Prince William and Kate Middleton paid tribute to the Windrush generation for ‘rebuilding Britain’ on the 75th anniversary of their arrival in the UK.
The Prince and Princess of Wales shared a heartwarming video montage with their 15 million followers today, including footage of people disembarking from the Empire Windrush boat in Essex.
The former troopship landed in Britain on 22 June 1948 and was carrying people from all over the Caribbean who had responded to an advertisement offering tickets for £28 (about £1040 in today’s money) for those who wanted to work in the UK.
Prince William spoke on behalf of himself and his wife, saying “we are eternally grateful” for the “extraordinary contributions and resilience” of the Windrush generation.
William appeared on camera and said: ‘This Windrush marks 75 years since the Empire Windrush anchored in Tilbury harbour.
Many of the young people on that historic journey knew Britain well. They had fought alongside us in World War II.
“They, and the generation of Commonwealth citizens who followed in their footsteps, chose this land to start a new life.”
“We know they experienced hardship, but they also experienced joy and life did indeed change for them and their families.
“But these travelers also gave to our nation, helped rebuild our country, and contributed to our culture.”
As William’s narration plays in the video, pictures appear on the screen of the Prince and Princess of Wales meeting members of the Windrush generation and their families.
He continued: ‘Their contributions to Britain as we know it today cannot be overemphasized.
“We are a better people today because the children and grandchildren of those who came in 1948 have stayed and will become part of who we are in 2023.
And for that we are eternally grateful. Today we celebrate the Windrush generation, their descendants and all they have given us all.”
In the caption, William added, “We honor the extraordinary contributions and resilience of the Windrush generation.”
Pictured: The Prince of Wales filmed a personal message on the occasion of Windrush Day this year. The video also included footage of people disembarking in 1948
The royal couple’s tribute comes as Prince William will appear in a new documentary about those who arrived on the Empire Windrush.
The Prince of Wales will join celebrities including newsreader Sir Trevor McDonald, Mel B, Alesha Dixon and comedian Judi Love to meet members of the Windrush generation and hear their inspiring life stories for the ITV documentary.
Each will meet people of the Windrush generation and listen to their stories to provide a powerful and eye-opening insight into the experiences of a community of over 500,000 people who arrived in Britain between 1948 and 1971 to work in the NHS and on transport networks.
Contributors will also be invited to the Pride Of Britain Awards in October, where they will receive a special award on behalf of others in the Windrush generation.
One of the employees is Alford Gardner, a 97-year-old, who moved to the United Kingdom from Jamaica in 1948 at the age of 22.
Filmed in the UK and produced by Multistory Media [part of ITV Studios]the 1×60 film, the Windrush Generation, will bring together stories that celebrate their contributions to British life and culture, and shed light on the realities of the struggles many faced to gain citizenship despite spending many years in have lived in the UK and paid tax there. years due to what became known as the Windrush scandal.
Prince William and Kate Middleton imagined meeting members of the Windrush generation and their families last year
Pictured: The Windrush Memorial, unveiled at Waterloo station in June 2022 by the Prince and Princess of Wales
Between 1948 and 1970, more than half a million Windrush migrants from the West Indies left their homes to emigrate to the UK.
Those who came from former and present British colonies had an automatic right to settle in the UK, as the country recognized that rebuilding the British economy required a large influx of labor from abroad.
Many of the migrants had fought for the UK in World War II and soon took up jobs as nurses, cooks, engineers, mechanics and more.
The call for new workers was mainly aimed at white Europeans, who had dominated immigration to Britain in the century before the Second World War and continued to play an important role after 1945.
Working-age adults and many children traveled from the Caribbean to their parents or grandparents in the UK or traveled with their parents without their own passports.
One of the contributors is Alford Gardner (pictured with Prince William), a 97-year-old, who moved to the United Kingdom from Jamaica in 1948 at the age of 22.
As these people had a legal right to come to the UK, they did not need and were not issued any documents upon entry into the UK, nor after changes to immigration laws in the early 1970s.
Many worked or attended schools in the UK without any official document proving they have done so, other than the same records as those of any UK-born citizen.
The Windrush scandal, triggered in 2012 by the government’s “hostile environmental policies,” saw migrants arriving from the Caribbean between 1948 and 1973 being wrongly deported, detained, or deprived of their homes and jobs.
After the fiasco came to light, the government promised compensation for all who suffered, but there has been criticism that the response was too slow.
Last year, the couple celebrated Windrush Day by visiting ELEVATE in London to meet younger generations of the British Caribbean community at the youth program that nurtures the next generation of British creative talent.
The Prince and Princess of Wales also unveiled the Windrush Memorial at Waterloo station last year.