Windrush Stories

The Real Selfie Project

Windrush Stories

The Windrush Generation

Between 1948 to 1971, successive British

governments invited thousands of people from

Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean to

relocate to Britain to address labour shortages

following the Second World War. They were named

the ‘Windrush generation’ after the ship ‘Empire

Windrush’ on which the first group arrived.

Despite widely being considered British citizens,

many didn’t receive formal identity papers. When

new laws came into force with the Immigration Act

2014 many people faced immigration checks and

had difficulty demonstrating their lawful status. This

led to many people being denied access to benefits,

healthcare, social housing and losing employment.

Some were even detained and deported.

In the wake of the scandal, a National Windrush

Day was established, to celebrate the contributions

made by the Windrush generation and their

descendants.

According to Hackney Council ‘about 8% of

Hackney’s population is of Afro-Caribbean ethnic

background and it’s believed the borough is home

to hundreds, if not thousands, of the Windrush

generation, and many more from Commonwealth

countries across the globe’.

The images and stories in this book were captured

at Hackney’s annual celebration of the Windrush

generation at Stoke Newington Town Hall on June

22nd 2019.

Bishop Elon Charles

The Windrush is the boat that brought Caribbeans

to England three years after the Second World War.

They brought us here to rebuild the broken infrastructure

of the country. And as a first and second

generation from Caribbean background, we have

contributed so much to the economy and to the

reconstruction of England.

I came to England when I was 20 years old, as an

aspiring young man from Grenada. I came here for

a better standard of living. Having heard of all the

iconic buildings, for example London Bridge, The

Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace and of

course, the River Thames, I looked forward coming

to England. I knew more about England than I knew

about my own country - because we learnt about

Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves.

No one told me about the conditions or the weather

what’s going to be like, or the exclusiveness. When

we came as people of the Caribbean, with a different

colour, different ideology, different outlook, we

were not accepted as such. For example when we

wanted a place to live, we’d go to a home and said

is there any rental here in this home? All that you

would see on the door is ‘no blacks, no dogs, no

Irish’. What came to me is that we were not needed

here. We really endured to get ourselves together

and decided to work. We all decided to work for

five years earn enough money and go back and

build a mansion, but it did not work like that I’m

afraid. I’ve been here for over 58 years.

Age 79

Place of birth Grenada

Arrived in the UK 1960

Sherlene Barker

Age 75

Place of birth Barbados

Deloris Francis / Nobert Edward

Age over 45

Place of birth Jamaica

Althea Russell

I came to England in 1963, when I was 10. And I

came on a boat called the Scania. It was all very

vague and strange. For me it was quite frightening.

Coming to Southampton looking at the weather it

was grey. It was May, but it was really, really grey.

My parents were here but they got lost coming to

find me. I came with my brother and my sister who

were older. To come to a country where it was all

grey, no trees, nothing…from the Caribbean, was

strange. It was really strange.

When I think of home I think of St Kitts - that’s where

I’m from. But when I go to America or something,

and I’m coming back to London, I say I’m going

home. So that’s why I am in two camps.

Age 67

Place of birth St Kitts


Laurence Chambers

Age 76


Phyllis

Age 70


Edwin Bailey / Lucy Rayside

Lucy: I came to the UK in 1961. We came by boat,

and then we went to Southampton. And then from

Southampton, we took the train to Cardiff.

It felt very cold. When I came I didn’t realise you have

to have warm clothes. We didn’t have enough warm

clothes, just little Caribbean clothes. I had quite a

few falls because I didn’t have the proper shoes for

the snow.

I came here as a nanny, to look after some children.

I worked very hard.

Age 92 / 87

Place of birth St Lucia / Jamaica


Eloise Fontaine

Age 69

Place of birth Montserrat


Christina Roberts

Age 76

Place of birth Trinidad


Gloria Collins / Valerie

Gloria: Both Valeria and myself came from Trinidad.

I came here in 1966 on the SS Antilles to do nursing.

I came to Portsmouth and I arrived on the boat,

8 o’clock in the morning, expecting to find my

uncle waiting for me. No uncle, he turned up three

weeks after I got there. So I travelled from Southampton

to Chadwell Heath hospital in Essex – no

coat, freezing cold on the 7th October 1966. And I

reached the hospital around 4pm in the afternoon

and the matron said to me, “ Who brought me?”

