Arthur Torrington

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

is a Guyanese-born community advocate and historian who is Director and co-founder of the London-based Windrush Foundation, a charity that since 1996 has been working to highlight the contributions to the UK of African and Caribbean peoples, "to keep alive the memories of the young men and women who were among the first wave of post-war settlers in Britain", and to promote good community relations. The organization commemorates in its name the ''

Empire Windrush HMT ''Empire Windrush'' was a passenger motor ship that was launched in Germany in 1930 as the MV ''Monte Rosa''. She was built as an ocean liner for the German shipping company Hamburg Süd. They used the ship to carry German emigrants to Sou ...

'', the ship that on 22 June 1948 docked at

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a Tilbury Fort, 16th century fort ...

bringing the first significant group of Caribbean migrants to Britain, including Sam King, who with Torrington established the Windrush Foundation. Also in 1996, Torrington set up the Equiano Society, with the main objective of celebrating the life and work of

Olaudah Equiano Olaudah Equiano (; c. 1745 – 31 March 1797), known for most of his life as Gustavus Vassa (), was a writer and abolitionist. According to his memoir, he was from the village of Essaka in present day southern Nigeria. Enslaved as a child in ...

(c. 1745–1797), as well as the literary and cultural legacy in Britain of Equiano's African contemporaries.

Biography

Born in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

(modern-day Guyana), Torrington attended St Ambrose Primary School and Tutorial High School, and went in Britain as a teenager in the 1960s. Torrington joined forces with Sam King to establish the Windrush Foundation, in 1996, to ensure that the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the ''Empire Windrush'' would be appropriately marked and celebrated; as reported in the ''

Guyana Chronicle The ''Guyana Chronicle'' is a daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers ...

'': "Using their own resources, Arthur and Sam went around the country, gathering together as many people as possible, with stories of the

and what would come to be known as the '

Windrush Generation British African-Caribbean people or British Afro-Caribbean people are an ethnic group in the United Kingdom. They are British citizens or residents of recent Caribbean heritage who further trace much of their ancestry to West and Central Africa. ...

'. ... Their goal was to turn the 'Empire Windrush' into an iconic symbol, representing early Caribbean migrants and their contribution to the rebuilding of Britain after WWII. It worked and the 50th anniversary turned out to be a huge success, spawning books and TV and radio documentaries. Sam, who had sailed on the 'Empire Windrush', was among those who met

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, England. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster. Although no longer the principal residence ...

for an official ceremony to mark the occasion." In 2018, the Windrush Foundation led the project "Windrush70" to mark the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the ''Empire Windrush''. Torrington also co-founded in London in 1996 a community organisation named the Equiano Society, to publicise the achievements of

and his 18th-century African contemporaries, including such figures as

Ignatius Sancho Charles Ignatius Sancho ( – 14 December 1780) was a British Abolitionism, abolitionist, writer and composer. Considered to have been born on a British slave ship in the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Sancho was sold by the British slave traders in ...

and

Ottobah Cugoano Ottobah Cugoano ( – ), also known as John Stuart, was a British abolitionist and activist who was born in the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana). He was sold into slavery at the age of thirteen and shipped to Grenada in the West Indies. In 1772, h ...

, who made outstanding contributions to African and European literature. In 2014, Torrington curated the touring exhibition ''Making Freedom'', which opened at the

Black Cultural Archives Black Cultural Archives (BCA) is an archive and heritage centre in Brixton, London, devoted to the histories of people of African and Caribbean descent in Britain. Also known as BCA, it was founded in 1981, by educationalist and historian Len G ...

, marking full Emancipation in the Caribbean that took place on 1 August 1868.

Awards

Torrington was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

for services to Community Relations in London, and a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, for services to Black British heritage. In 2018, Torrington received from the Guyana High Commission in London the "Windrush Lifetime Service" Award, for his "tireless work to raise awareness of the contribution of the Windrush generation ... a lasting gift to current and future generations".

Biography

Awards

References

External links