Erection date: 22/6/2022
{On the frosted glass panels behind the statue:}
The National Windrush Monument
Created by Basil Watson, CD.
Unveiled by Windrush Pioneers Alford Gardner and John Richards in the presence of Their Royal Highnesses, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
22nd June 2022.
The National Windrush Monument was designed to acknowledge and celebrate the outstanding contribution and dedication of the Windrush Generation to British history.
The Monument symbolises the courage, commitment and resilience of the thousands of men, women and children who travelled to the UK from 1948 to 1971.
It has been created as a permanent place of reflection, fostering greater understanding of the Windrush Generation’s talent, hard work and loyalty to Britain, inspiring future generations forever.
The National Windrush Monument has been funded by the Department for Levelling UP, Housing and Communities.
With thanks to the Windrush Commemoration Committee
{8 names – see Created by}.
Co-opted members
{3 names – see Created by}.
With thanks to Network Rail for gifting the space.
You called … and we came
You called … and we came.
In ships bigger than anything we had seen,
dwarfing our islands and covering them
in the shadows of smoke and noise.
Crowded, excited voices filled the air,
traveling to the ‘motherland’
– over weeks, over oceans that threatened to engulf us.
Driven by a wish, a call to save, to rebuild
and support efforts to establish ‘health for all’
in the aftermath of war.
You called … and we came.
A new millennium – new hopes spread across this land.
New populations, engaging and reflecting
the varied, diverse and vibrant nature of these shores.
Challenging and reflecting on leadership for health.
Moves to melt the ‘snow’ at the peaks of our profession.
Recognising the richness of our kaleidoscope nation.
Where compassion, courage and diversity are reflected
In our presence and our contribution:
Not only the hopes and dreams of our ancestors.
– Human values needed to truly lead change … and add value.
Remember … you called.
Remember … you called.
YOU. Called.
Remember, it was us, who came.
© Professor Laura Serrant, OBE, PHD, Queens Nurse
Unveiled on Windrush day in 2022. The full poem is available at .
Site: National Windrush monument (1 memorial)
SE1, Waterloo Station
This location "was chosen due to its significance in the Windrush story as thousands of people who arrived from the Caribbean passed through the station on their way to start their new lives across the country." (From ). While later arrivals at Southampton may well have used Waterloo (see * below), we don't think it would have been a natural station for the original Windrush migrants to use. Certainly, 2025, there does not appear to be a direct train from Tilbury, offering a journey with two changes. Arriving at Fenchurch Street would involve only one change.
This monument was unveiled at a time when the government was being criticised for its treatment of the Windrush generation. From The : "Ministers and the Home Office came under fire after it was revealed members of the Windrush generation and their children had been wrongly detained and deported – and others denied access to healthcare, work, housing benefits and pensions. ... A memorial to the Windrush generation at Waterloo station in London is being “imposed” by the government to the “disgust” of the Caribbean community, the Windrush Foundation has said. ... the community wanted it to be in Brixton, in Windrush Square, and that Waterloo station had “nothing to do” with Windrush."
* 2025: we watched the 1957 movie The Heart Within. In one scene, some characters, recently arrived from the Caribbean, go to Waterloo to meet a newcomer. The train she arrives on is labelled "Ocean Liner Express...Waterloo Southampton Docks". Here's a which shows this train but is actually all about the pleasure cruise that departs from Southampton (not a Black face to be seen). Whilst Googling for this, AI told us: "... the legacy of the HMT Empire Windrush, which, despite arriving at Tilbury Docks in 1948, is now symbolically connected to London Waterloo Station due to the National Windrush Monument unveiled there in 2022." That's not the way memorials are meant to work!
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