Windrush Child

Story

The ‘Windrush child’ looks behind him at the beautiful home he leaves behind, as he prepares to board the ship that will take him to his new life in England. Full of love for his family and the landscapes of his childhood, he steps into the unknown, ready to bring his Caribbean eye to another horizon.

Why we chose it

John Agard is a highly acclaimed and immensely popular poet for both children and adults.

Where it came from

John Agard (b.1949) is a playwright, author, and children’s writer, born in Guyana and based in the UK since 1977. His work is known for its wit, irreverence, and hugely varied use of form. In 1998, Agard was heavily involved with the ‘Windrush’ season of programmes marking the 50-year anniversary of Windrush. Windrush refers to the generation who arrived in the UK between 1948 and 1971 from Caribbean countries. The name came from the ship Empire Windrush, which arrived at Tilbury Docks on 22 June 1948 and brought with it 492 workers from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and other islands to fill the post-war gaps in England’s workforce. The youngest passenger on the ship was Vincent Reid, aged 13. Agard wrote ‘Windrush Child’ to mark this anniversary, and to imagine what it must have been like for Reid to leave home at such a young age and board this immense ship.

Where it went next

John Agard has won many awards, including the Paul Hamlyn Award for Poetry (1997), a Cholmondeley Award (2003) and a Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry (2012). He is often featured on the school curriculum.

Associated stories

Agard has written countless books for both children and adults and contributed to several anthologies. His collections for children include Lend Me Your Wings’ Hello New! New Poems for a New Century, The Rainmaker Danced and Goldilocks on CCTV. His retelling of Dante’s Inferno for teenagers, The Young Inferno, illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura won the 2009 CLPE Poetry Award.