Introduction

In June 1948 the S.S. Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury and 492 Jamaicans disembarked. Between that date and the 1970s, when primary immigration from the Caribbean was effectively terminated, several thousand West Indians came to live in Britain. The Empire was 'coming home', claiming rights of abode as British citizens holding British passports. Today there are half-a-million people of West Indian origin or descent living in Britain.