WINDRUSH FOUNDATION 29 YEARS ON

In 1995, Samuel Beaver King and Arthur Torrington (co-founders) began work on establishing a CHARITY which delivered heritage and community services, helping to strengthen the identity of people of West Indian heritage living in Britain. ‘Windrush’, ‘Empire Windrush’ and ‘Windrush Generation’ and such terms have always been key in our operations. Sam was the one to have led the first Windrush commemorative event (he 20th anniversary) in 1968. He was a passenger on the ship Empire Windrush, and a former RAF WWII serviceman; the first Black Mayor of Southwark, London. Sam was first to have used the term, ‘Windrush Generation’, and had been referring to the passengers who arrived at Tilbury Docks, Essex, on June 22, 1948, on the Empire Windrush. Sam was the founder of Windrush Day.

Arthur has been the Director responsible for publicity from 1995. Sam brought together in 1968, 1988, 1998 and 2003 dozens of his fellow Windrush passengers to commemorate the ship’s arrival. As the years went by, most of them have passed away. With their support, Windrush Foundation built the platform on which all other organisations or projects that include the name Windrush operate. We were first to have promoted ‘Empire Windrush’ as an iconic symbol of the West Indian presence in the UK. In 2018, ‘Windrush Generation’ became an almost everyday term among the British media, British Government, Local Government, and community officials. The terminology is often wrongly conflated with ‘Caribbean’.

Below is a summary of several major WINDRUSH events and associated activities over the past 28 years:

1995: Established and in 1996 became a CHARITY: Registration No: 1066553.
22.06.96: Windrush Day Commemoration
22.10.97: House of Commons Reception hosted by the late Bernie Grant MP
30.05.98: WINDRUSH – four-part series of one-hour documentaries on BBC2 TV
18.06.98: Windrush Reception at Foreign & Commonwealth Office hosted by Robin Cook MP, and attended by Tony Blair MP, Prime Minister
22.06.98: Windrush Day at University of London, Logan Hall: Participants included: Bill Morris, Baroness Valerie Amos, Paul Boateng MP, Peter Bottomley MP,
Professor Lola Young, Simon Hughes MP, Trevor Phillips, Oona King MP, et al.
24. 06.98: Thurrock Council Windrush Day event at Tilbury Docks, Essex
25. 06.98: Windrush Reception at St. James’s Palace, hosted by HRH Prince Charles.
26. 06.98: BBC Radio 4 Windrush “Any Questions” presented by Jonathan Dimbleby June 1998: Southwark Council Windrush Reception hosted by the Mayor of Southwark
June 1998: Camden Council Windrush Commemoration, hosted by the Mayor.
21. 07.98: BBC2 Windrush Gala Concert at Alexandra Palace, London (shown on BBC 2 TV
on 25 July 1998)

22. 10.98: Windrush Reception at Imperial War Museum, London
24.10.98: Windrush Community Awards – City of Leicester
06.11.98: Windrush Reception, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, held at Tower of London.
21.01.99: Windrush Exhibition – Hammersmith & West London College, with Connie Mark (ATS)
21.06.99: Windrush Reception – House of Commons, hosted by Paul Boateng MP.
25.06.99: Windrush Lecture – at Mander Hall, London, by Richard Hart (Historian/Solicitor)
19.06.00: Windrush Reception – House of Lords, hosted by Baroness Howells of St David’s
22.06.00: Windrush Day Celebration – Lambeth Town Hall, hosted by the Mayor of Lambeth
21.06.01: Windrush Day Celebration – HMS President, hosted by the Mayor of London (Ken Livingstone)
20.10.01: Windrush Play, performed by KCK at Warwick Park School, Southwark, London
14. 06.03: Windrush Awards, Logan Hall, University of London.
15. 07.03: Windrush Reception at 10 Downing Street, London, hosted by Cherie Blair

29.10.05: Commemorating the Contribution of West Indian Soldiers in WWII, Museum of London.
Speakers include Baroness Amos, Don Touching MP, & Air Vice Marshall Stephen Dalton.
25.11.06: Celebrating WINDRUSH 10 years of Community Service – Museum in Docklands. 22.06.08: 60th Windrush Day Commemoration Service: Ruach Ministries, Brixton, attended by the Mayor of Lambeth.
22.06.08: 60th Windrush Day event at Band Stand, Clapham Common, attended by the Mayor of Lambeth

28.07.08: Published BOOKLET/DVD titled ‘WINDRUSH PIONEERS’.

