Empire Windrush

The Empire Windrush arrives in Britain in 1948

Empire Windrush was built in Germany and launched in Hamburg on 13 December 1930. However, the ship was not originally called the Empire Windrush. Instead, it was called the MV Monte Rosa.

Monte Rosa was originally built as a cruise ship, taking German travellers to Europe and South America on Nazi-approved holidays.

As late as 1936, the ship was carrying passengers between Hamburg and London. Historian and author Paul Arnott reveals in his book Windrush: A Ship Through Time that the cruise ship made more than 20 such package holiday journeys: tourists bound for London would disembark in Greenwich, close to where the Cutty Sarkis now.

However, with the outbreak of war the Monte Rosa was requisitioned by the Nazis and initially used to transport troops during the German invasion of Norway. Later in 1942, according to Arnott, the vessel was one of a number of ships used for the deportation of Norwegian Jews.

The Monte Rosa was original built as a cruise ship, taking German travellers to Europe and South America on Nazi-approved holidays. As late as 1936 the ship was carrying passengers between Hamburg and London. The “Empire part of the name follows the pattern of other merchant ships controlled by the British government during and after the World War. Windrush was named after the River Windrush in the Cotswolds.

Monte Rosa was renamed HMT Empire Windrush on January 21, 1947, for use on the Southampton-Gibraltar-Suez-Aden-Colombo-Singapore-Hong Kong route, with voyages extended to Kure in Japan after the start of the Korean War. The vessel was operated for the British Government by the New Zealand Shipping Company and made one voyage only to the Caribbean which led to the term Windrush Generation before resuming normal trooping voyages.

1027 passengers were on board the Empire Windrush when it arrived in Britain.

https://www.gold.ac.uk/windrush/passenger-list/

It played an important role in World War Two… for Germany.

Everyone has now heard about the Windrush Generation but few know the history of the ship and its link to soldiers in West Yorkshire and role in the Second World War.

Empire Windrush, formerly MV Monte Rosa, was a German Cruise liner in the 1930s reveals Richard Harvey, archives volunteer in the Duke of Wellington’s Museum in Halifax and the Association website editor and webmaster.

At the start of World War Two, Monte Rosa was allocated to the German Navy for military use. She was used as a barracks ship at Stettin, then as a troopship for the invasion of Norway in April 1940. She was later used as an accommodation and recreational ship attached to the battleship Tirpitz, stationed in the north of Norway from where Tirpitz and her flotilla attacked the Allied convoys en route to Russia. In November 1942 she assisted in the deportation of Norwegian Jewish people, carrying 46 people from Norway to Denmark and all but two later died in Auschwitz concentration camp.

At the end of March 1944 Monte Rosa was attacked by Royal Air Force Bristol Beaufighters from 144 Squadron and 404 Squadron. The attack was mounted for the explicit purpose of sinking it, but despite several torpedo and rocket strikes the ship survived. In June 1944 members of the Norwegian resistance movement attempted but failed to sink her by attaching Limpet mines to her hull. In 1944 Monte Rosa served in the Baltic Sea, rescuing Germans trapped by the advance of the Russian Army. In May 1945 she was captured by advancing British forces at Kiel and taken as a prize of war.

The ship was named after the Windrush village in Gloucester, which lies in the Cotswolds on the River Windrush, from which it derives its name. During the Second World War, the parish hosted RAF Windrush, a Royal Air Force Relief Landing Ground. Although it closed for military purposes in 1945, the airfield remains in use for light aircraft and still has its control tower.

HMT Empire Windrush is best remembered today for bringing one of the first large groups of HMT Empire Windrush is best remembered today for bringing one of the first large groups of post-war West Indian immigrants to the United Kingdom.

The ship carried 1027 passengers and two stowaways on a voyage from Jamaica to London in 1948. Of these, more than 800 passengers gave their last country of residence as HMT Empire Windrush is best remembered today for bringing one of the first large groups of post-war West Indian immigrants to the United Kingdom.

The Windrush’s arrival has become symbolic of the generation of Commonwealth citizens who came to live in Britain between 1948 and 1971.
But what is the history of the ship that gave its name to the ‘Windrush generation’?

The story of the Empire Windrush ship is very topical for more than one reasons, but none more so than what has happened to many people who migrated to UK under the heading Windrush Immigrants. The ship has a very interesting history, pre WWII, during and after, including its voyage to and from the Caribbean which is now indelibly printed in the analogy of British History.

The fact that this was not the only ship that transported people to and from the Caribbean is amazing how it has captured the attention of the nation, and labelled a generation of people to what could be argued as a detrimental effect. The era of date that is labelled as the Windrush years, and people who it relates to, is almost like a curse on a society of a certain community within the UK. This must have been so remote from the minds of the people who thought they were coming to Mother Country, a land of milk and honey, streets paved with gold.

Source: Goldsmith University London and Wikipedia