# Empire Windrush passengers disembark at Tilbury (1948)

URL: https://english-history.com/timeline/1948-empire-windrush-passengers-disembark-at-tilbury
Categories: main-event

Hundreds of passengers from the Caribbean arrived aboard Empire Windrush, many seeking work and opportunity in Britain. Within the broader Postwar & Modern UK period, decolonization, welfare institutions, migration, European integration and withdrawal, devolution and social change reshaped the modern United Kingdom. This event is placed at 22 June 1948 in the chronology so it can be read alongside the political, military, social and cultural changes around it. The voyage became a powerful symbol of postwar Commonwealth migration and the creation of a more diverse British society.

## Why it matters
The voyage became a powerful symbol of postwar Commonwealth migration and the creation of a more diverse British society.

Ruler at the time: [George VI](https://english-history.com/rulers/george-vi)

## Sources
- [The National Archives — Empire Windrush](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/the-empire-windrush/empire-windrush-life-for-migrants-in-the-1940s-and-50s/)
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — Empire Windrush passengers disembark at Tilbury](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=Empire+Windrush+passengers+disembark+at+Tilbury&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Empire Windrush passengers disembark at Tilbury](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Empire+Windrush+passengers+disembark+at+Tilbury)
- [Wikipedia — Timeline of British history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_British_history)
- [The National Archives — Postwar collection](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/explore-by-time-period/postwar/)