By The BARREL CHILDREN OF THE WINDRUSH Generation Untold Story
This is the untold story of “THE BARREL CHILDREN OF THE WINDRUSH GENERATION”.
In 1945, when Britain was left in ruins after World War II, thousands of men and women from the Caribbean were invited to the United Kingdom as part of their duty to the mother country to help rebuild Britain’s weakened economy.
These Caribbean migrants, many of whom worked in the manufacturing sector, public transport, and the NHS are known to be the Windrush Generation. While their stories have often been told, we know less of the stories of the children they left behind, many of whom hardly knew their parents because they were left in the care of grandparents and other extended relatives at a very young age. The only real connection these children had with their parents was the care packages that were sent to them in a barrel. To capture the experiences and the ongoing realities of the Barrel children who eventually reunited with their parents in the United Kingdom, I met with three Barrel children, Deanne, Jean, and Linford who shared the triumph and trauma of being a Barrel child but most importantly their connection to their Homeland.
