Enfield Caribbean Association will be launching our Book, documentary film and mobile exhibition entitled: Windrush Voices – 20 Stories of Determination and Triumph at Millfield Theatre on Wednesday 27th April 2022.

The book encompasses the life stories of 20 individuals who came to the UK from the Caribbean and Africa, in response to the call from the political elite to the wider empire to come rebuild Britain from the economic impact the second world war.

As a result, men and women (and eventually children) who came from across the Caribbean, Africa and Asia to support the transport system, postal service, and recently formed National Health Service. Those who came enabled Britain to survive the ravages of world war and sow the grains of hope that enable the country to thrive and rebuild thereafter.

Those who answered the call came not just to help to rebuild Britain but ultimately to build a better future for themselves and their children.

The book shares their individual stories of their lives in their home countries before they came, their journeys to the UK, their early experiences, the difficulties they faced and their successes in life.

Individuals such as Roy Merchant who arrived from to the UK from Jamaica and eventually joined the Royal Navy in the 1960s and became the only black submariner, travelling the world. Or Martha Brutus, who together with her husband, fled South African’s Apartheid laws to re-establish herself as a nurse in north London.

There will be a chance to view an extract from the documentary film produced alongside the book; it will feature many of the participants in conversation and give a fascinating insight into this period of modern history.

Tickets available from the box office on 020 8807 6680 (Open Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm) or website: www.millfieldtheatre.co.uk.

If you are interested in learning more about the ECA’s Windrush book, then email us a note to editor@theeca.org.uk