#windrush day
Text
A Royal Recycling (part 313)
Holland Cooper
#catherine middleton#kate middleton#kate#princess of wales#my edit#a royal recycling#royal recycling#holland cooper#blazer#2023#uk#england#windrush day#windsor castle#windsor#tim cook#apple#cardiff#wales#prince william#katepast#british royal family#fashion#royals#royal fashion
13 notes
·
View notes
Text
Prince William’s speech today at the Windrush Day event was excellent.
“Thank you for inviting Catherine and me. It is a privilege to be here with you all.
Today is a day we celebrate and honour the Windrush Generation and the enormous contribution each and every one of them has made, and continue to make, to our society.
I am delighted that so many of that generation and their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are here today.
When the Windrush Generation sailed from the Caribbean to rebuild war torn Britain, they did so as British citizens, answering a plea to help our country thrive again.
Many of them were not strangers to these shores. In the decade before 1948, thousands served in the RAF, either flying, navigating or as ground crew keeping our squadrons airborne – including Allan Wilmot, the eldest Windrush pioneer whose family are with us today.
These people didn’t have to come. They volunteered to fight for King and country – in the full knowledge that many would never make it home again.
As one of the inheritors of that great military tradition I understand how much we owe to these men and women. Today’s ceremony would not be complete without remembering their sacrifice.
Over the past seven decades, the Windrush Generation’s role in the fabric of our national life has been immense.
Today, as we look around us, we can see just how many of the institutions in our country are built by that generation: commerce and manufacturing, sports and science, engineering and fashion.
Here in Waterloo Station, we are reminded of the role played by thousands of people from the Windrush Generation in our essential public transport system – from train drivers to conductors and technical staff.
Although it is not where the passengers of the Empire Windrush first arrived, subsequently many thousands of Caribbean people did pass through Waterloo and dispersed to cities across the UK. So the placement of the monument here is an acknowledgement of the contribution of those people to one of the most important elements of our national infrastructure.
Just down the road, in St Thomas’s Hospital, we can reflect on the Windrush Generation’s huge contribution to the NHS, a service founded only two weeks after the Empire Windrush docked in 1948. Since then, over 40,000 Windrush and Commonwealth nurses and midwives have cared for those in need.
Indeed, every part of British life is better for the half a million men and women of the Windrush Generation.
Be it public life – and we are a stone’s throw from the Borough of Southwark, home to Sam King MBE, Windrush passenger, postman, founder of the West Indian Gazette, the first black mayor in London, campaigner and the co-founder of the Windrush Foundation.
Be it arts and culture – and we need look no further than Floella, the face of children’s television to millions of young people for more than a decade.
There are simply too many people to list. And we know without question, that the Windrush Generation have made our culture richer, our services stronger, and our fellow countrymen safer.
My family have been proud to celebrate this for decades – whether that be through support from my father on Windrush Day, or more recently during my Grandmother’s Platinum Jubilee, as people from all communities and backgrounds came together to acknowledge all that has changed over the past seventy years and look to the future.
This is something that resonated with Catherine and me after our visit to the Caribbean earlier this year. Our trip was an opportunity to reflect, and we learnt so much. Not just about the different issues that matter most to the people of the region, but also how the past weighs heavily on the present.
Sadly, that is also the case for members of the Windrush Generation who were victims of racism when they arrived here, and discrimination remains an all too familiar experience for black men and women in Britain in 2022.
Only a matter of years ago, tens of thousands of that Generation were profoundly wronged by the Windrush Scandal. That rightly reverberates throughout the Caribbean community here in the UK as well as many in the Caribbean nations.
Therefore, alongside celebrating the diverse fabric of our families, our communities and our society as a whole – something the Windrush Generation has contributed so much to – it is also important to acknowledge the ways in which the future they sought and deserved has yet to come to pass.
Diversity is what makes us strong, and it is what reflects the modern, outward-looking values that are so important to our country.
Today, as we stand together to witness Windrush Pioneers, Alford and John unveil Basil’s landmark monument, we are reminded of our shared history and the enormous contribution of the Windrush Generation.
Without you all, Britain would simply not be what it is today.
I want to say a profound thank you to every member of that generation, and the generations that have followed. And I want you to know that you can count on mine and Catherine’s continued support in helping us achieve a future they would be proud of.
Thank you again for inviting us to join you on this important day.”
199 notes
·
View notes
Text
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.
