Twenty-Eight Pounds Ten Shillings - A Windrush Story (75th Anniversary Edition)
Tony Fairweather
Foreword by Patrick Vernon
Category:
Fiction
ABOUT THE BOOK
After World War Two England was on her knees, so the call went out to the British Empire for volunteers to help rebuild the ‘Mother Country’.
Young men and women from different Caribbean islands were quick to respond, paying the considerable sum of Twenty-Eight Pounds Ten Shillings to board HMT Empire Windrush – the ‘ship of dreams’ that would take them to their new lives.
The motives and back-stories of these West Indian people is a key part of the Windrush story, one that has never been fully told. This powerful
narrative reveals what happened on board that ship, which was packed with young, excited people who had never before left their parents, their parishes – let alone their islands. In the course of the memorable two-week voyage there were parties, friendships made and broken, fights, gambling, racism, sex - and discussions of God and love.
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
TONY FAIRWEATHER was born in Clapham South, south London, the son of Jamaican parents. He opened one of the first Black bookshops in the UK, with an art gallery and artefacts. He then went on to work for the Voice newspaper heading up its book club.
In 1989 he founded ‘The Write Thing’, an events company established to promote Black authors, which led to his working with a veritable who’s who of the Black literary world while producing events in the UK, USA and Africa. Tony is the founder and curator of the Windrush Collection and the Windrush Exhibition of artefacts associated with the Windrush generation. He lives in South London.
Author photo © Sharron Wallace
REVIEWS
‘A very important book and legacy for the future’
Baroness Floella Benjamin, DBE
'Twenty-Eight pounds Ten Shillings is such an important part of our collective history. The characters take you on a journey filled with joy, laughter, suspense and page-turning drama. Enjoy the voyage!’
Dr Paulette Randall MBE. Theatre and Television Director
‘What a wonderful story of a generation who brought an exuberant and pioneering spirit to the British shores'
Carroll Thompson, Singer, Songwriter and Producer
‘Touching, sincere and hilarious homage to their pioneer spirits; the dramatic scenes aboard the Windrush were so intense, I didn’t want the crossing to end. GET THIS BOOK!’
Ray Shell, author of Iced
'Those two weeks on the Empire Windrush ultimately gave life and hope for future generations to build and achieve their dreams. On behalf of us all we thank them for being the original trailblazers’
Orin Lewis, OBE and Beverley De-Gale, OBE Co-Founders, African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust
‘This book serves as a wonderful homage to the brave, hopeful and resilient spirit of the Windrush generation’
Brenda Emmanus, OBE
‘A book telling the stories of the Windrush generation is vital not only for this generation but generations to come’
Rudolph Walker, CBE
'From the docks in the Caribbean to Tilbury docks in the UK, those two weeks on a boat is just another chapter in the untold stories of a Windrush generation. A great read’ Daddy Ernie, Radio Superjam
‘A wonderfully written story of a generation and the happy and sad times spent together on their two weeks journey to England’
Junior Giscombe, Singer, Songwriter, Producer
‘This deeply sympathetic and intimate read merits comparison with other novelistic accounts of post-war transatlantic sea voyages, such as George Lamming’s The Emigrants. Seventy-five
years after the docking of the Empire Windrush in Tilbury, and with echoes of the grim Windrush scandal still present, Fairweather’s timely endeavour to pay homage to the Windrush generation does not fall short of his promise. The novel infuses history with humanity and gives the familiar Windrush story freshness in foregrounding the personal'
Wasafiri