Windrush Day - 22nd June 2023 - 75th Anniversary

AT STSFT we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of both Windrush and NHS Windrush Day on 22^nd June 2023.  We are flying the Windrush Flag until the end of June to celebrate the contribution of the Windrush generation and their descendants to the NHS.

We would love to hear your experiences of working with Windrush colleagues or supporting Windrush patients, you may have family who were part of the Windrush Generation, why not share with us on our staff Facebook page?

Interested in finding out more about STSFT inclusion journey, or joining our staff networks? Or perhaps you want to know more about how we support staff who face discrimination and barriers, and how we celebrate our diverse workforce? Be sure to get in touch with us at: STSFT.inclusion@nhs.net.

What is Windrush Day?

Windrush Day was created to recognise the Windrush Generation’s contributions to the UK and celebrate their accomplishments.

The Windrush Generation is a term used to describe people who arrived to the UK from the West Indies, from 22 June 1948, on HMT Empire Windrush. These people helped fill post-war labour shortages and were mainly former service personnel. This was the first wave of post war immigration with many of the passengers taking up roles in the NHS, which launched just two weeks later. 

The journey of the early Black and minority ethnic colleagues in the NHS, and in British society, was not an easy one. Faced with overt racism, discrimination and public outcry, they were not always welcome. The same experiences were faced by those who followed over the next few decades. Today, ethnic minority colleagues make up almost a quarter of the NHS workforce and 42% of medical staff.  Read more here - NHS England » Celebrating 75 years of Windrush.  

The windrush Generation also includes campaigners for black-British rights. For example, Sam Beaver King served in the RAF during the War and would go on to become a postal worker, cofound Notting Hill Carnival and be the first black mayor of Southwark.

The North East Leadership Academy has pulled together a few quick Windrush Day facts to know:

• Windrush Day 2023 is the 75^th anniversary of the HMT Empire Windrush arriving in the UK.
• Everyone is invited to take part in Windrush Day and there are a variety of events taking place throughout the country which you can attend - Events — Windrush 75
• There is a National Windrush Monument at Waterloo station, London. It is located at Waterloo station because many Caribbean people passed through there to start their new lives in the UK.
• According to a passenger on the ship, the HMT Empire Windrush took about 22 days to arrive to the UK.
• Sam King’s family sold three cows to buy their ticket for the HMT Empire Windrush, which cost £28.10s (which would be to the value of £600 today).

Read more on their website.

And the Kings Fund has launched an online exhibition, which you can view here.