Editor's note

It’s been 70 years since the Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Docks in London from Jamaica, ​carrying nearly 500 migrants. Commemorations to mark the anniversary have been overshadowed by the treatment of children of the Windrush generation under Britain’s “hostile environment” for immigration. April-Louise Pennant and Nando Sigona look at the legacy of the Windrush and lament that it’s part of a black British history which has been widely ignored.

Much has been made of the warm reception the migrants received in 1948, but in his research in the BBC Written Archives, James Procter found the reaction was somewhat mixed. Presenters mentioned regrets they’d heard expressed about – and by – the new arrivals.

Recent treatment of economic migrants from the Windrush by the Home Office bears similarities to the treatment of Anglo-Italians during World War II, writes Rachel Pistol. Many Italians who had lived and worked in Britain for years were interned as “enemy aliens”. Some were then deported, and met their deaths at sea.

Gemma Ware

Society Editor

Top stories

Notting Hill Carnival: set up in the wake of race riots. via shutterstock.com

Black history is still largely ignored, 70 years after Empire Windrush reached Britain

April-Louise Pennant, University of Birmingham; Nando Sigona, University of Birmingham

What is the legacy of the Empire Windrush for black Britishness today?

The Empire Windrush, photographed a few years after its famous journey from Jamaica to Tilbury Docks. PA Archive

Empire Windrush: how the BBC reported Caribbean migrants' mixed reception in 1948

James Procter, Newcastle University

Windrush passengers became frequent guests on the BBC after their arrival 70 years ago.

Deported and drowned: an Italian memorial in London to those who died on the Arandora Star in 1940. Martin Addison / Remembrance for the Drowned via Wikimedia Commons

From World War II 'enemy' internment to Windrush: Britain quickly forgets its gratitude to economic migrants

Rachel Pistol, University of Exeter

During World War II, many Anglo-Italians who had come to the UK as economic migrants, were interned as 'enemy aliens' – and some deported.

Education

  • What drugs are students taking and why are they taking them?

    Robert Ralphs, Manchester Metropolitan University; Mike Salinas, Manchester Metropolitan University; Rebecca Askew, Manchester Metropolitan University

    Students used to take drugs to get high, now they are using them to get better grades.

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