TODAY marks 70 years since hundreds of people from the Caribbean disembarked the MV Empire Windrush ship in Tilbury Docks - marking the beginning of a wave of migration that helped repair post-war Britain.

That generation and their contribution to the UK will be celebrated across the country, including a major event at Tilbury Docks.

It started with around 500 Caribbeans paying about £28, now equivalent to £1,040, to travel to Britain in response to job adverts in local newspapers.

Having gained a type of citizenship under the British Nationality Act of 1948, they left a sunnier climate to seek greater opportunities in a UK with the nation facing a labour shortage after the Second World War.

They exited the vessel on June 22, 1948, having arrived the day before. The thousands who followed from colonies in the West Indies until 1971 became known as the Windrush generation.

Jamaicans, Bermudans and Trinidadians were among those on board.

One passenger was Sam “Mr Windrush” King who became the first black mayor of Southwark in London and co-founded Notting Hill Carnival.

The anniversary is more important than ever this year, with the Windrush generation hitting the headlines after it emerged some were facing deportation and being denied access to healthcare, work, housing benefits and pensions.

They had the legal right to reside in the UK, but could not necessarily prove they had been in the country near continuously, as new laws demand.

So far, the Government has identified 63 cases where people may have been wrongly deported as a result.

The Prime Minister said she was “genuinely sorry” for the anxiety caused. MP Amber Rudd resigned as Home Secretary and was replaced by MP Sajid Javid.

He said: ““The most urgent task I have is to help those British citizens that came from the Caribbean, the so-called Windrush generation, and make sure that they are treated with the decency and the fairness that they deserve.” An annual celebration will be held.