of their buildings.

The 100 or so attendees were blessed with bright sunshine throughout the hour-long ceremony. It was a fitting celebration of the life of a remarkable woman.

Sam King Memorial Lecture

Sam King was one of the passengers on the Empire Windrush when it docked at Tilbury in May 1948. He was just 22 years old and his family had sold livestock to pay his fare of £28 10 shillings. Like many men who had served in the RAF during the war he wanted to return to the ‘Mother Country’.

A born leader, he worked for 34 years in the Post Office, working his way up to a management position, became a  Labour Councillor in 1982 and within six months had become the first Black Mayor of Southwark. In 1988 he was awarded the MBE.

On 19th June 2018 his memory was honoured with a memorial lecture held at St Margaret’s Church in the grounds of Westminster Abbey. Organised by Sam’s good friend, Arthur Torrington (together they created The Windrush Foundation – https://windrushfoundation.com/), the event was hosted by The Reverend Jane Sinclair, Canon of Westminster and Rector of St Margaret’s, and chaired by Lady Benjamin of Beckenham (sorry, she’ll always by Floella from Play School for me!).

    

There were tributes from Sam’s grand daughter, Dione McDonald, Lord Ouseley of Peckham Rye and Michelle Asantewa and a calypso from Alexander D’Great, before Arthur delivered his lecture, a wide ranging discussion of the influence people from the Caribbean have had on Britain, an influence that, he stressed, started long before the Windrush.

What made the event so special was that it was led by people who had known Sam and were able to speak from the heart about how he had influenced them. He was clearly a man who was widely loved and respected and it was a privilege to be present.

War to Windrush: Black Women in Britain 1939 to 1948

Since retiring in 2016 I have come to love the National Archives at Kew and, more recently, The British Library at Kings Cross, both institutions where anyone with any interest in history could happily spend most of their days – and both completely free. I’m increasingly inclined to add the British Film Institute on London’s Southbank to my list of favourite places. A wide range of films can be seen in the (free) viewing booths adjacent to the foyer, including films from the early days of cinema that document the black presence in Britain. But I hadn’t realised until recently that they also host free talks for old people like me!

Recently I attended one given by Stephen Bourne, author of ‘War to Windrush: Black Women in Britain 1939 to 1948’. I arrived early and was one of an audience of about four in what was a pretty large space. I did fear this might be a bit of a flop but I’m pleased to say that by the time Stephen’s talk started there must have been at least 100 people present.

It’s a fascinating and under-researched subject and the talk was very illuminating. Stephen has met a number of the subjects discussed in the book and his talk was laced with personal reminiscences. The book mentions just two black women who were actually on board the Windrush when it docked at Tilbury:  Mona Baptiste (featured elsewhere on this site) and Lucilda Harris. It’s a little known fact that there were around 230 women on the ship, including almost 60 Polish women coming to the UK under the terms of the Polish Resettlement Act. Most of the women were certainly white, but at Historycal Roots we are pretty sure there were other black women on board and it’s our aim to identify and write about them.

Essentially this was an early book launch (the book isn’t due to be published until 22nd June) and Stephen was available after the talk finished to sign copies (I joined the long queue).  Some of the material in the book re-presents material from earlier books such as ‘Black Poppies’ and ‘Evelyn Dove’ but Stephen has an engaging writing style and there is enough new and interesting material to make the book a worthwhile addition to the Historycal Roots library.

Two Great Exhibitions

We recently attended an exhibition of photographs at the Oxo Tower on London’s Southbank. The photos, all taken by Jim Grover, featured Windrush pioneer, Alford Gardner, but also many others who came after (and before!) the Windrush.

It was a pleasure to chat to Jim and such a pity that his book featuring the photos was not ready in time for the exhibition. We have put our name down for a copy and very much look forward to seeing it.

One face did jump out at me:

This is Neil Flanigan (MBE). Neil was born in Kingston, Jamaica and, in 1943, signed up to join the RAF, reaching England in 1944 in his late teens. Neil has lived in England almost continuously ever since, raising three children with his wife Mavis. I recognised his face immediately as he trusted me with his i-pad and asked me to take photos while he took the salute in Windrush Square on Remembrance Sunday 2017. I’d never used an i-pad before and really (I mean really) hope that the photos turned out OK.

The exhibition is only on until 10th June but you have much more chance of catching:

https://www.bl.uk/events/windrush-songs-in-a-strange-land

This is on at the British Library until 21st October (and, we were told, will subsequently move to Leeds).

We were lucky enough to be invited to the launch event. We weren’t able to do the exhibition itself justice as we were too busy talking to some of the people in attendance. These included: Windrush pioneer, John Richards, still going strong at the age of 92; Peter Dielhenn and his daughter, Peter was the youngest member of the Windrush crew (his daughter proudly pointed him out to me in the background of the famous newsreel of Lord Kitchener singing ‘London is the place for me’); and Arthur Torrington, co-founder of the Windrush Foundation. We will return to view the exhibition properly on another day.