Maria joined members of the Basingstoke Caribbean Society and Friends, and the Cultural Diversity Consortium (CDC), who have partnered with the Hampshire Cultural Trust, to commemorate the 75thanniversary of the Empire Windrush arriving at Tilbury docks in 1948, bringing 802 passengers from the Caribbean and the generation who followed them to the UK.
Maria heard from local Basingstoke residents and CDC members Grace Powell and Effie Grant how they had worked with the Hampshire Cultural Trust to stage the exhibition which is now at the Willis Museum until the 30th July.
On Saturday Maria also joined residents at Carnival Hall in Fairfields, to pay tribute to all who moved to the UK following the Second World War. Speaking at the Saturday event she said, “We should always be thankful for those who had the resilience and tenacity to move to the UK in the Windrush Generation, to take up the opportunity to be part of rebuilding our nation after the devastation of the second wold war. They helped rebuild our nation, build a new National Health Service and also built the foundations for a much more multicultural community here in Basingstoke.”
Maria Miller MP for Basingstoke said, “This very personal exhibition explores the journeys of Basingstoke residents who are part of the Windrush generation. From passengers on the Windrush itself, starting new lives after leaving the Caribbean, to those who joined them in the following decades.
“In all 500,000 Commonwealth citizens settled in Britain between 1948 and 1971 after being invited to help rebuild our nation after the Second World War. They played an essential role in key fields such as nursing, transportation, construction as well as military and civil service”.
Maria added, “Speaking to Grace Powell, Chairman of the Basingstoke Caribbean Society and Friends at the exhibition about her life in Basingstoke, emphasised to me the importance on continuing to recognise the contributions made by the Windrush generation who live, work and have raised their families in Basingstoke. This exhibition puts their contribution firmly into the history of our community”.
The exhibition runs until Sunday 30 July and is free to visit, for more information go to www.hampshireculture.org.uk/event/our-windrush-story