Another prominent victim of the Windrush scandal has died without receiving compensation or a personal apology from the government, as campaigners warn those affected need more help to claim damages.

The former Middlesex bowler Richard Stewart had been waiting for his case to be resolved so he could travel back to Jamaica for the first time in half a century and visit his mother’s grave, but he died a week ago, aged 74.

His son, Wesley Stewart, said the cause of death was unknown, adding that his father had become stressed and depressed during the protracted process of attempting to sort out his paperwork and prove the government’s errors had caused him severe problems for years.

He described his father as “a pioneer of cricket for the Windrush generation, and a gentleman”. Wesley said his father had never wanted to see Britain as a racist country, but his views had changed as a result of his treatment by the Home Office. “It was blatant discrimination. The government made him feel like: you’re black, you shouldn’t be here, full stop,” he said.

Towns across the country are preparing for Windrush Day, a new annual event commemorating the arrival of the liner Empire Windrush in June 1948, carrying 492 passengers from the Caribbean, marking the symbolic beginning of a more multicultural Britain.

Attitudes to the day are mixed among those affected by the immigration scandal, in which thousands of people who had arrived legally in the UK in the 1950s and 1960s were wrongly categorised as illegal immigrants by the Home Office.

Last year, Theresa May announced an annual £500,000 grant to fund events celebrating the “contributions made by British-Caribbean communities over the last 70 years”, as part of her attempt to apologise for the mistake, which was a direct result of “hostile environment” policies she introduced as home secretary in 2012.

Stewart played county cricket for Middlesex in the 1960s under the name Wes Stewart. Photograph: ANL/Rex/Shutterstock

Exhibitions, film festivals and workshops have been organised with the funding, but protests are also expected on Saturday, coordinated by victims who are angry at the slow progress towards compensation being paid and feel May’s decision to fund the day was a token political gesture.

Although 6,400 people have been given documents confirming they are in the UK legally, only 13 people have had payments from an emergency hardship fund set up to help those facing extreme financial difficulties as a result of losing their jobs, their homes and access to healthcare and benefits after being misclassified as illegal immigrants.

The government announced a compensation scheme earlier this year that could pay out as much as £570m, but lawyers supporting those affected are not aware of payments having been made.

Richard Stewart moved from Jamaica to England, as a British subject, in 1955 aged 10 to join his parents, and played county cricket as a fast bowler for Middlesex in the 1960s under the name Wes Stewart.

He paid taxes in the UK for more than five decades but when he applied for a British passport in 2012, he was informed he was an overstayer. He was told he needed to pay £1,200 to naturalise, but did not have the money to pay and was unable to persuade officials a mistake had been made.

Wesley Stewart said: “It was upsetting for him; he said he had been in the country for longer than David Cameron had been alive, but he worried about whether he was going to get deported.”

Stewart received a passport this year and was waiting to see whether a compensation payment would help fund a trip to the Caribbean. “His dream was that we would all go to the Caribbean and see where he was from,” his son said. Stewart had discussed the compensation forms with his son this month, but had not yet gathered all the paperwork to make an application. His death follows that of Sarah O’Connor in September, also before receiving an apology or compensation.

Many victims are finding the process of sorting out their affairs very challenging, 14 months after the government promised to rectify Home Office mistakes.

Renford McIntyre was made homeless by the Windrush scandal. Photograph: David Sillitoe/The Guardian

A former NHS driver, Renford McIntyre, 65, who was made homeless when the government classified him as an illegal immigrant after 50 years in the UK, cashed in his £12,000 pension pot when he was told he was neither allowed to work nor eligible for government support. Since the government admitted its error, he has been rehoused, but he still owes money to friends and faces serious financial difficulties.

Supported by the Refugee and Migrant Centre (RMC) in Wolverhampton, he is gathering evidence to prove the consequences of being sacked and losing his home, but the process has been painful and complicated.

Some campaigners say the compensation form, which has guidance notes running to 45 pages, is challenging for individuals to fill in without specialist help. McIntyre has been asked to pay £50 by his GP for a letter summarising the impact on his health. “I’m waiting for my next pension payment to go and pay it,” he said.

“I am very, very angry. I’ve never been away since I came here in 1968.” He has had no letter of apology from the home secretary. “I would like something that I can show to my grandchildren when they get older, then they will understand it was not my shortcomings that caused this,” McIntyre said.

Gladstone Wilson was sacked when the Home Office classified him as an illegal immigrant. Photograph: Andrew Fox/The Guardian

Gladstone Wilson, 63, was sacked from his job as a security guard in a Wolverhampton hospital when the Home Office classified him as an illegal immigrant, although he had been living in the UK legally since arriving aged 12 in 1968.

Wilson is also in the final stages of applying for compensation – a process that has taken several months and involved several meetings with caseworkers at the RMC. He said he felt ambivalent about Windrush Day.

“Our forefathers and mothers did a lot for this country and this is an important moment, but I won’t be celebrating. I’m still struggling with the stress and strain of everything,” he said.