Windrush75 The Windrush generation… a lot bigger than we think!

Deputy headteacher Yvonne Wade recalls how her aunty left Jamaica to make a new life in Britain

YVONNE WADE, deputy headteacher of St Antony’s Catholic Primary School in Forest Gate, is a proud descendant of the Windrush generation.

Her Aunty Phyllis had not journeyed to the motherland on the HMT Empire Windrush in 1948, when the famous vessel first transported its precious cargo of Caribbean Immigrants from Jamaica to the Port of Tilbury in East London.

When interviewed by the children of her class, Miss Wade recalled how her Aunty Phyllis left Jamaica in the early 1960s to journey to England as a young teenager of 18 years.

Aunty Phyllis, like so many other Jamaicans, St Lucians, Barbadians, Dominicans and Trinidadians, had come to Britain for the opportunity to work and study and make good use of the opportunities open to them.

The children were keen to know what happened to Aunty Phyllis when she first arrived in England, where she lived, how she was treated, when she first arrived and what she missed.

Miss Wade told the children that Aunty Phyllis stayed with her aunts (her mum’s sisters who had immigrated to England years before her) in Tottenham in north London when she first arrived.

They lived on one of the roads off Phillip Lane near to Bruce Grove. She recalls her aunty saying that she had a difficult time getting hair products that were suitable for her hair type, so she began to wear an afro.

She also missed her Caribbean food and music, which was not as readily available as it is today. Aunty Phyllis shared that she felt proud when Jamaican pop star Millie Small hit the top of the charts in Britain in 1964 with My Boy Lollipop

Her greatest challenge, however, was dealing with the cold weather, which made her very homesick, and she really hated contending with the blatant racism, which she faced on a daily basis.

Miss Wade told her class that she was very proud of her aunty and all the people who make up the Windrush generation, as they were brave and resilient, blazing a trail for so many who came after them.

She shared that it was their stories of challenge and triumph that inspired her to write so many poems and plays about the experiences of the diverse people who came from so many countries to help to rebuild post war Britain and help to make it great.

REMEMBERING THE PAST: “You called… we came” ... Windrush poem

Professor Laura Serrant, put to music and performed by St Antony’s choir led by Nathan Chan, music teacher at the school

St Antony’s pupils pay tribute to the Windrush generation

“I stand in awe of the Windrush generation because they left their countries of origin across the Caribbean, just like my mum’s family did, by leaving Jamaica, to come to Great Britain. They selflessly helped to rebuild Britain after the devastation of the Second World War. This was a true act of patriotism”

Isabella Corriette – Head Girl

“We should truly honour the Windrush generation who blazed a trail for us, the descendants of immigrants. We are now enjoying the fruits of their labour which is evident still today inthe NHS, Transport for London, the Royal Mail and in the honourable service men and women who served in the Brit- ish Army, Navy and Air Force. We have a lot to be thankful to them for”

Alejandro

Serrano – Head Boy

“They came to this country bringing their rich and wonderful culture of Caribbean foods such as jerk chicken, fried dumplings and rice and peas as well as reggae, calypso music and carnival traditions to share with the whole nation”

Jacques Etienne-Crone

“I admire how they dealt with the racism they faced on a daily basis, this showed just how resilient they were. If we could be half as courageous as they were, then our generation would be invincible!”

Prisha Patel

“When you think about it, they actually helped to make Britain multicultural, although they paid a really high price! This is because so many of them were treated really badly and unfairly! Many left and went back home, which was understandable under the circumstances; but thankfully many stayed and helped to bring about the changes that some of us take for granted today”

Demetris N’Jie

“I am so deeply conscious about how they had to cope with all the pressures and challenges they faced on a day to day basis. Especially the young children who came with their parents and had to go to schools where they were perhaps the only child of ethnic minority in the entire school. That must have been hard! I do not know if I could have dealt with that. They deserve to be honoured just for surviving and now helping their descendants to be thriving in Britain”

Elias Owusu

“I am thankful to the Windrush generation for their tenacity and determination to overcome the hardships that they faced so triumphantly. Many have become inspirational people whom I, and thousands like me, admire. They include Baroness Floella Benjamin and Professor Laura Serrant who were both present at the unveiling of the Windrush Monument at Waterloo Station where we had the honour of performing in June last year. I can only hope to be like them one day”

Maya-Jade