An important piece of our British history illustrated so beautifully, this book honours the lives of the ‘silent generation’ of African, Caribbean and Asian migrant pioneers. It features interviews with Russell Henderson, co-founder of the Notting Hill Carnival, Yvonne Bailey-Smith, mother of novelist Zadie Smith, playwright Mustapha Matura, film director Horace Ové and Deloris Smith, mother of singer Beverley Knight.

Starting in the late 1950s, England experienced an unparalleled wave of migration from Africa, the Caribbean and the Indian subcontinent. Seventy years on England Our England captures the experiences of this generation and their families in vivid, evocative and striking photography, much of it published for the first time, and in first-hand accounts from the people themselves. The book pays respect and homage to those who made extraordinary sacrifices, coping with, until now, challenges that were often invisible. It provides a fascinating social history and an evocative record of both the migrant experience and of the lives established here.

As children of first-generation migrants, Gurnek, Kylie and Bryony felt compelled to put these stories to paper to hand down to our children and the generations that follow. It was a labour of love and we applaud them for doing so.