Windrush

75 Years of Modern Britain

Author: Trevor Phillips and Mike Phillips

The oral history of Britain’s first West Indian immigrants and their descendants

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Summary

The oral history of Britain’s first West Indian immigrants and their descendants

Description

The oral history of Britain’s first West Indian immigrants and their descendants

In 1948 the former troop ship Windrush made the 30-day journey across the Atlantic from Jamaica. The arrival of its 500 passengers, the first generation of Caribbean migrants in the UK, was the initial step in the formation of a new identity: the black Briton.

Fifty years later, Mike and Trevor Phillips spoke to those on the Windrush itself, as well as those who followed, to tell the story of Britain in the second half of the twentieth century through the eyes of the outsiders who became insiders.

Now updated to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the ship’s voyage and including reflections on its political and cultural legacy in 2023, Windrush is an essential record of this transformative era in British social history.

About the Author

Mike Phillips was born in Guyana, came to Britain as a child and grew up in London. A journalist, broadcaster and university lecturer before becoming a full time writer, his series of crime fiction novels began with ‘Blood Rights’ (1989), adapted for BBC television, and his reputation as a historian was established with ‘Windrush: The Irresistible Rise of Multi-Racial Britain’ (1998). Mike writes for the Guardian, and works as Cross Cultural curator at Tate Britain.