A brand new project featuring a series of public installations across Leeds celebrating the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush, launches later this month.

Here: Windrush 75 Leeds features 75 larger than life portraits of the Windrush generation residents who settled in Leeds between 1948-1971, accompanied by short biographical details about each person – 75 portraits to mark 75 years.

The public portraits, unveiled on June 19, will be on display for two weeks at various locations to celebrate, and raise awareness of, the important contribution made by Caribbean people to the social and economic life of the city.

This exciting project is a collaboration between Jamaica Society Leeds and St Kitts and Nevis Association Leeds.

The portraits, a mixture of printed and digital images, will be placed on billboards and at key outdoor sites, with the aim of bringing the Windrush story to both Leeds residents and visitors and celebrating this important chapter in our nation’s history.

Alford Gardner was among the 492 passengers who arrived on Windrush in June 1948 and settled in Leeds. Now 97 years old, he is one of the last of those passengers still alive today. His son, Howard Gardner, said his father’s generation played a key role in helping to rebuild the country after World War Two.

He said: “It’s important to remind people about what these men and women did, and the sacrifices they made when they came here. We don’t want this to just drift from people’s memories.”

Speaking about his dad, Alford, he added: “He’s proud of what he did, and I see it in his face sometimes, but like most Jamaicans he doesn’t like to talk about himself very much.”

Here: Windrush 75 Leeds is funded by the Windrush Day Scheme Grant and supported in kind by JC Decaux and Leeds City Council, and is one of more than 40 arts, educational and sporting projects across England being funded by the scheme.

Rev Dorothy Stewart, Chair of Jamaica Society Leeds, said: “The Jamaica Society Leeds is delighted to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the SS Empire Windrush with this project we simply call, ‘Here’. Because we are here and have been an integral part of the economic and social life of this city and country.

“We honour an intrepid generation of people of which I am one, who responded to Britain’s call to rebuild this country after World War Two. We hope this project contributes to the many efforts to tell this history and especially this history from a Leeds perspective.”

Speaking about the project, Gloria Hanley, Chair of the St Kitts and Nevis Association Leeds, said: “We have two Caribbean organisations working together for the first time – the Jamaica Society and the St Kitts and Nevis Association. This anniversary has brought us together and I hope it brings the people of Leeds together, too.

“Many of the Windrush generation came to Leeds, they migrated here, and they made the city their home. Those past and present have all contributed to life here and I’m hoping that people will recognise some of the faces and want to know the stories behind them.”

In addition to the public portraits, the project includes a launch event at the digital billboard in Leeds Kirkgate Market on June 22 (Windrush Day), a cultural event celebrating the Windrush generation at Jamaica House, Leeds, on June 24, workshops with young people in schools, and an online gallery of the portraits to create a lasting legacy for this pioneering generation.

Here: Windrush 75 Leeds runs from June 19 to July 2, 2023.

For more information about Windrush 75 Leeds, go to Windrush 75 – Jamaica Society Leeds