75th Windrush Anniversary

To mark the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the ship Empire Windrush, we welcomed The Right Reverend Leon Golding, Bishop of Montego Bay in the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, on 19 June. Bishop Leon was joined by Racial Justice Officers from the Diocese of Chichester and met with a group of our students, as well as Head Teacher, Simon Reid and Senior Chaplain, Craig Huxley-Jones.

In a Q & A session, Bishop Leon spoke with students of his own experiences as a child of Windrush parents. Following the talk, the CH band played the Jamaican national anthem in his honour, during lunchtime band parade. A special chapel service for the whole school was also held, during which the Chapel and Gospel Choirs sang Donnie McClurin’s ‘Caribbean Medley’ and ‘Deep River, my name is over Jordan’.

The Empire Windrush’s arrival at Tilbury Docks in Essex on 22 June 1948 marked the beginning of a period of migration that would see over 500,000 Commonwealth citizens settle in Britain between 1948 and 1971. This is now referred to as the “Windrush generation”. People from Jamaica, Barbados and other Commonwealth countries, were invited to help rebuild the British economy after the Second World War and given full rights of entry and settlement.

Bishop Leon was born in England and studied at the University of Birmingham, before moving to Jamaica as the son of returning residents. “I hope that my participation in the Windrush celebration will help to give some clarity to the importance of the commemoration” he said. “I look forward to learning from you all as well as sharing something of my own context and experience.”

Head Teacher of Christ’s Hospital, Simon Reid, said: “We are extremely honoured that Bishop Leon was able to visit our school and share his experiences with our students to commemorate this important anniversary.”