Windrush Monument Landmark

Seventy-eight years ago, men and women from the Caribbean began arriving in Wolverhampton, coming to a country that had called for their help, bringing with them their skills, their families, their faith and their futures. 

They built the NHS from the inside. They drove the buses and worked the factories. They planted churches, raised children, and made Wolverhampton their home.

This is their city too. And now, for the first time, the city is saying so in steel and gold.

It is a landmark of civic recognition, a permanent presence in the heart of the city, and a testament to what the Windrush generation gave – and continues to give – to Wolverhampton's life and identity.

The monument grew from a shared conviction among civic leaders, community organisations and ordinary Wolverhampton residents that the Caribbean community's contribution deserved something lasting - something visible, something rooted in the real experience of the people it honours.

EDI leads from Wolverhampton City Council and Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club were among the first to articulate this ambition together. But from the beginning, the project belonged to the community.

This landmark monument builds on sustained heritage work in Wolverhampton in recent years, including a family genealogy programme, Wolverhampton City Archives becoming a FamilySearch affiliated library to improve access to Caribbean histories and the unveiling of the Mel Chevannes statue, now permanently housed at the Civic Centre.

Each initiative has been part of a growing commitment to ensure that Wolverhampton's civic spaces reflect all the people who have shaped the city. The Windrush Monument builds directly on this foundation.

The monument, created by artist Luke Perry, depicts the bow of the Windrush ship, an anchor, and rising chains. 

It features a poem, ‘A Monument is a Testament’, by poet Casey Bailey cut into the steel.

The monument also features painted imagery by artist Victoria Murrain that tell family stories of the Windrush generation. LINKS TO HER FB PAGE, IS THAT OK? OR THERE’S THIS: Victoria Murrain | MORE ART IN© | Introducing | #wolverhampton

Do we know how tall it is and any info on materials used?

An anchor donated by Industrial Heritage Stronghold connects the piece to Wolverhampton's working past, grounding it in the city's own story.

Perhaps the most distinctive thing about this monument is that it is not finished.

The winners of a school poetry competition - chosen by an independent panel - will be the first names etched into the steel. This is intentional. The community writes itself into the monument, not as passive subjects of commemoration, but as active participants in an ongoing story.

The ambition is that every Windrush Day, the community will select individuals - past and present - to be recognised and inscribed. By Windrush 100 in 2048, the monument will carry 100 names.

It is built to grow. Built to be returned to. Built to belong to the people who come after, as much as those who came before.

Organisations involved in the project include Black Heritage Walks Network CIC, Black History & Heritage Wolverhampton, Churches 4 Positive Change, SIAN Computers, City of Wolverhampton Council and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC.

Funding was awarded through the Windrush Day Grant Scheme, funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and administered by Near Neighbours.

Speaking on behalf of Wolverhampton’s Windrush Committee, Bishop Ruben King of Churches 4 Positive Change said: “On behalf of all partners involved with Wolverhampton’s Windrush Committee, we are extremely proud to have helped shape this important endeavour

“This monument honours those who were invited to cross oceans, came and reshaped Wolverhampton with their hands, their hope and their unbreakable spirit. 

“It will stand as a reminder for future generations to pause, ask and remember the courage, strength and sacrifice that laid our deeply woven foundations, and will inspire the carrying forward of the living Windrush legacy.”

Here’s how the monument was installed.

The unveiling ceremony on Monday 22 June, attended by all involved along with councillors, Sureena Brackenridge MSP and local community groups.