Windrush display unveiled at Coventry Station
Avanti West Coast partner with Museum of Youth Culture to share striking images of the Windrush generation arriving in the UK to mark Black History Month.
- Photos capturing arrivals at Waterloo station in 1960s form part of exhibition
- The project is a collaboration between Avanti West Coast and the Museum of Youth Culture
- Display on Platform 1 will be a permanent fixture at the station
Photos capturing the Windrush generation arriving in the UK have been unveiled at Coventry station as part of Black History Month.
Avanti West Coast and the Museum of Youth Culture teamed up to install the exhibition which is situated on Platform 1 at the station.
The images were taken at Waterloo station by photographer Howard Grey in 1962 as people were greeted by friends and family, after making the journey via Southampton following their arrival from the West Indies.
He was one of the only photographers to capture this historic chapter in Britain’s history, but the images were underexposed and remained unseen until 2014. Scanning technology enabled the lost images to be recovered.
The display at the Avanti West Coast managed station also coincides with the 75th Anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush, which carried some of the first of thousands of travellers from the Caribbean to settle in the UK.
Some of those featured in the photographs are still unidentified and Howard Grey is keen to track them down to hear their stories.*
The collection of photos went on display to mark Black History Month in October but will remain on show permanently.
It follows similar showcases at the station last year with the Museum of Youth Culture who held exhibitions in the town’s Herbert Art Gallery and Museum as part of Coventry City of Culture.
Station Manager Maria McCarron said: “These displays are always really popular with our teams and customers who find them fascinating. It’s important we celebrate this period and I am really pleased it will stay up at Coventry station permanently.”
Jamie Brett, Creative Project Manager from the Museum of Youth Culture, said: “These are such beautiful images of people arriving at the train station, dressed up and wanting to start a new life for themselves. It’s a fantastic series of work.
He added: “We’ve loved being able to put up these displays in Coventry. It’s full of untapped potential and hopefully we can do a lot more in the future.”
Watch the video here:
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*Howard Grey is working with the Railway Museum to help track down the people in the photographs. If you think you might know anyone pictured, get in touch by emailing - search.engine@railwaymuseum.org.uk
The Museum of Youth Culture is also calling for more images to be used in their Black History Month archive. If you are interested please visit here.