A SPECIAL Windrush flag has been raised outside Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's civic offices to honour the 75th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks.

Basingstoke’s Caribbean Society and Friends chair Grace Powell raised the flag on Thursday, June 22, in an event organised by the Cultural Diversity Consortium.

Several members of the Caribbean community, Basingstoke mayor Cllr David Leeks, mayoress Amanda Leeks, council leader Cllr Paul Harvey and cabinet member for communities, partnerships and inclusion Cllr John McKay were among the people who attended the event.

The attendees observed a minute of silence for people from the Windrush generation who have passed on and those who went back home because of the scandal that began in 2017.

READ MORE: Exhibition celebrating contributions of Windrush generation opens in Basingstoke

The Windrush generation comprises 500,000 Commonwealth citizens who settled in Britain between 1948 and 1971. Having been invited to help rebuild the nation after the Second World War, they played an essential role in key fields such as nursing, transportation, construction and both military and civil service.

The Windrush scandal began to surface after it emerged that hundreds of Commonwealth citizens, many of whom were from the ‘Windrush’ generation, had been wrongly detained, deported and denied legal rights.

Consortium’s chair Effie Blankson said: “Today is a day of appreciation, it is a day of memory, and a celebration.”

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Cllr Harvey said: “It is so important for us as a new administration to commemorate Windrush. It is great to see so many people here whose experiences are so important to understand why this day matters and how much we want to continue working with the community going forward, particularly as we head to the Black History Month later in the year.

“There is so much more that we can do to build partnerships across our communities. This is why this day matters.”

A Windrush exhibition, featuring a unique soundscape of music and accounts from local people of the Windrush generation, is going on Willis Museum and Sainsbury Gallery until the end of July.

The exhibition, organised by Hampshire Cultural Trust, is aimed at exploring the Windrush generation’s journeys, the challenges they faced starting new lives and recognising their contribution to our shared history.