Women and men of position in our homelands;
nurses with a pride in the excellence of our care.
With experience of management, organisation
and a sense of duty.
We appeared.
Smiling and eager to work on the wards, communities and clinics
of this England.
You called….and we came.
Our big hearts, skilful hands and quick minds
encased in our skins – of a darker hue.
Which had shimmered and glowed
in our sunnier climes..
But now signified our difference
– our un-belonging.
Matrons became assistants
Nurses became like chambermaids.
All the while striving to fulfil our promise
– to succour, to serve, to care.
You called….and we came.
The blue of the sister’s uniform
– seemed as far away from us as the moon.
Unreachable by our dark hands in this cold land.
But we were made of sterner stuff.
The hot sun, which once beat down on our ancestors,
when they too left their lands,
Shone within us.
Forging our hearts and minds
with the resistance of Ebony.
You called….and we came.
Rising like the Phoenix,
from the heat of rejection.
We cared, we worked and we organised.
Until the quickness of our brains
and the excellence of our care
made it hard for you to contain us.
And slowly, so slowly,
the blue uniforms had dark and lighter bodies beneath them.
The professional care in our touch
was valued despite the strangeness of our speech
and the kinks in our hair.
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
Today marks 75 years since the HMT Empire Windrush arrived in Britain on 22 June 1948. 800 passengers from the Caribbean arrived in the UK, having been encouraged to make the move to help shore up the workforce after World War II. The Windrush generation and their descendants faced incredible difficulties as they built their lives in the UK. Racism, poor living conditions, and a dismissal of their previous professions and skills were just some of the struggles they faced. And yet the contributions the Windrush generation made to the UK cannot be overstated. The NHS, for example, would not be the insitution it is without the contributions of Caribbean nurses and midwives (who btw are still underrespresented in leadership positions in the NHS today).
I could write an essay tbh but it’s late and I need sleep. I’ve added a few links here which gives way more info on the Windrush generation. And not sure if it’s changed now but when i was at school they never taught us ANY of this.
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
06/22/2023 is National Chocolate Eclair Day 🇺🇲, National Onion Rings Day 🇺🇲, Windrush Day 🇬🇧
0 notes
Text
#windrush day#caribbean migration#floella benjamin#baroness floella benjamin#windrush generation#documentary#documentary film#1948-1971#empire windrush#ww2
0 notes
Text
Kensington Palace released a new video featuring the Prince of Wales to mark Windrush Day || 22 JUNE 2023
#prince of wales#the prince of wales#prince william#william wales.#windrush day 23#windrush day video 23#british royal family#british royals#royalty#royals#brf#british royalty#royal#22062023#the duke of cambridge#duke of cambridge
97 notes
·
View notes
Photo
The week ahead of #Windrush75 Day, The King and Queen have hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace in celebration of the Windrush Generation and to mark 75 years since the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush.
#I'm looking forward to seeing the commissioned windrush portraits :)#I assume they're being unveiled on the day itself#kciii#queen camilla
53 notes
·
View notes
Text
Action is needed to show nurses of colour that their contribution is valued and their lives matter, as opposed to words, nursing leaders have warned on the third annual Windrush Day.
On this day in 1948, the first group of people arrived in Essex from the Caribbean on the Empire Windrush cruise ship, pictured above, answering the UK’s call for public sector workers following the Second World War.
“There is still so much to do to level the playing field for people of colour in the UK"
Trevor Sterling
Many of these passengers and the other members of the Windrush Generation – along with their descendants – were or would go on to become nurses, helping to create the National Health Service.
The government announced in 2018 that 22 July would become an annual holiday to celebrate the British-Caribbean community and to thank those who helped to rebuild Britain after the war.
The designation came in the wake of the Windrush Scandal in which stories of Commonwealth citizens being wrongfully detained, deported and denied their rights came to light.
Windrush Day this year is particularly poignant as it coincides with a time of national and international reflection on the racial inequalities in our society brought to stark attention by Covid-19 and the Black Lives Matters movement.
More on this topic:
Workplace racism linked to BAME nurses’ higher virus risk
Action on BAME nurse risks coming, minister tells Nursing Times
Nurses from Asian backgrounds at highest Covid-19 risk, finds PHE review
‘Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter have placed racism in the spotlight’
High death rates among Filipino nurses in UK now on global radar
BAME groups at ‘higher risk’ of getting Covid-19 with deprivation among factors
Exclusive: BME nurses ‘feel targeted’ to work on Covid-19 wards
NHS leaders set out new measures to protect BME staff in pandemic
Professor Greta Westwood, chief executive of the Florence Nightingale Foundation, said more needed to be done to “redress the current imbalance” in nursing in terms of race.
