African and Caribbean War Memorial

The African and Caribbean War Memorial started as a tribute project to ex-RAF Caribbean veterans of World War II (WW2) who arrived on the MV Empire Windrush in 1948, and was an extension of the commemorative plaque and sculpture scheme run by the Nubian Jak Community Trust to highlight the historic contributions of Black and minority ethnic people in Britain. The memorial was originally to be placed at Tilbury Docks, as part of the centenary commemorating the outbreak of World War I (WW1); however, as the project began to evolve into a larger tribute that included both world wars and commemorated servicemen and women from both Africa and the Caribbean, it was agreed by the memorial recipient – the Port of Tilbury – and the project organizers that a new more accessible location needed to found.

While the Imperial War Museum holds records for almost 70,000 WW1 and WW2 memorials in the UK (as one commentator notes: "There is even an 'Animals In War' memorial in London's famed Hyde Park recognizing the contributions to those wars from dogs, donkeys, elephants, pigeons, glow worms and others animals."), yet there was not one memorial specifically dedicated to commemorating the contributions to victory made by more than two million service men and women from the Caribbean and Africa in both world wars, until the initiation of the African and Caribbean War Memorial project by the Nubian Jak Community Trust, which set out to remedy the neglect and oversight.

After exploring a number of potential sites, including the National Arboretum in Staffordshire, London’s Southbank, and Peckham Square also in London, and having consulted local stakeholders, the Trust finally settled on Windrush Square in the heart of Brixton, South London. The area has a strong connection with African and Caribbean culture and history, since the arrival on the MV Empire Windrush at Tilbury, near London, on 22 June 1948, bringing the first large group of West Indian migrants to the UK, among them many former servicemen. The arrivals were temporarily housed in the Clapham South deep shelter in southwest London, about two miles away from Coldharbour Lane in Brixton. Many only intended to stay in Britain for a few years, and although a number returned to the Caribbean, the majority remained to settle permanently.

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Wikipedia