REMEMBERING SAM KING MBE - (1926-2016) - WINDRUSH FOUNDATION - JAMAICA/UK

Without Sam King, there would not be a Windrush Day, and the Empire Windrush could have disappeared into the mists of time. Sam was among the hundreds of passengers on board the ship that steamed up the River Thames to Tilbury Docks in June 1948, but he was the only one to have taken the contact details of friends and acquaintances, with a view to keeping in touch with as many of them as possible.

With his help in June 1968, the story of the voyage was recorded for the first time in print, after he had rounded up several other passengers to be interviewed for The Sunday Times magazine in a piece marking the 20th anniversary of Windrush Day. In 1988, it was Sam who organised the first national Windrush commemoration in Lambeth, London. He managed the unveiling of a plaque on a wall at Lambeth Town Hall in memory of the Caribbean men and women who arrived on Empire Windrush on 22 June 1948. Sam King and Arthur Torrington established the Windrush Foundation, a heritage organisation, in 1995.

The organisation publicises African and Caribbean contributions to World Wars I and II, also to the arts, public services, commerce, and other areas of socio-economic and cultural life in Britain and the Commonwealth. It preserves the history and heritage of the Windrush generation, who helped to rebuild Britain just after WWII. Opportunities are provided for the public to engage in local community-based projects and high-profile national learning and participation activities for diverse audiences.

But it was the ship’s 50th anniversary in 1998 that created the biggest impact, featuring a series of nationwide events, and a reception at St James’s Palace hosted by the then Prince Charles (now King Charles IIII). Sam and other WWII service personnel were featured at the Imperial War Museum’s ‘From War to Windrush Exhibition’, which celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Empire Windrush’s arrival at Tilbury Docks. Sam’s passing on 17 June 2016 ended decades of excellent service to Britain. Join us as he is celebrated in poetry, song, speeches, and music at Lambeth Town Hall, Assembly Hall, Brixton on 7 February 2026.

LOCATION: BRIXTON, LONDON

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Lambeth Town Hall, 1 Brixton Hill, (Entrance Acre Lane), Wimbledon, United Kingdom

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