Windrush Community Project

Our Windrush Community Project Short Films

Film 1: A Windrush Overview

Videographer – Sidal Ergüde

Film 2: Gifts from the Caribbean

Videographer – Linzy Attenborough

Hackney & Windrush

Hackney has a special relationship with Windrush: between 1948 and 1962, 278,000 Caribbean men, women and children migrated to Britain. Hackney was a popular choice for them to settle not least because it was already home to many diverse communities: people of African descent have lived in Hackney (and Britain) for centuries before Windrush. The legacy of this can be seen in 2011 census data with over 25% of Hackney’s population self-designating as having African or Caribbean heritage. In comparison, just over 3% of Britain’s total population put themselves in these categories.

In August 2018, the London Borough of Hackney was the first council in the UK to pass a comprehensive motion regarding the Windrush generation. The Council also celebrates Windrush Day on 22 June – the date the ship HMT Empire Windrush landed at Tilbury Docks in 1948.

You can read more about Hackney Council’s commitment to the Windrush Generation on the Council’s website:

https://hackney.gov.uk/windrush

“We built our homes out of ‘no blacks’ signs”
A poem for the Windrush Generation, by Theophina Gabriel.
Read by Sonja Welsh and her two granddaughters.

Hackney, Windrush and the Wider Community

Is Windrush about Caribbean nationalities only?

No, the impacts of Windrush have affected people across a wide range of nationalities and backgrounds. That is why Commonwealth citizens from African and Asian backgrounds are eligible for support including:

India
Nigeria
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Ghana

Individuals of any other nationality may also have been affected and can apply to the Windrush Scheme or claim compensation including:

Italy
Canada
Australia

Are individuals who live abroad able to submit a claim?

You can apply from overseas if you are:

A Commonwealth citizen who settled in the UK before 1 January 1973
Representing the estate of a deceased person who, but for their death, would have been eligible to claim compensation
A close family member of an eligible individual where there is evidence of certain direct financial losses, or significant impact on your life.

Do overseas claimants need to have lawful status in the UK?

Commonwealth citizens who settled in the UK before 1 January 1973 and are now overseas do not need to have lawful status in the UK. They just need to provide evidence that they were settled in the UK prior to 1 January 1973.
Close family members and those making claims on behalf of a deceased’ estate who are abroad also do not need to have lawful status in the UK.

Windrush Schemes

Almost £27 million in compensation has been paid across 776 claims, up to the end of June 2021
Before the end of June 2021 over £7 million has been offered in compensation, awaiting acceptance or pending review.
The Windrush Compensation Scheme end date has been removed meaning no one who is eligible will be prevented from making a claim

New caseworker guidance is now live here Windrush compensation scheme casework guidance (publishing.service.gov.uk)

New primary form and guidance is now live here Windrush Compensation Scheme: claim forms and guidance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If you are an individual livng abroad wishing to apply to the Windrush Scheme you must use the online application form at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/windrush-scheme-application-form-uk

Windrush Scheme

The Windrush Scheme is a government project set up to assist members of the Windrush Generation to secure necessary documentation showing their right to be in the UK.

If you are a member of the Windrush Generation and are settled in the UK but do not have a document to prove it, you may be eligible to apply if one of the following is true:

you came to the UK from a Commonwealth country before 1973
your parents came to the UK from a Commonwealth country before 1973
you came to the UK from any country before 31 December 1988 and are now settled here.

You might also be entitled to apply for citizenship if you are a Commonwealth citizen who settled in the UK before 1 January 1973, or you are the child of someone who did.

Windrush Compensation Scheme

The Windrush Compensation Scheme is a government project set up to compensate members of the Windrush generation who suffered losses because they could not show that they had a right to live in the UK. ‘Losses’ can be things like not being able to work, find a place to live or get health treatment. They can also include immigration action, like detention or removal from the UK.

You can apply if:

you came to the UK from a Commonwealth country before 1973
your parents or grandparents came to the UK from a Commonwealth country before 1973
you came to the UK from any country before 31 December 1988 and are now settled here
you are the close family member of someone eligible to claim and you have had significant losses yourself
you represent the estate of someone who would have been eligible

You can claim compensation for losses relating to:

employment
immigration fees
housing
health
education
driving licences
banking
daily life – for example, you missed major family events or could not travel
detention and removal

Our Windrush Videographers

We have appointed two free-lance videographers to create our Windrush digital films.
Filming will commence in July 2021, with invitations going out to local people who want to get involved.

Linzy Attenborough

Videographer

Linzy trained to be an actor at some of the UK’s leading drama institutions before she realised that she wanted to be behind the camera and retrained to be a filmmaker.
More

Sidal Ergüde