Welcome to the Windrush Caribbean Tea Party. My name is Owen, and I came to England in 1962 having joined the British Army in Barbados and I left the army in 1984 after 22 years’ service. I would like to think that I was one of the original pioneers, but far from it. There were a number of West Indian’s here well before my time including those who remained here after the war.
The Windrush Generation came here to do various jobs in the rebuilding of the country, but it also meant so much to us West Indians, we needed something like that we had money in our pockets, food in our stomachs and occasionally be able to send a few pounds home to family.
Although we were all West Indian, we didn’t really know each other, it was Windrush that brought us all together, through meeting places like the workplace and sports venues. But one of the most important meeting places was the house party, you didn’t need an invitation for this event, you just turned up and no-one was turned away; everyone was welcomed. Music, dancing, food, it was exceptional, it brought us so much closer.
Admittedly, there were obstacles throughout the early Windrush years, but we have overcome those, the foundation is now set, it is up to us to build on those foundations and move things forward.