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Empire Windrush 1948

The Windrush story

The Empire Windrush arrived at the Tilbury Docks in London on June 22 1948 with four-hundred and ninety West Indians seeking employment  and a new way of life.  These were the first West Indian immigrants to arrive in Britain. Initially many of the males migrated without their families to find employment build up capital and then return home.

"SORRY NO COLOUREDS, NO IRISH, NO DOGS"

Accommodation was short. And it was not long before nationals began to resent the immigrants in the struggle to find a home. Many immigrants were turned away from lodgings. Six in one room was not rare.

© Image by Birmingham Photographer Vanley Burke

Racial tension

Race relations was top of political agenda for ten years, culminating in conservative front-bencher Enoch Powell's famous "Rivers of Blood" speech. His words pictured black immigrants as alien invaders and re-ignited angry nationalistic feelings, bringing to the forefront a strong anti-racism movement.

It was not until the mid-1970s that things really started to improve. Aided by the Race Relations Act and equal opportunities bodies, Caribbeans began to participate in the institutions to which they had access - trade unions, councils and professional and staff associations - and to establish themselves as part of the British population.

Read more about the arrival of Empire Windrush in Britian on the BBC History website and watch a video about the Windrush story.

Birmingham's early black presence

(Birmingham City Council - Archives and Heritage services)

© Image by Birmingham Photographer Vanley Burke

Birmingham found it extremely difficult to deal with the influx of substantial numbers of black people (The Birmingham Post archive) and some of the immigrants found the city to have a very dull atmosphere

In an effort to effectively manage the immigrant situation Birmingham established district associations in order to find solutions to the social problems of immigrants. The Sparkbrook Association was one of the first of these types of associations that was established (Birmingham Post, October 22, 1965).

In March 1950 a voluntary body referred to as 'The Co-ordinating Committee for Overseas Nationals' was established in Birmingham. The duty of the committee was to consider what could be done about the problems surrounding the Black members of the community.

Read a full historical account on the early presence of black people in the city on the Birmingham City Council - Archives and Heritage website; the search for jobs, reaction from the locals towards black immigrants and the housing situation during the Windrush era.