Over the last few months I have become more and more interested in the stories of those who came here looking for a new life.
So as an introduction to the start of a new series I have decided to begin by revisiting the story of our friend Judi's parents.
This was originally posted last January.
Sometimes when you start out on a little research project there is no way of knowing where it will lead, or what you will learn.
So when Judi said she just wanted to know about how her dad got here it was a a research project I couldn't turn down.
It was a text book example of research online, which I know would be sniffed at by more traditional historical researchers.
For them unless you have trekked across the country, from one tiny parish church to busy archive centre, taking in along the way a few gravestones, street directories and vast numbers of census entries then you are not serious about research.
Still online resources are quick, extensive and have the added advantage of allowing you to crawl around the world.
So the task was to find out anything about a young man who had been born in the West Indies and arrived in Britain in 1960 to start a new life.
Some records are of course easier to find than other. Passenger lists for incoming visitors and settlers to The UK are available and there he was sailing from Kingston, Jamaica and arriving in Southampton in the June of 1960. Passenger lists are an invaluable treasure of information, including the occupation of the traveller, and his eventual destination.
And as with family records there were surprises. His occupation was not the one that he pursued during his working life, and the address of his first home in London was the same as a fellow passenger who it turned out was a personal and longstanding family friend.
But the shipping list also revealed so much more which put his journey into a context. Here were also many other young men and women who came from different occupations and age groups and who planned to settle across Britain.
Here in one document was much that summed up the Windrush generation who having been told that they were proud members of the British Empire with access to the “mother country” came to play their part in this country’s economic and cultural life.
Some had already fought in the armed services in the last war and others would prove vital in many industries and services.
And that of course is not the end, having moved in to first home in London in London he eventually sttled here in Manchester.
I think however what really pleased my friend was the picture of the ship he arrived on and the page of the passenger list which again were there on the net.
Personal history doesn’t get much more personal. And there are plenty of other stories of those who came here from the West Indies some of which can be accessed.*
Picture; passenger list of the SS Begona; reproduced from ancestry.co.uk, and Preswich, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, m16253
*http://www.lbea.co.uk/assets/here-to-stay-booklet.pdf
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