Windrush generation of Wales celebrated in new project
A project celebrating the contribution of the Windrush generation in Wales has been by Race Council Cymru.
‘The Windrush Cymru Project – Our Voices, Our Stories, Our History’ aims to collect stories from those who settled in Wales from countries across the Commonwealth after World War Two.
Organisers say the project is the result of calls from older people in the Windrush Generation who want to ensure that the legacy of their generation is captured for posterity.
Over the last year, the Home Office has come under criticism for its handling of the Windrush scandal.
Around 500 passengers from Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean arrived on the SS Empire Windrush in responding to Britain’s invitation to help rebuild after World War II.
Race Council Cymru say the project wants to engage with the Windrush Generation and their experiences of forging a new life in Wales.
Chair of Windrush Elders Cymru, Roma Taylor, came to the UK when she was 15-years-old. She said, arriving from Antigua, people were “ill-equipped to spend an unknown amount of time on the station platform in a strange, cold, country”.
Material gathered from the project will be stored at St Fagans, National Museum of History. Sioned Hughes from the National Museum of Wales said it was important to record personal histories “before they are lost”.
Patron of Black History and Windrush Elder, Vernesta Cyril OBE, said the project “will put us on the map”.
