Remembering the Windrush decade in Watford

Project participants receiving their award on Awards Day
Project participants receiving their award on Awards Day

Your Heritage

Date awarded
Location
Central
Local Authority
Watford
Applicant
Watford African Caribbean Association
Award Given
£49800
In June 1948, the SS Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury bringing the very first migrants from the Caribbean to settle in Britain. There are many in the Watford community who arrived then, or in the ten years that followed, in what has subsequently become known as the “Windrush Decade”.

The Windrush Recollections is an oral history project that will document the experiences of Watford resident who were part of that extraordinary decade. It aims to record the stories of that extraordinary journey, from first impressions of Britain to the pleasures and challenges of adapting to a new life and the important contribution this group of people made to Watford's heritage.

With our funding, the project recorded oral histories and produced an exhibition to include the participants’ own photographic memorabilia. Writing workshops were organized with the aim of creating a drama from their experiences and booklets from the stories. Educational workshops will be held for the public to learn and ask questions relating to the Windrush Decade. There was also an Awards Day for those outstanding (but previously unrecognized) individuals who have contributed significantly to the development of Watford.

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