The Windrush generation: Leaving a legacy

In a series of special reports, ITV News Central examines the impact and legacy of the Windrush generation.

Imagine using one room as your place to eat, sleep, bathe and live. That was the reality facing the Windrush arrivals when they swapped the hot climate of the Caribbean for the colder temperatures of England seventy years ago.

Many families settled in the Midlands after being invited to help Britain rebuild herself post-war.

Generations on and their descendants are now calling for wider recognition of their contribution.

• Enid's story: From survival to participation

Enid Saunders came to Britain when she was a teenager.

She took to poetry to tell the story of the Windrush generation, who arrived in response to the 'Motherland's call for workers.

One particular poem - 'From Participation to Survival' - portrays the struggle she and many had setting into new surroundings.

Those difficulties were documented in private, and since have been shared with the world.

• Mary's story: Changing climates

The sudden change in climate played a major factor for many families uprooting their lives to move to the Midlands.

Mary King, from Newton, Birmingham, was one of them.

• Desmond's story: Making a mark

Dr Desmond Jaddoo regularly meets those from the Windrush era who have settled across the Midlands.

Whether it was culture, race relations or religion, he says that generation has made their mark on British life.

He points to the prevalence of black churches and their continued importance.

Desmond also says the affinity shown for Britain and it's ways by the new arrivals was not so alien as earlier thought.