The life-sized replica of the anchor from Empire Windrush has been displayed during Black History Month 75 years after the ship’s most famous journey

A life-sized replica of the anchor from the Empire Windrush on display at Middlesex University in Hendon — The life-sized replica anchor – on display at Middlesex University in Hendon (Credit- Middlesex University)

A life-sized replica of a ship’s anchor has been on display at a Barnet university campus this month as part of Black History Month celebrations.

The replica of the anchor from the Empire Windrush has been displayed at Middlesex University in Hendon to coincide with other black history-related events put on by the university.

This year is the 75th anniversary of the arrival of 492 people from the Caribbean on the Windrush which has come to symbolise the beginning of the migration that helped to rebuild Britain’s infrastructure following the Second World War.

The Windrush Anchor Heritage Education Programme tours the UK with the replica anchor promoting information and stories related to the Windrush.

This includes the fact that in 1965 approximately 5,000 Jamaican women were employed in British hospitals, and by 1977 sixty-six percent of overseas student nurses and midwives were from the Caribbean.

Middlesex University’s Black History Month events included a Barnet Multi Faith Forum gathering and a ‘celebrating our sisters’ showcase honouring the successes of black women.

At the event, co-organiser Middlesex University academic Dr Doirean Wilson explained that her parents arrived from Jamaica during the Windrush era, with her mother working as a nurse in the German Hospital in Hackney, and her father becoming the first black guard for British Rail.

She said: “This display will be a reminder of my parents’ stories of their experience and career during the Windrush era.

“Hearing about the career-life-stories of women of colour during Windrush, with our own ears and seeing the replica of the anchor up close with our own eyes, is a powerful reminder of what can be achieved regardless of adversity.”

Professor Sean Wellington, interim vice-chancellor at Middlesex University, said: “It’s an honour to recognise the amazing contribution of inspirational black women in our community during Black History Month.”

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