Seventy-five years on, the descendants of the Windrush generation have come together to remember, honour and celebrate their stories.
It was on June 22, 1948, that the HMT Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Docks in Essex. The passenger liner was full of British Caribbeans, who had all come to help with Britain’s labour shortage following the First World War.
Ipswich’s Cornhill came alive with music on this anniversary on Thursday, as Suffolk’s Caribbean community came together to honour their relatives.
Among them was Harry Bagwandeen, who paid tribute to his father, William Sukrie. Mr Sukrie was among those who docked at Tilbury all those years ago.
“My Dad was an Indian Jamaican,” said Mr Bagwandeen. He explained that after the slave trade ended in 1807, many Indians went to work in plantations in Jamaica, taking on the work which slaves had been forced to do.
Mr Sukrie was a pipe welder, and found work in Hackney, London. It was here that he met Rose, a white woman. They would go on to have five children.
The couple married and relocated to Wales, where they had their own farm. He later changed his name to Latchman Bagwandeen.
“Dad faced all the racism that was usual at the time- in those days, it was ‘no Irish, no blacks, no dogs,” said Mr Bagwandeen. “He’s have people rubbing him, to see if the colour came off.”
His parents also faced hostility, being an interracial couple. Mr Bagwandeen’s parents separated after 20 years together, and he and his father moved to Sudbury. His father spent his final years here, and died in 2011.
He was in Ipswich on Thursday, sharing his father’s story other Windrush descendants.
The celebrations had been organised by Ipswich’s Windrush Select Committee.
Committee member and former chairman Charles Challenger was in attendance. He himself came to this country from Antigua in 1968, aged 12.
“It is important to recognise just how much the Caribbean community has contributed to the UK, and how this country is stronger, more diverse and more accepting as a result,” he said.
“The Caribbean community came with love, opening their arms to what they saw as the mother country.”
He pointed to the Equality Act of 2010, which now protects citizens from discriminated against due to their race, age, religion, sexuality, disability or gender.
“We need to remember where that started. We need to understand our history.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here