Comment: The forgotten journey of the Windrush Published on: 14 June 2018 Writing for The Conversation, Professor James Procter discusses how he discovered a document which sheds new light on the history of the Empire Windrush. Photograph of the Empire Windrush by Michael Griffin at Wikimedia Commons , When the Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury in Essex on June 22, 1948 it was carrying a crowded cargo of around 500 West Indian settlers dressed in their Sunday best. Britain is marking the 70th anniversary of that now legendary story of arrival, which is said to herald the beginning of postwar mass migration to Britain. But like most beginnings, this one isn鈥檛 as clear as it seems. The Windrush was not the first ship carrying West Indian migrants to Britain in the 1940s 鈥� for example, the Ormonde and the Almanzora . We know, thanks to 鈥� himself a reporter on the Windrush story as it broke 鈥� that the in this country goes back at least as far as Roman times. We also know, due to Britain鈥檚 long overseas past as a slaving nation, that, as the Barbadian novelist in 1960: 鈥淲e (Britons and West Indians) have met before.鈥� But what of the immediate history of the Windrush, after the former German troopship was commandeered by the British, and before its legendary voyage from Jamaica to Tilbury? When it is , accounts locate it somewhere in the Atlantic, en route from Australia to Britain. So it was with a sense of surprise and d茅j脿 vu that I came across a short news report in the BBC鈥檚 Written Archives that places the ship elsewhere. Airmen repatriated Broadcast from London to the Caribbean in April 1948, the BBC script opens: The Colonial Office have announced that the last big draft of airmen for repatriation will sail from Tilbury on May 8th on the Empire Windrush. The radio broadcast continues: The Officers-in-Charge will be Flight Lieutenant Johnny Smythe, a West African who still carries around several bits of shrapnel in his lungs and side from his war service and Flight Lieutenant J.J. Blair of Jamaica who won the DFC. The DFC is the which is awarded to Royal Air Force personnel for acts of valour, courage or devotion. This voyage out took place just weeks before the Windrush entered history, when it sailed in the opposite direction from the Caribbean to Tilbury. The 500 鈥渙rdinary airmen鈥� on board had, according to the broadcast, recently completed a variety of vocational training courses in engineering, welding, accountancy and 鈥渄ental mechanics鈥�. All were reportedly keen to get back to their respective homes in Jamaica, British Guiana, Trinidad, Barbados, British Honduras and Antigua. They were among the last of West Indian service men and women recruited during World War II to return to the Caribbean. Delivered by the West Indian cricketer, Bertie Clarke, the broadcast script closes by saying: 鈥淭he journey will be Jamaica, Trinidad, on to Bermuda and then back to England.鈥� It is this last leg of the journey back to England that currently frames our understanding of the Windrush as a voyage in. A story of arrival and departure The discovery of this previously unknown document about the ship鈥檚 outward voyage invites a re-think of the Windrush story, from the other direction. Before it 鈥渁rrived鈥� in official history, the Windrush was already here. Its journey is more directly implicated in Britain鈥檚 domestic post-war past than we have so far recognised. The neglected BBC report is just one small example of a much more pervasive and deep-seated amnesia that is, paradoxically, central to British national memory. It is a story of heroic presence and determined participation that begs to be set alongside Prime Minister Theresa May鈥檚 on immigration. It is a story which the recent treatment of the shows, goes on being forgotten. Perhaps part of the reason this pre-history of the ship鈥檚 otherwise richly documented journey has been forgotten, is that the now famous story of its arrival is more convenient than the neglected story of its departure. If the legend of the Windrush鈥檚 arrival involves a narrative of colonial dependency in which the Caribbean is a grateful beneficiary, the story of its departure points to Britain鈥檚 dependence on its empire during the darkest days of World War II. Another more technical reason is that the newly unearthed broadcast was never aired in Britain. The BBC鈥檚 Home Service documents only the story of the Windrush鈥檚 arrival. The story of its prior departure just a few weeks before was broadcast externally, on the Colonial Service, and has remained out of earshot ever since. The history of the Windrush is a multi-directional one and should be remembered as such: a voyage in, as well as a voyage out. , Professor of Modern and Contemporary Literature, This article was originally published on . Read the . Share: Latest News Comment: Assisted coral evolution Writing for The Conversation, Dr Liam Lachs, Dr Adriana Humanes and Dr James Guest, discuss how how accelerating evolution could help corals survive future heatwaves. published on: 17 April 2026 Trait choice and selection key to helping corals survive heatwaves Assisted evolution could help corals survive future heatwaves, but careful trait choice and strong repeated selection will be needed for it to be effective. published on: 17 April 2026 Lough Neagh sand mining threatens lake鈥檚 ecosystem, research warns New research involving 缅北禁地 outlines how Lough Neagh, the UK and Ireland鈥檚 largest freshwater lake, is under threat from commercial sand dredging. published on: 17 April 2026 Facts and figures
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