
These reminiscence resources have been created by the Caribbean Social Forum, in collaboration with the National Maritime Museum, to support people living with dementia and their carers.
Inspired initially by the Waterline Collection, a collection of 16,500 historic photographs, the resources have been created to prompt memories, spark conversation and support sharing.

The resources have been developed specifically for Caribbean communities living in the UK, taking into consideration the childhood experiences that these individuals may have had either in the Caribbean or in the UK during the 40s and 50s.
The resources are made up of:
- an introduction booklet
- 5 activity sheets that include memory prompts and conversations starters
- 5 themed packs of resource cards, linked to the activity sheets.
Download the resources for free below.
The Waterline Collection and other sources of inspiration
An important part of this project was the digitisation of the Waterline Collection, which consists of 16,500 photographs that tell the story of the leisure-cruising industry.
Within this are images taken between 1929-49 of the islands of Antigua, Barbados, Jamaica and St Kitts. These images became the starting point for the development of these culturally-specific reminiscence resources.
Below are some of the images that were digitised. Some of these resonated with the Caribbean Social Forum members working on this project, whilst others may resonate with others.
Explore the photographs
Have a listen
Discover playlists created by members of the Caribbean Social Forum as part of the Memories of the Caribbean reminiscence project.
Memories of the Caribbean: Gospel
Memories of the Caribbean: Soul Funk
Memories of the Caribbean: Soca
Memories of the Caribbean: Rock Steady - Volume 2
Memories of the Caribbean: Lovers Rock - Volume 1
Memories of the Caribbean: Soul Melodies 2
Thank your to partners and supporters
In 2021, the National Maritime Museum and Caribbean Social Forum were awarded funding by the Windrush Fund to deliver a project celebrating and commemorating the contributions of the Windrush Generation to British society. One part of this project was the development of culturally specific reminiscence resources, created in partnership and inspired by the collections of the National Maritime Museum.
A working group of members from the Caribbean Social Forum was facilitated by Urban Dandelion, with museum staff support, to explore the Waterline Collection, visit the Prince Philip Maritime Collection Centre, and to ultimately develop a reminiscence resource made up of activities, prompts and objects. The group selected the themes and discussed activities, prompts and objects over a series of workshops.
The final resource covers childhood in the 1940s and 50s, the journeys many took to come to England, settling in England, food and music. It's made up up of objects that can be touched, looked at, smelled and listened to. Everything in the resource will support sharing, in turn ensuring people living with dementia feel valued.

Windrush Histories
Our partners and supporters


