A national memorial to the Windrush Generation will be unveiled next year
The government is commissioning a permanent national monument to the Windrush Generation to recognise how they have enriched our nation’s history. The monument will be positioned at Waterloo Station, the point of arrival in London for many, as a permanent tribute to a generation of arrivals from the Caribbean to this country – from the arrival of MV Empire Windrush in 1948 and in the decades that followed.
The finished monument is expected to be unveiled on Windrush Day, June 22 next year, and the public is now being asked for its views on four proposals.
The project is being led by the Windrush Commemoration Committee, chaired by Baroness Floella Benjamin.
Four artists – Basil Watson, Jeannette Ehlers, Thomas J Price and Valda Jackson – all of Caribbean descent, have been shortlisted to design the Windrush Monument. Over the past couple of months, they have been developing their ideas and are now presenting their proposed designs for the Windrush Monument through four short films.
The final design will be chosen in September by the Windrush Commemoration Committee and announced in October during Black History Month.
In revealing the four proposals this week, the government said, “We want to hear your views on the four proposed designs. This will be used to help inform the committee’s final decision in selecting the winning design.
“Watch the artists talk through their designs and find out what inspired them in the films, then share your thoughts in our short questionnaire.”
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My ancestors arrived in London in the 1880s. I heard that some of my Great Grandad’s fellow passengers thought they were en route to New York! Poor sods bought tickets from touts, presumably. I’m still waiting for a memorial, perhaps in Whitechapel or docklands?