Tilbury Port to celebrate Windrush immigrants

HMT Empire Windrush ship that brought the first West Indies immigrants to Britain in 1948

A port is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the day nearly 492 people on board the Empire Windrush from the Caribbean arrived in Britain.

On the 22 June 1948, workers from Jamaica and other islands disembarked at Tilbury, having travelled in response to labour shortages in the UK.

The Port of Tilbury is organising a range of celebrations from 13:30 BST on 22 June at the Cruise Terminal.

They include a choir and heritage displays.

The Free Windrush 70 celebrations are being funded by Thurrock Council, Tilbury on the Thames Trust, Tilbury Riverside Project, Heritage Lottery Fund and the Port of Tilbury.

'First landed'

Events on the day will include:

• The Royal Opera House Thurrock Community Chorus

• A new dance production by Phoenix Dance called Windrush: The movement of the people

• Heritage displays and the story of the Windrush in the spoken word

• Live bands from the William Palmer Trust

• Caribbean food stalls and face painting with a carnival theme

Charles Hammond, chief executive of Forth Ports - which owns Tilbury, said: "Everyone at Tilbury is proud of the part the port played in the lives of the people aboard the Empire Windrush when they arrived 70 years ago and we are looking forward to celebrating this anniversary."

Jackie Doyle-Price, Conservative MP for Thurrock, said: "Tilbury was the gateway to the UK for nearly 500 people on board and we are proud of the part we played in this."

The ship carried 492 passengers - many of them children

Those arriving in the UK between 1948 and 1971 from Caribbean countries have been labelled The Windrush Generation.