While 20% of the overall NHS nursing and midwifery workforce in England is from a black, Asian or ethnic minority (BAME) background, the percentage reduces to 4% for director-level nursing posts.
“It saddens me today to see that our BAME staff, whose own ancestors helped to build the NHS, still feel that they have to break through glass ceilings to succeed,” said Professor Westwood.
Greta Westwood
The foundation launched the Windrush Leadership Programme to help BAME nurses at bands 5 to 6 reach senior leadership positions and now also runs Windrush Leadership Scholarships.
Some of the BAME nurses and midwives who applied to the programme had been in their band 5 roles for more than 20 years.
“Since its foundation, the Windrush Leadership Programme has helped BAME staff find their voice and rightfully claim their place as senior leaders in the NHS,” added Professor Westwood.
“I urge my fellow NHS and other healthcare leaders to redress the current imbalance. We as the foundation will continue to foster this talent, but it is our collective responsibility to work together. Action not words create change.”
One Windrush scholar, Deborah Hylton, said when she joined the programme, she was working as a band 6 health visitor and was struggling with “self-doubt” after being continuously turned down for band 7 roles.
Inspired by her sister and sister-in-law who both came to the UK from the Caribbean when she was 13 and trained as nurses, Ms Hylton joined the nursing profession as a mature student with two young children to “give back to my community”.
She said the “confidence and skills” she gained through the course helped her to secure her current role as a lecturer in children’s nursing at London South Bank University.
“I am now in a position where I can encourage student nurses from all ethnic groups that nothing is impossible. I am able to stand in front of them as their lecturer and role model and make them aware of another career direction that nursing can offer,” said Ms Hylton.
Meanwhile, staff from four London hospitals will tonight mark Windrush Day by gathering outside their buildings at 5pm and taking a knee to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
The protest will be observed by workers at St Thomas Hospital, Kings College Hospital, South London and Maudsley Hospitals, and Lewisham University Hospital.
The action is being organised by Unite the union at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, and Royal College of Nursing Inner South East London.
Mark Boothroyd, Unite branch secretary for Guy's and St Thomas', said: “The NHS has the same problems of systemic racism as every other part of society.
“With over 50% of nursing staff in London being from BME backgrounds and directly affected by this, its important staff can show their support for Black Lives Matter, and push their own employers to make changes to tackle the ongoing issue of racism in the NHS.”
The RCN is also using Windrush Day to urge the Home Office to grant indefinite leave to remain to all international health and care workers who have worked in the UK during the pandemic.
“The NHS has the same problems of systemic racism as every other part of society"
Mark Boothroyd
Dame Donna Kinnair, RCN chief executive and general secretary, said: “The best way to honour the legacy of Windrush Day is to ensure no nurse, or health and care worker, who trained overseas, and helped in this pandemic, feels alien in this country.
“Granting automatic, indefinite leave to remain to international health and care workers who helped tackle this virus should be instinctive.
“The services and support that they provide, though brought to the fore through this pandemic, have always been essential. They are, and always will be, key workers.”
More than one in 10 of the total registered nursing workforce in the UK come from overseas, according to the Nursing and Midwifery Council. As of September 2019, 77,065 registered nurses came from outside the European Economic Area.
However, international nursing staff must wait five years before they can apply for indefinite leave to remain and are required to take a test to prove their Britishness before they are granted it.
Donna Kinnair
Another organisation demanding action over words is the Mary Seacole Trust which exists to educate the public about the life of the British-Jamaican nursing pioneer who cared for soldiers during the Crimean War, working against both racism and sexism.
The trust oversaw the creation of a Mary Seacole statue in 2016 in the grounds of St Thomas' Hospital, becoming the first statue in the UK in honour of a named black woman.
To mark Windrush Day, the organisation is calling for a national “black plaque scheme” to educate the public on UK black history.
It has written to the prime minister and London mayor to request that plaques are put up next to all British statues to explain the historical context, with the wording decided in collaboration with members of the black community.
Trevor Sterling, chair of the Mary Seacole Trust, said: “Windrush Day has a huge significance for me, my family and countless other black people in the UK.
