We have curated a collection of recommended reads for Windrush Day, this book list contains fiction and non-fiction for all ages.
In 1948, HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury Docks, carrying the dreams, aspirations, and resilience of Caribbean migrants. These pioneers embarked on a transformative journey, leaving behind their homelands to shape the fabric of post-war Britain.
Their stories are etched into the fabric of British history, and literature has been a powerful vessel for capturing their experiences.
In this curated book list, we delve into narratives that traverse time, culture, and identity. These books illuminate the Windrush generation’s hopes, struggles, and triumphs, inviting readers to step aboard the metaphorical ship and sail through their lives.
Find out more about the Windrush Generation and Windrush Day.
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Adult Fiction
Returning to England after the war Gilbert Joseph is treated very differently now that he is no longer in an RAF uniform. Joined by his wife Hortense, he rekindles a friendship with Queenie who takes in Jamaican lodgers. Can their dreams of a better life in England overcome the prejudice they face?
Empire Windrush edited by Onyekachi Wambu
Non-Fiction
In June 1948 the SS Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury, carrying with it the hopes and dreams of hundreds of young men and women from the Caribbean.
It was both a point of departure and a historic transformation, a moment which influenced generations of writers and artists and produced much poetry, prose, fiction, journalism and influential essays.
In this collection, journalist and writer Onyekachi Wambu collates some of the best and most significant writing from the 75 years following the arrival of Empire Windrush.
The Lonely Londoners by Samuel Selvon
Adult Fiction
At Waterloo Station, hopeful new arrivals from the West Indies step off the boat train, ready to start afresh in 1950s London. There, homesick Moses Aloetta, who has already lived in the city for years, meets Henry ‘Sir Galahad’ Oliver and shows him the ropes.
In this strange, cold and foggy city where the natives can be less than friendly at the sight of a black face, has Galahad met his Waterloo? But the irrepressible newcomer cannot be cast down. He and all the other lonely new Londoners – from shiftless Cap to Tolroy, whose family has descended on him from Jamaica – must try to create a new life for themselves.
As pessimistic ‘old veteran’ Moses watches their attempts, they gradually learn to survive and come to love the heady excitements of London.
Rainbow Milk by Mendez
Adult Fiction
‘Rainbow Milk’ is a coming-of-age story told from the point of view of a young black man from a religious background, who identifies several major contradictions between himself, his family life, and his beliefs.
Upon rejecting the doctrine, he is shown the need to form a new centre of gravity, and uses his sexuality to explore new notions of love, fatherhood and spirituality.
Homecoming: Voices of the Windrush Generation by Colin Grant
Non-Fiction
When Colin Grant was growing up in Luton in the 1960s, he learned not to ask his Jamaican parents why they had emigrated to Britain. ‘We’re here because we’re here’, his father would say, ‘You have some place else to go?’.
But now, seventy years after the arrival of ships such as the Windrush, this generation of pioneers are ready to tell their stories. ‘Homecoming’ draws on over a hundred first-hand interviews, archival recordings and memoirs by the women and men who came to Britain from the West Indies between the late 1940s and the early 1960s.
Mother Country by Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff
Non-Fiction
Britain was known as the Mother Country: a home away from home; a place that you would be welcomed with open arms; a land where you were free to build a new life.
70 years on, this remarkable book explores the reality of the Windrush experience. It is an honest, eye-opening, funny, moving and ultimately inspiring celebration of the lives of both ordinary and extraordinary people.
Black Teacher by Beryl Gilroy
Non-Fiction
Working in an office amidst the East End’s bombsites. Serving as a lady’s maid to an Empire-loving aristocrat. Being repeatedly denied jobs due to the colour bar. Marrying an English man and raising two mixed-race children in suburbia. Becoming one of the first black headteachers in Britain. Beryl Gilroy’s new life wasn’t what she had expected.
In 1952, she moved from Guyana to London to pursue her dream of teaching, only to experience Britain’s racist post-war society. After finally securing a teaching post, she faced fear and curiosity from her pupils, bigoted abuse from parents, and semi-segregation among staff.
But over the course of her trailblazing career, Gilroy only grew braver, learning the value of education in combating prejudice and rising to become a pioneering headmistress. This title tells Gilroy’s story in her own words.
Granny Came Here on the Empire Windrush by Patrice Lawrence
Children’s
One day, Ava is asked to dress as an inspirational figure for assembly at school, but who should she choose? Granny suggests famous familiar figures such as Winifred Atwell, Mary Seacole and Rosa Parks, and tells Ava all about their fascinating histories, but Ava’s classmates have got there first – and she must choose someone else. But who?
And then Ava finds a mysterious old suitcase – Granny’s ‘grip’ – and Granny begins to share her own history, and how she came to England on the Empire Windrush many years ago. She tells her story through the precious items that accompanied her on the original voyage, each one evoking a memory of home, and as Ava listens to how Granny built a life for herself in England, determined to stay against the odds and despite overwhelming homesickness, she realises that there is a hero very close to home that she wants to celebrate – her very own brave and beloved granny.
John Agard’s Windrush Child by John Agard
Children’s
With one last hug, a child says goodbye to his grandmother and the shores of his Caribbean home, before stepping into an adventure across the ocean, to an unknown horizon and a sky full of hope.
With stunning, thoughtful lyricism, internationally renowned poet, John Agard, recalls the journey made by thousands of West Indian children and families who travelled to Britain as part of the Windrush Generation between 1948 and 1971.
My Name is Sunshine Simpson by G.M. Linton
Children’s
Sunshine Simpson is a young girl seeking adventure – but misadventures seem to have a habit of finding her. With new friend Evie rapidly turning into a worst enemy, a French pen pal to impress, a disastrous home haircut and a stressful school showcase, every day feels like a rainy day.
Sunshine’s beloved Grandad has always been there to cheer her up, but as he grows older and quieter every day, Sunshine is forced to accept that their adventures together may be coming to an end. Grandad’s stories have always helped her in the past – can Sunshine find her voice in time to tell her story at the school showcase?
Surge by Jay Bernard
Poetry
Jay Bernard’s powerful debut is a queer exploration of the black British archive, tracing a line between two significant events in recent British history: the New Cross Massacre of 1981 in which thirteen young black people were killed in a house fire – and the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.
The collection stems from research undertaken about the New Cross Fire during a 2016 residency at the George Padmore Institute.