I said, “I brought myself”. I had no money. In those

days you used to have to send a telegram back

home so I was in this country for how many weeks

and my parents didn’t even know that I had arrived.

Valerie: I came on BOAC, it was an airline – the

British Overseas Airways Corporation. I was 18

and I came into nursing. I went to Addenbrooke’s

hospital in Cambridge. I arrived here on Christmas

eve day, 1969.

Valerie: The Windrush generation set the standards

for us who followed them. They are the ones who

really had the hardest time. Because when I came,

I went into a nurse’s home. I think I was cushioned.

When I hear about people saying ‘no dogs, no

children, no blacks’, I never had that experience

because I always been in a cushioned environment.

I really pull off my hat to people like my aunt and

uncle who came, used to live in one room with

three children, sharing a cooker on the landing.

It’s hard to get your head around that sort of situation.

Gloria: I was 18 when I came – a sweet teenager.

Now I’m 71. I’m a happy pensioner. Valerie and I go

on cruises, we go out together. We are just having

a good time until the good Lord is ready for us. We

just take one day at a time. And for 71, I think we

are doing very well for ourselves

Age 71

Place of birth Trinidad

Arrived in the UK 1966 / 1969

Hazel Norman

Age 62

Place of birth Guyana


Merryl Onwudiwe

Age 74



Inez Clarke

Age 84


Bernice O’garro

I remember coming over from Montserrat and I

remember coming on the boat. I was seven years

old and I’m 66 now. I’ve worked all my life in

Hackney, I’m a Hackney person.

I remember my school days and I remember how

it was in the Sixties. It was good and it was bad.

I remember the snow, the furnishings, going shopping.

The Windrush were brought in because they needed

help in Britain. They needed help to clear Britain up

but now that it’s cleared up they want to throw us

out again. So I think that is wrong. The Windrush

are part of the Caribbean, so we should be accepted

as we are.

Age 66

Place of birth Montserrat

Trevor Stewart


Joy Allen

Age 65


Joseph Russell

I’ve been living in Hackney since 1958. I came here

in February 1955. People said, that you will get on

with people in this country.

I remember I came on a Thursday, I tried to get a

job – I was a tailor and the man said to me, ‘we

don’t want any West Indian’s here – we cannot give

you a job’. I said that if I’m a good tailor I should

get the job. I showed him, and then I got the job.

We became friends.

Age 90



Verlaine Stuart

Age 75

Place of birth Antigua


Annette Jaretty

Age over 60



Sanoha / Rosemary Titre

Age 84 (Rosemary)

Place of birth Dominica


Daisy Aymer

I was born in Jamaica and I arrived to this country

in 1962. Now is over 50 years. I spent most of my

time living in Hackney. Most of my children were

born in Hackney and went to school in Hackney as

well. They are all grown up now.

Home is definitely here in Hackney more than in the

Caribbean. When I came here I was quite young,

21. I didn’t like the place, I wanted to go back home.

The weather was the first thing. Although I arrived

here in the month of May, it was cold, it was dull, it

was cloudy. It wasn’t bright and sunny like where

I was just coming from. So I didn’t like it,

I wanted to go back home, but I’m still here.

Age 79



With thanks to Autograph Gallery and Hackney Council

for their support in making this project happen.

The Real Selfie Project

The Real Selfie Project is a collaboration between

photographer Rafael Hortala-Vallve (autofoto.org)

and filmmaker Nick Francis (speakit.org). Using

an analogue photobooth from the 1970s as their

camera of choice, the duo capture portraits and

collect personal stories of people living in London.

Unlike traditional photography, the photobooth

creates a space for intimacy, playfulness and a

kind of equality, where subjects are able to shape

how they are represented. Installed in different

locations around the borough, the booth is used by

local residents to create unfiltered, black and white

self-portraits. Along with audio recordings, these

analogue “selfies” tell a compelling story about their

subjects and the diverse communities that they are

part of.

Both Rafael and Nick have lived in Hackney for

almost twenty years and feel passionately about

contributing to the visual and archival story of their

borough.

therealselfieproject@gmail.com

Published in June 2020

London

therealselfieproject@gmail.com

Windrush Stories

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