Trevor Sterling
“Since the Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury in 1948, we have been contributing to our communities in Britain, and yet like Mary Seacole, our contributions are not fully recognised.
“There is still so much to do to level the playing field for people of colour in the UK, as seen most recently in the disproportionate number of BAME coronavirus deaths.
“Education about black British history must be central to all policy changes. If we are to truly address racism in the UK, we must first educate British citizens."
#empire windrush#windrush generation#nurses of the windrush#english immigration#Windrush Day: Nurses demand action on racism and inequality#racial inequality in england#uk racism#white skin immigration policies#BAME
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
The audacity of us to be putting up a windrush tribute statue whilst still doing the exact same fucking thing
#just the other day i was reading a story about a Carribbean man being deported when he moved to this country#with his mother bellow the age of ten and has a family#because of a drug charge#and not to even fucking mention the other ways we're treating immigrants with the Rwanda plan#and just our general attitude of racism and hostility towards immigrants of colour#and the lack of any actual reparations for the harm done to the windrush generation#i think we've done some sloppy 'apologies' but that doesnt really mean anything does it#anyway its just pissed me off no end to see that we're commemorating it like its something we've stopped and made amends for#even though we're still fucking doing the exact same thing#al is talking
1 note
·
View note
Photo
A Royal Recycling (part 257)
Alexander McQueen
#kate#kate middleton#duchess of cambridge#catherine middleton#a royal recycling#Royal Recycling#Alexander McQueen#blazer#2022#platinum jubilee#royal tour#royal tour 2022#jamaica#kingston#uk#london#windrush day#my edit#katepast#british royal family#Royal Fashion#royals#england#birmingham#commonwealth games#princess charlotte#france#marseille#rugby#2023
21 notes
·
View notes
Photo
On this day, 22 June 1948, the Empire Windrush arrived in Tilbury docks bringing the first group of 492 Jamaicans to the UK. They had answered an appeal for workers from the UK which needed to rebuild following World War II, amidst an acute labour shortage. By 1970, around half a million people from the Caribbean had arrived, and became known as the Windrush generation. Many of the arrivals were highly skilled workers, but were forced to work in low-paid and unskilled jobs due to discrimination, sometimes with the collaboration of trade unions. Others were subjected to physical attacks by racists and fascists, including at times large mobs of hundreds of people. In 1971, all prior Commonwealth arrivals were given automatic, permanent right to remain. But in 2010 the government destroyed all the landing cards from ships, which recorded when migrants arrived. And in 2012 the Liberal Democrat-Conservative coalition government introduced a policy called the "hostile environment", which was aimed at trying to force some migrants to leave. The Home Office was aware in 2013 that legal Windrush generation residents were being targeted by its policy, which included having private contractor Capita write to residents telling them they were in the country illegally and had to leave. Others were illegally denied NHS treatment for conditions like cancer, detained, deported or refused re-entry to the country, and many were wrongly sacked from their jobs. Outrage eventually caused a government climbdown and pressured them into providing compensation to those affected. But despite an estimated 15,000 people being eligible for up to £570 million compensation, as of June 2022 only around 1000 people had received any compensation. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9495/Empire-Windrush-arrives Picture: new arrivals on the Windrush on this date https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=648550490651503&set=a.602588028581083&type=3
226 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Princess of Wales’ Year in Review: October
October 3rd - The Prince and Princess of Wales visited Cardiff to mark the Seventy Fifth Anniversary of the arrival of HMT EMPIRE WINDRUSH to the United Kingdom, and the start of Black History Month. They visited Race Council Cymru at Grange Pavilion, before visiting Fitzalan High School
October 4th - The Princess of Wales visited Vsi Razom Community Hub
October 5th - The Princess of Wales, Patron of the Rugby Football League, visited Allam Sports Centre. Afterwards, she was seen at Hymers School
October 6th - The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron of the Royal Foundation, held an Early Years Meeting. Photos of Catherine at Leeds West Academy on October 26th appeared
October 10th - The Prince and Princess of Wales, Joint Patrons of the Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, attended the Exploring our Emotional Worlds Forum at Factory Works
October 11th - The Princess of Wales visited students from the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University at the Allam Sports Centre. Kensington Palace released a statement about the uptake in violence from Israel towards Palestine
October 12th - The Prince of Wales and the Princess of Wales, Patron of SportsAid, visited athletes and parents taking part in a mental fitness workshop at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre
October 15th - The Princess of Wales, Patron of Rugby Football Union, attended the Rugby World Cup Quarter Final Match between England and Fiji at Stade de Marseille
October 21st - Catherine posted two personal tweets on the day of the semi final match between England and South Africa
October 31st - The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron of the Royal Foundation, held an Early Years Meeting
#mine#royaltyedit#kate#yearreview#grange pavillion 23#fitzalan school 23#vsi razom 23#rf inclusivity day 23#ey meeting 23 14#wmhd23#trent uni 23#bisham23#rwc23: engfij#ey meeting 23 15
20 notes
·
View notes
Text
Royal blue
The Princess of Wales in an Alexander McQueen blazer and matching cigarette pants on a visit to HMP High Down, Surrey.
