We have been promising ourselves a visit to Tilbury, where the Empire Windrush docked on 22nd June 1948, for at least three years. We finally made it on 20th July and are so glad we did.
It was the day of the Thurrock Carnival. Thurrock Council had secured a little over £20,000 from the fund the government established for Windrush celebrations this year. The money had been used to support a series of community events culminating in the carnival.
It was money well spent, there was a good turn out from the local community and there was a variety of Windrush themed displays for them to enjoy.
The view that greeted the new arrivals probably hasn’t changed much in the intervening 71 years:
The view across the river hasn’t changed much either. The unnamed passenger who, looking out across the water, was quoted as saying ‘if this is England, I like it’ perhaps had better eyesight than me!
To disembark they would have gone up a gangplank like the one pictured below and into the baggage hall. On the 22nd June 1948 the hall would have looked very different, in the words of our guide, it would have been ‘mayhem’ as people looked through the piles of luggage for their grip:
One of the displays featured what various people might have had in their grip. There was a display for Mona Baptiste which gave a few hints about the success she was to have as a recording artist but probably bore little resemblance to what she actually brought with her (nevertheless it was good to see that she featured):
There were a number of very informative displays about the Windrush and we were very pleased to meet Mike Oslter who, along with his team, had put the displays together. Mike was our informative guide, he was very much in demand and we were very grateful for the time he devoted to showing us round.
Another display had been produced by the Essex Cultural Diversity Project who actually interviewed Mrs Historycal Roots as part of their record of the event:
Mike told us that there were hopes the event would be an annual affair and, if it is repeated next year, we can thoroughly recommend a visit.
Finally, we know there is talk of raising the anchor of the Windrush from the seabed where she sank, what better place to display it than Tilbury?