08.11.08: WWII in the CARIBBEAN presentation at Museum in Docklands featuring ALLAN WILMOT (RAF WWII serviceman), ALWYN PAYNE (Merchant Seaman) & RUDOLPH ‘NICK’ COLLINS (Windrush Passenger)
22.11.08: WINDRUSH to LEWISHAM EVENT at CALABASH Centre, Catford, in memory of UNCLE GEORGE (W. George Brown) who arrived on Empire Windrush on 22 June 1948.
JUNE 2008 TO APRIL 2010: Contributed to the Imperial War Museum’s Exhibition: From WAR TO WINDRUSH

OCTOBER 2011: COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS project funded by The BIG LOTTERY

2011/2012/2013: EMANCIPATION 1838 project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund
2013: WINDRUSH 65th ANNIVERSARY / COMMEMORATION; SERIES OF EVENTS
2014: DR JAMES RISIEN RUSSELL IN WWI project celebrating his contribution to World War One.

2014: MAKING FREEDOM TOURING EXHIBITION was displayed at the HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT and featured EMANCIPATION STORIES from 1816 in BARBADOS to the ARRIVAL of the ship EMPIRE WINDRUSH on 22 JUNE 1948, and to INDEPENDENCE of a few CARIBBEAN COLONIES in the 1960s
2016: LOTTERY FUNDED PROJECT for WINDRUSH’70, LEADING THE ‘COMMEMORATION IN 2018’.

2017-2017: CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF CY GRANT – TOURING EXHIBITION in association with London Metropolitan Archives and Cy Grant Trust

2017: ‘MAKING FREEDOM’ EXHIBITION TOURS BRITAIN AND THE CARIBBEAN

2018: WINDRUSH’70; WINDRUSH PIONEERS & CHAMPIONS Publication; EDUCATION PACK KS2 & KS3
JUNE 2018: WINDRUSH EXHIBITION, at BRITISH LIBRARY, LONDON.
2018: The HOME OFFICE created what became known as the ‘WINDRUSH SCANDAL’.

2018: Prime Minister THERESA MAY MP forced to meet Commonwealth Leaders about the SCANDAL.
2018: MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT debate the SCANDAL after a major campaign led by PATRICK VERNON
2018: The BRITISH Media adopts the term ‘WINDRUSH GENERATION’ when sharing information about the SCANDAL.
2018: The BRITISH GOVERNMENT apologies, also adopts the term, which is used in all their schemes and projects that address the injustices inflicted on the ‘WINDRUSH GENERATION’.
2018: THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT created a national WINDRUSH DAY and provided £500m annual funding to community organisation and Local Authorities in the UK
22 June 2018: WINDRUSH SERVICE at WESTMINSTER ABBEY, attended by Theresa May MP, Prime Minister

22 June 2018: WINDRUSH’70 RECEPTION at No 10 DOWNING STREET, hosted by Theresa May MP, Prime Minister.
30 June 2018: WINDRUSH’70 event, CITY HALL, hosted by MAYOR OF LONDON, SADIQ KHAN
19 October 2018: 7th International Biennial Steelpan, Calypso & Mas Conference, The Tabernacle
21 June 2019: WINDRUSH DAY event: EVENT HELD AT THE BROADWAY THEATRE, LEWISHAM
MARCH 2020: WENDY WILLIAMS’ – ‘WINDRUSH LESSONS LEARNED REVIEW’ published.

22 JUNE 2020: WINDRUSH DAY: COMMEMORATION EVENT VIA ZOOM

2020: WINDRUSH’72: COMMEMORATION of the 25th ANNIVERSARY of WINDRUSH FOUNDATION.

2021: 22 JUNE: WINDRUSH’73: WINDRUSH DAY COMMEMORATIVE EVENT VIA ZOOM
2022: 22 JUNE: WINDRUSH’74: WINDRUSH DAY COMMEMORATIVE EVENT VIA ZOOM
2022: WINDRUSH FOUNDATION AWARDED FUNDING NATIONAL LOTTERY TO COMMEMORATE WINDRUSH75 IN 2023
2023: CELEBRATING WINDRUSH PIONEERS Project funded by National Heritage Lottey Fund.
2024: CELEBRATING 75 WINDRUSH PIONEERS & CHAMPIONS Project funded by National Heritage Lottey Fund. 7 WINDRUSH EDUCATION RESOURCES PUBLISHED; FREE ONLINE DOWNLOADS
WINDRUSH FOUNDATION Directors in 2024: Verona Feurtado, Dione McDonald, and Arthur Torrington CBE.

UPDATED: 1 August 2024

Download this article as a pdf here: