The Trinidadians of the Windrush Generation
Happy Windrush Day to all British Trinidadians!
Much like the Caribbean region on a whole, the Windrush Generation- that is, Caribbean people who migrated to the United Kingdom between 1945 and 1970- was a diverse melting-pot of people. These migrants and their descendants are honoured annually on the day that the HMT Empire Windrush arrived on British shores- 22nd June 1948.
Trinidad and Tobago was one of the biggest contributors to the talents, skills, and ethnic diversity that was part and parcel of the Windrush Generation. In fact, famous Trinidadian calypsonian Lord Kitchener's song "London is the Place for Me" (as heard above) was a rallying cry for Britain's thousands of Caribbean migrants. These are the most famous among them:
Aldwyn Roberts "Lord Kitchener"
The eternal king of Calypso himself had been born with a lifelong stammer, but if anything, this had encouraged him to develop the singing and instrumental skills passed down by his father. “Kitch” was born into an Afro-Trinidadian family and had moved from Arima to Port-of-Spain in his youth, where he gained a loyal following from his singing in calypso tents. He was distinct from other performers via his willingness to critique current events in Trinidad, such as the takeover of Chaguaramas by American troops, as well as his own suave and witty charm, best exemplified by his skill in concocting double entendres. He arrived in London in 1948, serenading a BBC reporter with an impromptu performance of “London is the Place for Me.” Although Lord Kitchener had established a successful life for himself in London- by singing in pubs and nightclubs. getting his songs recorded, helping kickstart the Notting Hill Carnival, and even opening his own club- he maintained a strong transnational connection to his homeland and returned in 1962. His homecoming in Trinidad was punctuated by him winning the Carnival Road March Title ten times between 1963 to 1976 (not counting his first win in 1946). Some of his other popular songs include “Doctor Kitch” (1964), “The Birth of Ghana” (1957)- which was very popular in West Africa, and the Soca tune “Sugar Bum Bum” (1977).
Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad "V.S." Naipaul
Born in Chaguanas to an Indo-Trinidadian journalist and his wife, V.S. Naipaul received a government scholarship that allowed him to study English Literature at Oxford University in Britain. His time in England was difficult due to dwindling funds, a shortage of jobs, and his own spiralling mental health. However, the wit and precision inherent in his writing- some of his most well-known works being Miguel Street (1959) and A House for Mr. Biswas (1961)- soon elevated him to fame. His writings engaged with the complexities of multicultural and post-colonial societies, both informed from his own experiences living in British-ruled Trinidad and his travels across India and Africa. Naipaul is most well-known for winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001. He also worked as a presenter for the ground-breaking BBC programme Caribbean Voices, which brought the stories of Windrush migrants to the British public. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990.
Sam Selvon grew up amidst the cane fields and sun-baked soils of San Fernando, hailing from a family of mixed East Indian and Scottish ancestry. A few years spent as a sub-editor for the Trinidad Guardian awakened such a keen passion for writing within Selvon that he juggled umpteenth pseudonyms for himself. Having some of his works broadcast by the BBC inspired him to migrate to London in 1950, bearing a manuscript of his first novel A Brighter Sun (1952). But his more feted works were to come later- The Lonely Londoners (1956) and Ways of Sunlight (1957)- as the disenchantment of Windrush life, replete with poverty, isolation, and racism, made itself known to him; yet in true Caribbean fashion, Sam battled these challenges with good humour and determination. Aside from his novels, his work has been featured in the London Magazine, New Statesman, and The Nation, and he also helped Black British filmmaker Horace Ové produce the 1976 movie Pressure.
Born into a family of Port-of-Spain creatives, with a dress designer mother and a writer father of African-American Merikin descent, Althea was encouraged to get involved in the local art community- vibrant and brimming with excitement from being on the cusp of independence- from a young age. She was junior member of the Trinidad Arts Society, was mentored by local artists Sybil Atteck and Mahmoud Pharouk Alladin, and had even headed an exhibition of her own paintings as a mere sixteen year-old. She migrated up to London in 1951 aged 27, intending to use a recently-awarded scholarship to study architecture. However, during her studies at the London School of Printing and Graphic Arts and the Royal College of Art, her interests shifted to printed textiles. Indeed, her approach to fabrics design had a “painterly” air to them (Jansen, 2022)- like bright streams of oil dashed against a canvas, and swirled together to capture the tropical landscape that she had grown up in. Her designs were commissioned by numerous contemporary textile, wallpaper, and furniture manufacturers, including Ascher Ltd, Heal’s, Liberty, Sanderson-Rigg, Balenciaga, Schiaperalli and- most famously- Dior. McNish was also specially requested to design prints for Queen Elizabeth II’s 1966 Royal Tour of the Caribbean.
