Windrush: Tilbury bridge transformed to honour 'pioneers'

A bridge that many Windrush "pioneers" would have walked across as they arrived in the UK for the first time has been turned into an art installation.

Evewright, an Essex-based artist, added 130 images and 35 audio recordings to the 55-metre (180ft) walkway in Tilbury.

Olympic javelin thrower Tessa Sanderson sent pictures of her parents, while relatives of the late author Andrea Levy, who wrote the book Small Island, also contributed.

"Our ancestors would have walked across this bridge into Britain," said Evewright.

The Windrush generation refers to the ship MV Empire Windrush, which docked in Tilbury on 22 June 1948, bringing workers from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and other islands, to help fill post-war UK labour shortages.

Coronavirus restrictions mean the installation is unlikely to be open to the public until spring next year but it is available to view online.

  • Essex