I’m sure you know the story of the Empire Windrush – 492 Jamaican men, invited to Britain to rebuild the country after World War Two – right?
Wrong on all counts and hopefully if you have read some of the articles on this site you will be able to spot the errors in that opening sentence.
Today we introduce two very different stories that add to our knowledge of those who were on the Windrush – one article by Audrey Dewjee is actually called ‘A different Windrush experience’. It deals with the lives of just some of the early post-war migrants who settled in Leeds and you can read it here: https://www.historycalroots.com/a-different-windrush-experience/
Working as a young reporter on the Daily Worker in 1948, Peter Fryer (who would later become one the of the first to attempt a chronicle of black British history) was one of those sent to Tilbury to meet the ship. He asked some of those on board their reasons for coming: ‘Some 30 have volunteered for the mines and will, I understand, be given full facilities for training. While on board, I met masons, mechanics, journalists, students, musicians, boxers and cyclists attending the Olympic Games.’ We have been unable to identify any Windrush passengers among the cyclists who competed at the Olympic Games in London and so it seems someone may have spun Fryer a yarn. However, there was a link to the Olympics and Bill Hern writes about it here: https://www.historycalroots.com/mcdonald-bailey-windrush-passenger-and-father-of-an-olympic-hero/
These two stories demonstrate that, in history, there is always more to learn no matter how well-known a story might be!