Mona, like Lord Kitchener, had actually arrived on the HMT Empire Windrush itself! She grew up in the St. Clair district of Port-of-Spain, into a family of mixed African, Indian, Scottish, and Venezuelan descent, and sought to achieve a singing career abroad. Her singing talents landed her in gigs at upper-crust restaurants, jazz bands, cabarets, radio performances, and steel bands. She even took to the silver screen, featuring in Tanz in Der Sonne (1954), Symphonie in Gold (1956), and Girls for the Mambo-Bar (1959). Baptiste’s most famous song was a cover of African-American jazz singer Nat Cole’s “Calypso Blues,” and she also performed in German, Spanish, and French as she travelled across Western Europe in a blaze of success. Marrying an Irishman and settling down in Dublin did not impede this starlet’s career one bit, as she continued to perform in Europe and New York till her death.
Born in Port-of-Spain to a Chinese-Trinidadian family, Achong won the Jerningham Gold Medal and the Colonial Scholarship to study medicine at University College Dublin, then continued onto England in 1955 to further his research at Fitzrovia's Middlesex Hospital and Lambeth Hospital. At Middlesex Hospital, he co-discovered the Epstein-Barr Virus- the first identified human virus that can cause cancer- alongside Micheal Anthony Epstein and Yvonne Barr, which was lauded as “one of the 20th century’s most significant scientific discoveries” (The New York Times, 2024). While Epstein was later knighted for this discovery, and Barr was praised as an overlooked feminist icon in science, Achong was barely attributed to this discovery at all. He also discovered the “foamy virus” in 1971, the first retrovirus to affect humankind. His final job before his retirement and death was as a senior lecturer in pathology at the University of Bristol, a high-ranking Russell Group institution.
Leighton Rhett Radford "Darcus" Howe
Born in Moruga to an Afro-Trinidadian family, Darcus was an absolute trailblazer for racial justice in post-Windrush Britain. Having arrived in England in 1961 as a law student on a scholarship, Howe was one of the Mangrove Nine, an octet of Afro-Caribbean activists arrested for protesting against extreme policing methods targeting the Mangrove, a Trinidadian-owned restaurant in London that served as a hub for British Caribbean creatives and thinkers. He later joined the British Black Panther Movement and edited the groundbreaking Race Today magazine, which united both Black and Asian Britons under a common goal of dismantling white privilege in British society. His journalism, marked by his eviscerating commentary towards Britain’s oppression of Black people, featured in The Voice, The New Statesman, and Channel 4 (most famously his Black on Black television programme). Howe was also a chairman for the Notting Hill Carnival, a celebration of British Caribbean culture held every year since 1966.
A Chinese-Trinidadian dancer and actress hailing from Port-of-Spain, teenage Jacqui frequented the prestigious halls of the Elmhurst Dance School and the Royal Academy of Dancing before she joined in on the glitz and glamour of the West End. Her grace and expressiveness on stage granted her opportunities to star in much-feted tv shows and films of the midcentury such as The World of Suzie Wong (1960), Cleopatra (1963) and Dixon of Dock Green (1955-1974). She is still as energetic as she was in her prime, appearing most recently in Sherlock (2010-2017) and Cruella (2021). Chan was portrayed by actress Alice Hewkin in the period drama The Crown (2016-2023), featured in an unusually graphic sex scene for the series’ standards involving an encounter with Lord Snowdon, Princess Margret’s husband. This prejudiced representation of such a talented, non-white actress sparked conversations about the fetishisation of Asian women in media.
Sir Trevor Lawson McDonald
The cultured, melodious voice of Sir Trevor McDonald is best associated with his presence on ITN (Independent Television News), ITV, and BBC Radio; indeed, he is instantly recognisable by Britons everywhere. Born into a poor Dougla (half-African, half-East Indian) family in the southern coastal village of Moruga and dreaming of a career in broadcasting, a young McDonald learned how to painstakingly mimic the affected timbre of radio newscasters on BBC. He honed his craft for Radio Trinidad and Trinidad TV before being hired by BBC itself, moving to England in 1969 for his role with the World Service and Caribbean broadcasts. Later switching to ITN as a newsreader and reporter, McDonald fought against being boxed into “stereotypical” newscaster roles on account of his race (eg. being limited to covering stories on Brixton), and became a Northern Ireland correspondent. His later work at ITV involved memorable interviews with Nelson Mandela and Saddam Hussein, and he hosted the channel’s flagship programme Tonight with Trevor McDonald (1999–2007). He was bestowed with a lifetime BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Art) fellowship in his last years.
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