Seaside Memories – African and Caribbean people at the seaside

Inspired by the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush

The HMT Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Dock on 22nd June 1948, bringing one of the first large groups of West Indian citizens to the United Kingdom. The Windrush became the emblem of a generation of Commonwealth peoples making their home here from the 1940s to the 1970s.

The photographs & memories in this new exhibit by Healing Image Projects explores a widely un-acknowledged experience of African and Caribbean people enjoying the seaside in mid-twentieth-century UK.
At times, it may have been assumed that day trippers to the coast enjoy a more transient and leisurely experience, without missing familiar cultural comforts for too long. However historically, many African and Caribbean excursions included the joys of food and music, while sampling what the local seaside had to offer.

The exhibition is situated in the Town Hall Foyer on the ground floor and is open during normal open hours (10am-4pm).