Tilbury on the Thames Trust

Thames Clipper sailing to The Port of Tilbury

Lucy Harris (Community Engagement Manager for Forth Ports and Director of Tilbury on the Thames Trust) told us: “In partnership with the Port of Tilbury, the Tilbury on the Thames Trust has been working to bring back life into the Tilbury Riverside railway station and the London International Cruise Terminal right on the Thames where so many movements of people happened over the years. This gateway for people coming into and leaving our country has been part of our national story for a long time and has significance in many people’s lives, so connecting people with that gateway is really important.

Tilbury was the place where the Windrush first arrived and where the Windrush people went off to start their lives.

Windrush is very much part of our local heritage and history so we always look at how we can get involved and celebrate Windrush Day. We knew that people would be coming to London for the unveiling of the Windrush monument at Waterloo so it seemed fitting to bring them down the river from there, to arrive at the cruise station where the Windrush arrived in Tilbury. That connection with the river and with journeys felt really special. Connections with water are so powerful, and coming by boat was about connecting people with a place that was a marker in their history or where the next phase of their lives happened. We knew that it would be really important to invite the right people from all over the UK to have that opportunity to come and see where the Windrush arrived. We worked with The Voice and people came from as far afield as Manchester.

On the day everybody was so joyous, and so happy, it was a beautiful sunny day and it was just fantastic. Lots and lots of smiles, lots of singing. Everybody looked stunning as they had dressed up for the occasion in bright and beautiful colours. There was a real sense of community and celebration. When the boat arrived we had a steel pan band playing. People were dancing. Even one of our policemen was dancing! There was so much to see and people wanted to absorb the day. We have the Windrush Walkway of Memories Bridge by the artist EVERWRIGHT, and we displayed silk flags telling our local stories which had been made for Windrush 70. We could have probably gone on a bit longer but people needed to be getting back on coaches to go all over the country. It was really lovely, just such a beautiful day and a proper celebration. Often we don’t hear about the celebratory side of the Windrush story, and our event really was a celebration.

This event has helped us to tell our story about how important our location is and how important it is to so many people. We always want our work to have a legacy and we build our projects on what has gone before. There is the Windrush Bridge, and we take plenty of photos which we use throughout the year, and we bring out our beautiful silk flags again and again. Our surrounding community have really started to understand more about the important role that we have played in the nation’s history. We’ve got Windrush 75 coming up and we’re already thinking about that. It looks like there is going to be a piece of music commissioned and as part of the research for that we collected stories and thoughts from people that attended this event. We have also been seeking funding to deliver various educational arts-based activities, and secured some Heritage Lottery Funding for more exhibitions in our railway station.

“We feel really feel privileged to have Windrush connected with our local community, and to be part of that national story is special.”