Black Country comedy legend and West Midlands Mayor join chorus of voices backing Windrush 75th anniversary celebrations

They join representatives of the NHS, FA, English Cricket Board, faith leaders and senior business figures.

The 75th anniversary this year, on June 22, of the Windrush arriving in the UK is a “Diamond Jubilee for modern, diverse Britain,” campaigners have said.

New polling for the Windrush 75 network, which has been published today, finds that around six in 10 people in the Midlands agree that ‘Britain owes a great deal to the Windrush generation of migrants and should recognise their contribution as part of our national story'.

Around the same amount in the region want children to be taught about the shared history of a multi-ethnic Britain.

The arrival of the ship HMT Empire Windrush at Tilbury docks in Essex in 1948, bringing 500 passengers from the Caribbean, is a moment that symbolises the start of post-war Commonwealth migration to Britain and the shift towards the multi-ethnic society of Britain today.

The combination of a Coronation and the 75th anniversaries of the NHS and the Windrush makes 2023 a special year for identity in Britain, according to British Future, a leading identity thinktank.

Dudley-born Sir Lenny Henry said it was an important year to mark.

“It's vital this year to celebrate the courage of those Windrush pioneers 75 years ago, who gave up the life they knew to seek a better one here in Britain," he said.

"They paved the way for those of us who have followed.

“With my one man play August in England and upcoming TV series Three Little Birds I want to bring their stories to wider attention in 2023.

"Big respect to those pioneers – we stand on their shoulders.”

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said the milestone needed to be marked with the "level of reflection and ceremony it deserves".

He added: "This historic moment ushered in a new era for the UK as a whole and the West Midlands in particular – bringing newcomers to our shores who built their lives here and made a tremendous contribution to this country.

"Whether in arts and culture, sport, business or public service, the region I represent is a richer place today in all respects thanks in no small part to the migration and diversity that Windrush brought about.

"It’s only right that we mark this milestone with the level of reflection and ceremony it deserves.”

Campaigners have created the Windrush 75 Network to help coordinate efforts across the UK to encourage public participation in Windrush 75 celebrations throughout 2023.

Patrick Vernon, convenor of the Windrush 75 network who is from Wolverhampton, added: “Windrush 75 is like a Diamond Jubilee for modern, diverse Britain.

"We are celebrating four generations of contribution, legacy, struggle and positive change.

"And it is a moment to look to the future too, at how we address the challenges to come.”

On Windrush Day last year 100 individuals – including Lenny Henry, Benjamin Zephaniah, Trevor Phillips, David Olusoga, Sadiq Khan and cross-party parliamentarians including Steve Baker MP, Diane Abbott MP and Baroness Doreen Lawrence – made a public call on the government and all institutions to ‘step up’ and make the 75th anniversary of the Windrush a major national moment – “as important in Britain’s calendar as Martin Luther King Day is in the United States”.