Winning white
The Princess of Wales put a sophisticated twist on England’s team colour as she cheered on players in their opening match at the Rugby World Cup.
Teal triumph
The Princess of Wales at her polished best in a custom teal Burberry suit and custom blouse by the designer for a reception with the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway at Windsor Castle.
Lady in red
Catherine makes a statement in scarlet Alexander McQueen for a ‘Shaping Us’ pre-launch event at the BAFTA headquarters, January 2023.
Purple reign
The Princess of Wales is radiant in Roland Mouret for a reception at Windsor Castle, January 2023.
Sugar plum princess
Another outing for the Roland Mouret suit, this time during William and Catherine's royal tour of Boston, December 2022.
High flyer
A navy Alexander McQueen number is the perfect choice for the princess’s arrival in Boston, December 2022.
In the navy
The same suit was last seen on the Princess of Wales for one of her first engagements in her new position: a reception for some of the Royal Navy Ship’s Company of HMS Glasgow, November 2022.
Cream of the crop
Cheering on swimmers in Alexander McQueen at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, August 2022.
Monochrome mastery
Head-to-toe white Alexander McQueen was a chic choice for an outing to mark Windrush Day in London, June 2022.
Pink perfection
Another Alexander McQueen suit, this time in a soft shade of rose, for a meeting with early childhood experts in London, June 2022.
A royal tour triumph
An orange Ridley London blouse brought a splash of colour to her white Alexander McQueen suit for an engagement in Jamaica, March 2022.
Magenta magic
Catherine ensured she stood out from the crowd in this Emilia Wickstead ensemble for a visit to Ulster University, September 2021.
Queen of green
An emerald green Massimo Dutti ensemble blended into the park setting on a visit to Edinburgh, May 2021.
HRH High Street
The Princess of Wales donned a pink M&S suit for a visit to the London Ambulance Centre in Croydon, March 2020.
Green Dream
The Princess donned a faithful Burberry number for a visit to a textile factory in Leeds in September 2023.
Recycled Red
The Princess Of Wales on her way to an event for her 'Shaping Us' Campaign On Early Childhood in September 2023, in one of her favourite red Zara blazers.
Magenta Masterpiece
The Princess of Wales was a tailored masterpiece in Emilia Wickstead for the Shaping Us National Symposium at the Design Museum, even accessorising with Princess Diana’s sapphire and diamond drop earrings.
#Princess of Wales#Catherine Princess of Wales#Catherine Middleton#Kate Middleton#British Royal Family#fashion#style#blazers#pants#suit#Alexander McQueen#Burberry#Roland Mouret#Emilia Wickstead#Massimo Dutti#M&S#Zara#fashion brands
14 notes
·
View notes
Text
📸 - Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
#british royal family#british royals#duchess of cambridge#kate middleton#brf#catherine middleton#royalty#royals#royal#prince william#duke of cambridge#kp instagram#kp insta 22 june 2022#22 june 2022#instagram#windrush day 22#elevate brixton house 22
86 notes
·
View notes
Video
Today we celebrate Windrush Day, a defining moment in our nation’s history. We honour the extraordinary contributions and resilience of the Windrush generation. #Windrush75
-- The Prince and Princess of Wales
#william arthur philip louis#prince william#prince of wales#prince william of wales#william the prince of wales#kensington palace#british royal family
43 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
aiztyupjb-blog
Trance Vision
vjnrwr
ratulian
wearelute
LUTE
spooky-scary-seulgi
lyssa
viviennxoxo
𝒱𝒾𝓋𝒾ℯ𝓃