Windrush 75 is a much-needed campaign because the contribution the Windrush generation made to UK life is enormous. My dad’s aunt and his eldest sister came to England before him. He followed in 1964, and right across the world there was a call from Mother England to come and help out. A lot of people packed up and made the sacrifice to help rebuild Britain after the Second World War, working in hospitals, construction and the transport system. They did a tremendous job, but it was also very tough for those arriving here.
My sister and I came from Jamaica to join my dad in Sheffield in 1980. When we arrived, it was quite a culture shock. As we travelled to our new home from Heathrow Airport there were clumps of snow on the side of the motorway, which was exciting to see for the first time. Back then, Sheffield was an industrial city, dominated by steelworks, and I noticed the smoke that was coming from the chimneys of most buildings. I instantly thought Sheffield must be a place with lots of bakeries, since they were the only place you would see that amount of smoke in Jamaica.
We lived in a multicultural, multiracial part of the city; a real melting pot. We were not far from Brendan Ingle’s boxing gym, and seeing the likes of Herol ‘Bomber’ Graham in training was common. One of the first people we went to see was a family friend, Des Smith, who had emigrated to England from Jamaica in the 1960s. Des was a very good cricketer and a huge help in our new lives. He got all our immigration papers in order and got us set up with things like National Insurance numbers.
Later I went to Richmond College, which had a diverse mix of students. At first I played a lot of football, but in the early 1980s when the mighty West Indies were touring England, someone asked me if I had ever played cricket. That’s how I got back into it.
Cricket in the African-Caribbean community was a major part of life in Sheffield. I played a few games in the parks before Sheffield Caribbean Sports Club heard of a young tearaway fast bowler frightening the daylights out of batters. They recruited me and it went from there.
I soon saw how African-Caribbean communities across the country were using cricket to link themselves together by setting up their own clubs. At the weekend we would travel to play the various Caribbean teams in different cities. Food, music and dominoes was a must, so the matches lifted our spirits and reinforced our culture.
Cricket gave my dad and his generation so much pride, as well as a vehicle to raise their self-esteem in the face of racism. He was an England supporter in every match apart from when they played West Indies – so he may not have passed the Tebbit Test! But when West Indies began to beat England on a regular basis from the late 1970s onwards, it gave him the confidence to walk into work with a voice and his head held high.
Personally, I just loved the game and was interested in world cricket. Growing up in Jamaica I listened to the radio and heard Michael Holding bowling to Geoff Boycott – one of the quickest first overs in Test cricket. I also heard matches when players like Gary Sobers, Rohan Kanhai, Viv Richards, Desmond Haynes, and Colin Croft were playing, to name but a few. Like most youngsters I wanted to emulate the best players and tried to improve every time I went out to play or practice. In the early stages I was just trying to bowl quickly; but when I started getting good batters out and received encouragement from my coaches, I realised there could be a future in the game for me.
It’s now over 40 years since I arrived in the UK, and as a society we have made great strides forward. My dad was so pleased to see me and my sister follow in the footsteps of the Windrush generation, and now there is a generation following us too. My children and the younger generations only know this country as their home, and through education and their various professions, are making positive contributions to their communities – just one example of the lasting impact that African-Caribbean migration has brought to this country. To consider where we were, and that our parents came here and developed something from nothing, is remarkable.
Before my dad left Jamaica, the stories were that the streets in England were paved with gold and opportunities were abundant. He hoped that hard work would see him return to Jamaica in four or five years, but that was not the case; it was a lot more difficult. Like many he faced overt racism daily, and suffered many terrible experiences of isolation at work. Living conditions involved rooms of multiple occupancy, where sharing beds on a rota was the norm based on shift working patterns. But through hard work and perseverance my dad and many others eventually saved enough to buy their own homes. Things have changed for the better now, but that doesn’t mean everything is fine. Racism used to be overt, but it is now subtle, covert and systematic. But I do believe we are making progress, and crucially, our young people are not prepared to tolerate the treatment that the Windrush generation endured.
My dad’s generation kept their feelings of hurt undercover as a sacrifice to keep working, provide for their families, and send money home to elderly relatives. They kept their spirits high and their dignity even higher. My own generation was influenced to a certain extent to be stoic and to endure unfair treatment, but something changed after George Floyd’s murder. All over the world, people of all races have drawn a line and are no longer afraid to speak out and fight for justice for a human being who lost his life because of the colour of his skin.
Times are different and young people know they deserve equity, diversity and inclusion at all levels of society, and at all levels of sport. The integration of races, talents, and skills present in all communities is contributing to a richness of culture that is breaking down barriers and reducing ignorance in society.
In cricket, it’s no secret that the number of Black players has declined in England and Wales since 2000. But programmes such as ACE – set up by Surrey County Cricket Club and backed by the ECB – are leading the way in reversing the trend, by attracting and developing young Black talent in cities across the country. This, alongside efforts from everyone in cricket to better understand Black lived experiences in the UK, is crucial to the future of the game. We must do all we can to ensure the Windrush migrants’ powerful legacy survives in the sport, and Windrush 75 gives us a brilliant way of doing that.
Discover more on the Windrush 75 campaign and help make 2023 a year of national celebration.