HITCHIN: As October draws nearer to its close, why not make the most of a vital new exhibition on Black History Month which runs in our town until the end of next week.

North Herts Museum on Brand Street, has been marking Black History Month with a must-see photography display called 'From Windrush to North Herts – A new life in a new country'.

The event explores the background of African Caribbean families in North Hertfordshire and showcases photographs from the 1950s and 1960s from Caribbean families who made their home in Letchworth and Hitchin.

The images were previously displayed at the former Hitchin Museum, and current museum staff would love to discover more about the families in the photographs.

The Windrush generation references people arriving in the UK between 1948 and 1971 from Caribbean countries.

Windrush refers to the ship MV Empire Windrush, which docked in Tilbury in 1948, bringing workers from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and other islands, to help fill post-war UK labour shortages.

Councillor Sam Collins, North Herts Council's Executive Member for Enterprise, the Arts and Transport, said: "Black History Month is of course an issue very close to my heart and it is fantastic to see this celebration of the contribution made by black and mixed race people to our area.

"Please visit the museum this October to learn more about the African and Caribbean families that settled in North Herts, and how they have shaped our local communities and history.

"It is a great opportunity for us to gain a better understanding of the rich background of the place that we live and the diversity of the people who live in our towns and villages."

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A book in which the photographs appear, North Herts African Caribbean Roots by Eric Blakeley and Gurdev Delay, will be on sale at the museum shop.

The authors have made significant contributions to curating and telling the stories of our multicultural local communities.

The exhibition runs until Sunday, October 31. It is located in The Arches, part of the upstairs Terrace Gallery at North Herts Museum, next door to the Town Hall on Brand Street in Hitchin.