A retired NHS nurse who moved to Buckinghamshire from the Caribbean has said the Windrush people were ‘treated like slaves' in the UK. 

Effie Johnson, 81, moved to High Wycombe from Georgetown in St Vincent as part of the Windrush generation in 1959, following her brother who had moved to the town before her.

Each year, June 22 marks the anniversary and celebration of the British Caribbean communities, who arrived to Britain as Commonwealth citizens between 1948 and 1971.

When the first large ship, HMT Empire Windrush, arrived from the Caribbean, Britain was gripped by post-war labour shortages, and many of the emigrants went to work in the newly created NHS and other industries.

However, Effie witnessed how many newly arrived people had their dreams crushed by the racism that was rife. 

She said: “It was tough, nobody expected it. West Indians really, really thought that that this country was a dream. It was not.

“Racism was all over the place. My husband said to be when he came it was difficult to find a place to work, us women were lucky to go into nursing. But no matter how educated a man was it was difficult.

Bucks Free Press: Effie at 18 in her nurse's work outfit in 1961 (left), Effie and husband Hendrick cutting their wedding cake Effie at 18 in her nurse's work outfit in 1961 (left), Effie and husband Hendrick cutting their wedding cake (Image: Effie Johnson's family album)

“It didn’t matter how educated a person was you had to go to the factory, and most of the time men just had to sweep the factory floors.

“It was like slavery to be honest except you were not getting the whipping. No one knew they would face things like this when they came to the country. Everybody thought they would have a posh life and continue with their careers.

“Many were disappointed, thousands of people came here and some of the had a complete breakdown.”  

She recalled seeing the shocking signs saying “No Blacks, No Irish, No dogs.”

As hopeful 17-year-old, Effie was planning to go straight to nursing. However, she had to wait until she turned 18 and attend nursing school first.

Effie, who celebrated her 81st birthday on June 22, then spent her career working for the NHS in High Wycombe. 

“Now there are different instruments and nurses don’t have to lift patients, but in our days we had to lift patients and you end up with a bad back,” she said.

In her early twenties, Effie got married to her husband Hendrick, and they celebrated the birth of their first child in 1962. They had two more children. 

She said the situation with racism “didn’t change overnight.”

“It took years for things to get better. And it’s much different now, but there is still racism all over the place, but it’s not as America where racism is so bad. It’s very sad.

“The younger generation, they won’t put with it now, but those who came earlier they just had to put up with it and stay until things because easier,” she said.

In 2017, it emerged that that hundreds of Commonwealth citizens, including those of Windrush generation, had been wrongly detained and deported to countries some had left as babies or had never lived in. The aftermath of the scandal is ongoing, and campaigning group Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants has warned of another “Windrush-style scandal” if no meaningful change happens in the Home Office.  

“Many of us young girls decided we wanted to do nursing, because you have to try to think yourself a way to do something better than just go to the factory for your entire life and then just retire.

“Everybody has their own experience, it’s different for everybody as you go along,” she added.