Regarding your article in the Windrush at 75 series (A bit Caribbean, a bit British. We millennials owe it to the Windrush generation to embrace both, 21 June), my parents left Jamaica for Exeter in 1960 after getting married. Dad was an Anglican priest in Exeter, Exwick and Exmouth, and my three older brothers and I were all born in England. In 1972, the family returned to Jamaica, where we grew up, and we never returned to the UK.
I don’t know why they returned to Jamaica, but I’m glad they did as I now have a strong identity of who I am, as a Jamaican who is descended from the mix of peoples that make up the Caribbean – African, Indian, white etc. I’m also able to see, experience and analyse the impact that slavery, colonialism, independence and self-governance has had on Jamaica’s society and development.
For children of the Windrush generation who are still in the UK and are having identity issues, I agree with the writer that making links with the “home country” of your parents and grandparents is important for identity formation. In the UK, there are many conflicting issues regarding race, place and position in society, the impact of slavery and colonialism, reparations and the rights of minorities. I believe that knowing who you are and where you come from will help.
We need to boost the connections between Caribbean people in the diaspora and in the home islands. These connections should not just be at the government, academic and corporate levels, which already exist, but a concerted effort should be made to create a network of citizens in all regions to help members of the Caribbean diaspora in the UK who wish to find out more about their personal history.
Andrew P Smith
Portland, Jamaica
• I enjoyed Natalie Morris’s thought-provoking article and note that she mentions there is no museum solely dedicated to the Windrush generation. While not exactly what she refers to, I can highly recommend the International Slavery Museum in the Albert Docks area of Liverpool waterfront. Nobody needs a reason to visit that wonderful city, but time in that museum is time very well spent. My only regret is that it is too small to allow the curators to tell the full story. And admission is free.
Robin Cameron
Darlington, County Durham
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