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'I never dreamed England would be like this. So cheerless.' That's what Hortense says in Andrea Levy's bestselling novel 'Small Island', as she arrives in postwar London as part of the Windrush generation. Now, a new series of photos documents the real reactions of Caribbean men, women and children as they arrive at Waterloo Station in 1962, and catch their first glimpses of their new home: weary, anxious and overwhelmed by the hubbub that surrounds them.
But what's missing are the names and stories of these new arrivals – so a museum is appealing to the public for help. Some of these people will still live in London today, and many others will have friends, children and grandchildren who remember them fondly. Do you recognise them? The National Railway Museum in York has acquired photographer Howard Grey's full set of 37 prints, which are available to view online. If you have information about the people pictured, email search.engine@railwaymuseum.org.uk to help bring some of their stories to light.
The museum would also like to hear from Black railway workers who arrived in Britain from 1948-62, especially women who worked in station catering, as part of its mission to gather recollections from Windrush-era transport staff.
Grey took at the photos at the age of 20, heading down to Waterloo station with his camera after reading a news report that said the last boatload of Commonwealth citizens would arrive that day before the British Government Immigration Act came into force, making it more difficult for them to move to the UK. It was a gloomy day, so he soon abandoned the project, believing his photos would be too dark to develop. But now, 50 years on, he's been able to use digital scanners to bring these scenes to light. They're a moving insight into the hopes and vulnerabilities of a generation of migrants, dressed smartly in tailored clothes, waiting for a new chapter in their lives to begin.
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