Sapphire Research

1. Investigate what was happening in Britan between 1948-1962.
During the years 1948-1962,
As the ship docked at Tilbury on the River Thames in June 1948 its West Indian passengers were greeted by a maelstrom of racism whipped up by the press and right wing politicians.But for many of them this was not their first time in England. The majority of passengers on the Windrush were servicemen and women returning to duty from leave. But the country they had left a short time before was now different. They were no longer part of the “war effort” but were seen as a “threat to the British way of life”. Over 10,000 West Indians volunteered to defend Britain against the Nazis during the Second World War. Among them was Donald Clarke. The RAF veteran was born in British Guyana. He enlisted during the war and served in the West Indies, then signed up for a further 12 years of service in 1948. “Many English people saw a black face and thought we came from Africa, or were black Americans. We felt the British public were not very well informed about us.” Many West Indians were targeted by white US soldiers from the South who were stationed in Britain. They often reacted with violence to finding “coloured limeys” mixing freely with white people in pubs.In one case troops from the West Indies guarding prisoners of war in Egypt were attacked by white South African troops who objected to seeing black men carrying weapons.

2. How was the social landscape changing?


3. How did the changing social landscape lead to a 'racialisation' of British politics?