Migration Stories: Windrush and the NHS
Migration Stories: Windrush and the NHS
Monday 13 October 2025 | 17.45–20.00
Barts North Wing, West Smithfield, London EC1A 7BE
Free – Click here to book via Eventbrite
In celebration of Black History Month, we’re partnering with Barts Health NHS Trust Archives, Barts Heritage, and Culture Mile BID to hear from expert speakers about the Windrush generation’s significant contributions to the establishment and development of the National Health Service.
On 22 June 1948, HMT Empire Windrush arrived in Essex carrying passengers from the Caribbean and former British colonies, answering calls from Great Britain to help fill post-war workforce shortages in the health service, transport and postal systems.
The National Health Service officially launched just two weeks later on 5 July, with many Windrush passengers filling vacant NHS positions. Often in the face of unconcealed racism and discrimination, these first NHS employees continued in their commitment to provide care for patients and formed a fundamental part of the health service.
At this event, hear Allyson Williams MBE, former NHS midwife and Migration Museum collaborator, share her journey from Trinidad and Tobago to London and her decades of NHS service, along with insights from the Barts Health NHS Trust Archives on historical migration stories.
This event is also a chance to get an update from the Migration Museum! Liberty Melly, Head of Learning at the Migration Museum, will give a short speech, and there will be an opportunity to chat with the team about our current projects, plans, and progress.
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About Allyson Williams MBE
Allyson Williams MBE came to London in May 1969 from Trinidad and Tobago and pursued a career in nursing and midwifery, and after thirty-five years of service, retired from the NHS, her last role being Deputy Head of Midwifery. In 2002, Allyson became a Member of the British Empire for her services to the midwifery profession in London. She built a vibrant life around nursing and midwifery, music and Carnival — co-founding the Genesis Mas Band at Notting Hill Carnival and today serves as a Carnival Director. In recent years she has received multiple awards, including the Vita Nova Laureate Award (2025) from the Caribbean Global Awards for her extraordinary legacy of purpose and passion.
Photo: Migration Museum / Sopo Ramischwili, Allyson Williams speaking at the Heart of the Nation launch, Lewisham, 7 March 2024