A CELEBRATION of the Windrush generation took over a busy Worcester park.
Cripplegate Park hosted the Worcester Afro Caribbean Association’s Party in the Park for its second year, between 11am and 4pm on Sunday (June 28).
Patrick Palmer, organiser of Party in the Park and member of the WACA, said: “This event is all about Windrush. Windrush Day was on June 22, and it is a unique day for all Afro Caribbean people to celebrate.
“We celebrate this day to remember the people who came here before us.
“Most of the people here that live in England are part of the Windrush generation, and it is about us remembering the people who paved the path before we came here.”
Organisers Patrick Palmer and Lisa Smith (Image: Newsquest)
The Windrush generation is named after the ship HMT Empire Windrush, a boat which brought passengers from the Caribbean to the UK in 1948 to help rebuild post-war Britain.
In the decades since, Windrush has become a symbol for the wider migration of Afro-Caribbean people to the UK between 1948 and 1971.
Mr Palmer is part of the Windrush generation, and is also a child of the Windrush generation, after his father, Basil Palmer, moved to the UK in the mid-20th century.
78 years on from HMT Empire Windrush’s arrival, Mr Palmer explained why it is so important to remember that generation.
He said: “Most of the people from the Caribbean came over here with nothing but dreams.
“Those dreams were hard to come by, so they worked hard.
“It is our way of saying thank you to the people who worked hard and suffered and struggled.”
WACA member Hilton Nicholson taught Angela Nicholls how to play Jamaican dominoes (Image: Newsquest)
Riccardo De Bruce, creative co-ordinator for WACA was also a child of Windrush.
His father, Reverend Bruce, came to the UK as a church builder.
He said: “We were brought up to feel like we had a very important role to play in Britain.”
After welcoming around 150 visitors to their debut in 2025, Mr Palmer believed they had already exceeded that number within just a couple hours of the party starting.