Windrush event to honour those who 'helped shape Britain'

A Windrush event is being held at Brighton's Royal Pavilion

A Windrush event is being held in Brighton with organisers aiming to honour the legacy of the generation that "helped rebuild Britain".

Brighton & Hove Museums has organised a free afternoon of dancing, steel band performances and Caribbean food at the Brighton Royal Pavilion from 12:00 to 16:00 BST on Sunday.

Windrush Day has been held on 22 June since 2018, celebrating contributions Caribbean migrants and their families have made to the UK.

Simone LaCorbiniere, joint head of culture change at Brighton & Hove Museums, said: "We want it to be a day for everyone."

"It's a great opportunity to bring the community together, to celebrate Caribbean culture and to honour the Windrush generation who helped rebuild Britain."

Shirley Williams trained and worked at Brighton General following the 1948 arrival of HMT Empire Windrush at Tilbury in Essex

Stories of the generation "are woven into the fabric of the nation," from engineering, transport, community organising, the arts and working at Brighton General, according to Brighton & Hove Museums.

'Incredible spirit and strength'

HMT Empire Windrush brought hundreds of passengers from the Caribbean and across the Commonwealth to the UK, docking at Tilbury, Essex, on 22 June 1948.

Now a symbol of a wider mass-migration movement, those who arrived helped to rebuild Britain in the aftermath of World War Two.

But in 2018, it came to light that the government had not properly recorded the details of people granted permission to stay in the UK, with many being wrongly treated.

Ms LaCorbiniere said the event was also about showcasing a broader history of Britain.

"Everybody's made history, but the history that's represented currently I think in many museums - including ours, and in the pavilion - is very one-sided," she said.

"It's white, it's upper class, it's posh, and it's largely male as well, so we're trying to redress the balance."