The arrival of the Empire Windrush on June 22 in 1948, became a symbol of the post-war migration that transformed the United Kingdom and its culture.

The term "Windrush generation" has come to stand for hundreds of thousands of people who arrived in the UK between the late 1940s and early 1970s, especially those from former British colonies in the Caribbean, to help rebuild the country after World War Two.

Members of the Windrush generation and their descendants, from the Caribbean and other parts of the former British Empire, have had a colossal impact on British culture, including sport, perhaps the most visible sign of how they have become part of the fabric of society in the UK.

There have been black players in British football from the start of the game as an organised professional sport. A mixed heritage player called Arthur Wharton was a prominent goalkeeper in the late 19th century and was part of the Preston North End team that reached the FA Cup semi-final in 1886-1887.

But it was the children of the Windrush generation who really made their mark on the sport in Britain.

The parents of Brendon Batson and Laurie Cunningham were among those who travelled from the Caribbean to the UK to make new lives. Together with another Cyrille Regis, born in French Guiana before moving to England with his family, the three West Bromwich Albion footballers are credited with inspiring a generation of black professional players in the UK are to be honoured with a statue.

Dubbed the "Three Degrees" after the American Motown group by the club’s manager Ron Atkinson, when they played together in 1978 it was the first time a top-flight club had regularly fielded three black players. A statue was unveiled in West Bromwich in 2014 to mark their roles in helping mark the impact they have had on the game.

They endured racist abuse from fans when starring for West Bromwich Albion during the 1978-1979 season, in which the club finished third and beat Manchester United 5-3 at Old Trafford. But their success has been hailed as helping other aspiring young black players become professionals in the 1980s.

Batson, who after hanging up his boots became a prominent administrator at the Professional Footballers Association, later reflected that "in spite of all that was thrown at them, they kept coming forward in increasing numbers."

Sadly, there remains small element of racism within the sport, but black players, both from Britain and the rest of the world, are now part of every squad in English football. It is no longer the case, as it used to be, that a manager would overlook a player of Caribbean heritage because of doubts that "they wouldn’t be able to do it on a cold night in Stoke".

Another pioneer was Viv Anderson, whose father had sailed alone from Jamaica in 1954 leaving behind his wife Myrtle. After settling in, he sent for her to join him, and their son Viv was born in Nottingham in 1956. He went on to represent his local club Nottingham Forest under the legendary Brian Clough, where he won the First Division - the forerunner to the Premier League - and lifted the European Cup twice, as well as becoming the first black player to be capped by England in 1978.

"When I made my [international] debut, I was very honoured and very proud to be British," said Anderson. "It was a great feeling coming out of the tunnel. The walk and crescendo as I emerged will live with me until I die."

Cricket was another sport where the Windrush generation made their mark.

Since Roland Butcher, who was born in Barbados, became the first black player to represent England at cricket in 1981, there’s been a steady line of talent that has come through. Whether it is the sight of Devon Malcolm destroying the South Africans at the Oval in 1994 when he took nine wickets for only 57 runs, or in more recent years, Jofra Archer helping England lift the World Cup, players with Caribbean backgrounds have become an integral part of the team.

Britain’s position as one of the world’s leading countries in the Olympics owes plenty to the Windrush generation, with Jamaican-born gold medallists Linford Christie and Tessa Sanderson being among the most prominent.

"I grew up in Jamaica with my two older sisters," Christie, winner of the 100 metres at Barcelona 1992, recalled in an interview recently. 

“It was a loving home, with my grandmother looking after us. I left when I was seven, but I’ll always be Jamaican in my roots, as much as I feel very British now.

"My father came to Britain to work; my mother was a nurse. We had always been told the streets of England were paved with gold. 

"We arrived at Gatwick Airport, and it wasn’t quite what we expected. We didn’t see any trees! It was summer when we arrived and playing outside was great. Until it snowed for the first time. We ran outside shouting. ‘Snow, snow, snow!’

“Then we picked it up and it was, 'Woah.' Our fingers started to burn. That was a big shock. I got racism from my first day at school. I was one of the very few black pupils. Kids are cruel. But I was tough, and I coped. I had a few fights. I learned to run home very fast at the end of the school day. I think I owe those people something for my future success!”

Sanderson can recall facing similar racism in Wolverhampton in the Midlands where her family re-located too after leaving Jamaica. "Even at school – we were fighting, you would get called a ‘nignog’ and a ‘golliwog’ and this and that," she said.

It was discovering athletics and a friendly PE teacher Barbara Richards encouraging her that set Sanderson on the path to Olympic glory. “She was especially fantastic,” Sanderson said. “She took me under her wing and we’re friends to this day.”

Sanderson joined her first athletics club, Wolverhampton & Bilston, at 13 and discovered she had a particular talent for the javelin that culminated in her victory at Los Angeles 1984, the first black British woman to win an Olympic gold medal.

"t wasn’t until months after I won the medal that people were saying to me: ‘You’re the first,” Sanderson said. "But when I got told that, I thought: ‘This is happening; I’ve done something amazing.’ I’d like to think that I set an example."

The Windrush generation were even celebrated during the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London when a giant model of the Empire Windrush entered the stadium to symbolise the hundreds of thousands of black Britons who migrated from the Caribbean islands and played such a prominent role re-establishing Britain after it had been bought to its knees by the cost of the Second World War.

The moment has since become tarnished by a scandal involving many of those who travelled to the UK before 1973 being wrongly detained, denied legal rights, threatened with deportation, and, in at least 83 cases, wrongly deported from the UK by the Home Office.

Many of those affected have since received compensation worth £75 million ($95.5 million/€87 million) from the UK Government.

The Olympics has once again today paid tribute to the Windrush generation with Team GB releasing a specially commissioned poem by spoken word artist, Raymond Antrobus.

The poem, Give Thanks, showcases and celebrates Team GB’s historical links to the Windrush generation.

Alongside Olympic archive footage, the video is brought to life by Tokyo 2020 BMX medallist Kye Whyte, whose family heritage is from the West Indies and ventured to England as part of the Windrush generational migration, and taekwondo Paris 2024 hopeful Aaliyah Powell, whose family heritage is from Jamaica.

Prince William marked today’s anniversary by acknowledging the huge role the Windrush generation have played in British society.

"We are a better people today because the children and the grandchildren of those who came in 1948 have stayed and become part of who we are in 2023," he said in a special message. "And for that we are forever grateful."

Few have benefitted more positively from the Windrush generation than British sport.