Up the junction: presenter Tim Dunn went to Clapham to meet Levi Roots (left)
Transport for London is marking Black History Month with the release of a Windrush episode of its Mind The Gap podcast series about the inspiration behind the new names for the London Overground lines.
The Windrush line is the name being given to TfL’s London Overground service from West Croydon to Crystal Palace and Clapham Junction, and on to Peckham Rye, Dalston and Highbury and Islington.
The Windrush line is among the six London Overground lines which are being re-named later this year, “with new colours making it easier for customers to navigate London’s transport network, while also celebrating the city’s diverse culture and history”, TfL says. The Windrush line will be represented on the Tube map with two parallel red lines.
Red lines: new livery for the Windrush line is being rolled out from West Croydon to Islington
In the latest podcast episode, presenter Tim Dunn delves into the history of the Windrush generation with guests Levi Roots and Arthur Torrington.
Dunn visits Peckham Rye to speak with Torrington, a co-founder of the Windrush Foundation.
They talk about the impact of Sam Beaver King MBE, the first black Mayor of Southwark, who earlier in his life had served in the RAF during World War II, before being sent back to Jamaica and later returning to England on the Empire Windrush.
King and Torrington set up the Windrush Foundation in 1996 to preserve the memories of those who arrived on that voyage and to campaign on behalf of West Indian immigrants.
Torrington calls the naming of the Overground line as the Windrush line “a game-changer”.
He says, “It’s a brilliant idea. It helps not only the community along which the line runs, but it helps people who use the London Overground to understand and learn more about the history of Windrush. Knowing that history is a benefit to society – it helps community understanding, social cohesion, cultural exchange and the best way of living.”
Co-founder: Windrush veteran Arthur Torrington
Dunn also interviews Dragons’ Den contestant Roots, who talks about leaving his home in Clarendon in Jamaica to playing reggae music in the Providence Club in Clapham, and his move into the food industry with Reggae Reggae Sauce.
“When I ride on the Windrush line for the first time, I will be shedding a tear,” Roots says in the podcast.
“It will be fantastic for people to be able to ride on the London Overground and be able to say that they are travelling with the wonderful story of Windrush that needs to be told in this country.”
The Windrush Foundation is hosting a special exhibition at Dalston Junction until October 10 to highlight the contribution that the Windrush generation has made to public services, the arts and commerce in Britain.
TfL is also marking Black History Month with a photography series of black staff members at Victoria Station, which is running over the autumn.
Mind the Gap is released on all major podcast platforms.
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