Windrush: Luton and Dunstable Hospital marks 75 years with stories about former staff

The BAME Staff network at Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are shining a light on the great Windrush Generation as we celebrate 75 years of the MV Empire Windrush arriving in the UK.

The launch of the NHS on July 5, 1948 and the arrival of the Empire Windrush 13 days earlier on June 22 are closely linked, with many of the ship’s 492 passengers taking up jobs in the health service.

Luton and Dunstable University Hospital today (June 22) highlighted the great work done by former colleagues from the Caribbean.

In 1969, Jacqueline Blackett arrived in England from Guyana. Soon after, she took up a post at Luton and Dunstable Hospital as a student nurse, caring for elderly people in St Mary’s Wing. Jacquie was soon promoted, and eventually became a staff nurse.

During her career, she was picked to welcome British Comedian, Eric Morecambe, as he visited the wards. After taking a maternity break in the 1980’s, Jacquie returned to nursing and later retired at the age of 65. She is now a published author and runs her own clinic as a holistic practitioner.

Her story inspired Shirley Waldron, an administrative assistant and communications Officer for BAME staff network, who cites Jacquie as a role model of hers.

Shirly explained: “When I reflect on the people I admire, both personally and professionally, Jacquie Blackett comes to mind. In life’s journey, we don’t meet too many people of her calibre, from the Windrush Generation and I’m so thankful to call her my friend.”

Alexis Keir works for NHS England and was inspired by his own mother to pursuer a career in the health service. His mother, Lenore arrived in London in 1960 travelling by boat and plane from the island of Saint Vincent.

She began her training to become a state registered nurse (SRN) at the Whittington Hospital, qualifying in 1963, then going on to become a midwife just two years later. Lenore married Winston, also from Saint Vincent, in the same year and welcomed their first child, Alexis, before relocating to Luton in 1965.

Lenore got a job as an SRN on the maternity wards at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital and mainly worked night shifts. After a brief stint working in the USA in 1974, Lenore returned to the place she loved, the L&D, in 1975 and continued working there until she retired in 1995.

Alexis called his mum his hero who ‘packed so much power, energy, love and kindness’. As a public participation manager, Alexis plans and delivers services tailored to communities’ needs.

He said: “My role is a very different one from the one that my mum had but I am so proud to follow in her footsteps and also be part of a wonderful organisation that she loved and devoted so much of her life to.”

Zahra Gad, co-chair of the trust’s BAME Staff Network, said: “Today, Black and ethnic minority colleagues make up 45 per cent of our trust workforce and many were, or are descendants of the great Windrush generation, who created a lasting legacy for us all.