of the transport system’

During this time many of the Windrush generation found work on the railways with many actually helping to build them. The legacy of the Windrush generation can be seen and felt in the workforce across the UK’s transport sector, and especially within LT’s successor Transport for London (TfL), where over 30 per cent of TfL employees are Black or from another ethnic minority.

Glenroy Watson is one of those workers. He has been with the transport network for over 44 years and worked on all London Underground lines.

He is currently a train driver on the Victoria Line. Speaking to The Voice, he said: “I joined the Underground as a guard. I started on the Central Line, and then got transferred to the Northern Line and then got transferred to the Piccadilly Line, where eventually I became a driver.

Stereotype

“I have worked on every line on the Underground, including what was once called the East London Line — which has been now handed over to the Overground.”

Mr Watson, whose parents are from Jamaica and Barbados, says he would describe himself as African because “that’s what I am”.

His father worked in the railway, but he didn’t want a career in transport — especially working on the buses — because of the “stereotype image” associated with Black people at the time.

So he attended college and got a degree in Electronics and landed a job at one of the biggest automobile engineering firms in Britain. However, Mr Watson recalls his dream being cut short when he “became a manager a little bit too early for their liking.”

He told The Voice that the company refused to pay him his “correct salary” and he ended up leaving and updated his skills further to “work as an engineer on the buses”.

In 1979, he joined the Underground and found workers from the Caribbean still faced hostility, discrimination or were shut out of some promotions and positions of au- you travelled abroad on holiday you couldn’t go for another five years was “directly aimed at the African workers”.

Mr Watson claims many white managers “severely resented” that Black workers would go away to Africa or the Caribbean for four weeks “in the sunshine” whereas they were forced to holidays in places like Southend. Being an activist and Trade Unionist since his college days, Mr Wat- of those who came before them. thority.

“I would like to say to young African people it’s a job worth getting into,” he explained.

Windrush 75 is a special occasion celebrating our past pioneers who laid the very foundations of our transport system and other sectors crucial to British society.

And with fearless and dedicated employees like Mr Watson, the celebrations will be even more special, knowing London’s transport system continues to be driven by Windrush energy and principles.

In recent years, the London Transport Museum has held different exhibitions to celebrate its Caribbean employees.

He said: “The bus conductor was the one who had to deal with the hostile passengers and the driver would be safe in his cab.”

Looking back at the early days in his career, he said: “We had a grade called Station Masters when I came on the railway and somebody said ‘well hang on a minute white people are going to have to call Black people masters’, so it was subtly changed from Station Master to Station Manager.”

The train driver also believes a past policy which meant if son used his voice to campaign against discrimination.

He added: “I was the first ever representative for the NUR/RMT on London Transport Equality board after we had exposed the racism to replace African and other non-white staff with new white managers.”

He added: “Over the years African workers have improved the Underground and have improved the pay and conditions.”

Now he believes children and grandchildren of the Windrush generation should be able to “benefit” from the improvements made to the system because of the fight and sacrifices

Last year, an exhibition entitled Legacies opened at the museum in Covent Garden, charting the immense contribution of Caribbean workers within the transport network in London since the 1950s.

And the celebrations will continue this year to mark Windrush 75, with a host of Museum Late events throughout the year, where the public can explore the Museum after dark.

In July, the Museum will host an event called Voices of London on July 14 in collaboration with Making of Black Britain (MOBB), which is the brainchild of broadcaster Diane Louise Jordan, of