WIND OF CHANGE
Michael Maddix and Romain White are among many colleagues who are proud to be descendants of the Windrush generation
Naming one of our lines Windrush celebrates more than just the few hundred people who arrived in London in 1948 aboard the ship of the same name.
It honours waves of newcomers who made the UK their home when the country was in real need of an economic and cultural boost.
Though often facing prejudice and hardship, their impact on British society has been incalculable, and many thousands of present-day Londoners are proud to say they are descendants of the Windrush generation.
Among them is our colleague Michael Maddix.
His parents were part of a later wave of arrivals in the UK from Jamaica, having heard about the opportunities available.
Michael Maddix's late parents Wentworth and Sheila
Michael Maddix's late parents Wentworth and Sheila
“My father, Wentworth, came over in 1957 from a place called Guava Ground in the Clarendon parish,” says Michael, a business assurance and risk manager. "My mother, Sheila, came in 1959 from Mountain View in the capital, Kingston. Jamaica was not yet independent, so they both had British passports and the UK was seen as the ‘motherland’.”
Leave a legacy
Michael’s parents were lucky. They had family to stay with in Brixton and settled in quickly, but many of their friends struggled to find work or accommodation. It was common for highly qualified people to take manual jobs, and racism was rife.
After a series of roofing jobs, Wentworth – a landowner and farmer back in Jamaica – secured a job with British Rail, where he worked until he retired. Sheila’s skills as a dressmaker were immediately in demand, however.
“It was business as usual,” says Michael. “Everyone in the local community came to her for clothes – you name it, she could make it!”
Although Wentworth and Sheila have passed away, their example lives on through Michael’s determination to succeed in his career and in his community work with young people in south London.
“I can’t imagine travelling round the world to a cold new country not knowing how things would work out, but they made it work,” he says. “My family inspired me, so it’s important that we leave a legacy for these youngsters to succeed and push on.”
22 June is National Windrush Day, celebrating the anniversary of the arrival of the MV Empire Windrush in the UK in 1948.
Role models
Customer host Romain White’s grandparents, Felix and Lynette Powers, also made the journey from Jamaica in the 1950s. They settled in north-west London, where Felix eventually found work at a tool manufacturer, while Lynette worked as nurse. Life was not easy,
but Romain is proud of their contribution.
“Their generation made things easier for ours,” says Romain, who works at Kilburn High Road.
“They had hard times finding work and somewhere to live, and faced racism every day. But they were determined to succeed and be positive role models.”
Fitting tribute
In February, we announced that the line running from West Croydon and Crystal Palace to Highbury and Islington would be renamed the Windrush line – one of six new names on our network reflecting London’s culture and history.
Romain and Michael see this as a fitting tribute and hope future generations appreciate its significance.
“I remind my children to be proud of their heritage,” says Romain. “And let them know that, like Felix and Lynette, they can achieve anything.”
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