FEATURE
NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL A POTTED HISTORY
14 SN AUG 2021
W
here do you start when talking about the beginning of Notting Hill Carnival? Few events have such a disputed history. By the time the Second World War ended in 1945, London was a city that had survived, but only after experiencing much loss. It was in many ways a drab and wounded place. It was also one with an acute labour shortage, attracting Britain’s colonial Caribbean citizens to cross the waters and increase the volume of the much needed, if not appreciated, working classes. The first large group to arrive were filmed disembarking from HMT Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks in June 1948. Mostly young, they brought
