|
Until
they found their feet, the new arrivals would meet up regularly,
cooking and sharing meals, a drink and their experiences.
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| Gloucester's
West Indians fought for their social life |
Circumstances
threw them together and encouraged the development of very close
friendships that are evident to this day.
Most
lived in rented accommodation, which provided board and lodging,
with food that they found very difficult to get accustomed to.
Caribbean
food was hard to find
It was not possible to get the food which they had eaten back home.
Pudding rice was the nearest thing. Those lodging at the hostel
in Brockworth enjoyed 'illegal' cook-ups on electric heaters of
such delicacies as pigs' feet and rice.
The
first grocer to stock Caribbean food was Bob Allen in Barton Street,
and later the first Black shopkeeper was 'Boysie' Harris, who owned
a shop at the junction of Barton Street and Kingsbarton Street.
It
has been difficult to ascertain dates, but these developments were
most definitely, much later, encouraged by the women of the community.
Local
clubs and pubs were not welcoming. Mally
Hutchinson remembers being banned from two Gloucester public
houses. During Christmas 1952 he went to the Raglan public house
with an English couple. The landlord told his friends that under
no circumstances would he serve him (Mally) in the lounge, they
would have to go to bar. They left. MallyÂ’s friend did not
tell him the reason until later.
The
other public house from which he was banned was the Beehive, on
the corner of Millbrook Street and Jersey Road. He had just ordered
a pint when the landlord put his hand on his shoulder, ordered him
out and told him that in the future he was to get his drink from
the 'Jug and Bottle'. This was a window on the outside of the pub,
where people could buy their drinks, by the jug or the bottle, without
entering the pub.
Friendly
pubs
The
English girls liked the way we dressed, the way we treated them
and liked to dance with us.
 |
| Byron
Thompson |
'Friendly'
pubs identified by those interviewed for Our Untold Stories included
the Wellington on Tredworth Road and The Marquis of Granby on Barton
Street. The landlord of the latter, whose name was Skipper, also
allowed them to watch his television.
They
would often go to the cinema. They also took the train and went
to 'rock and roll' dances in Cheltenham, at the Town Hall and at
St GregoryÂ’s Hall. It was here that they became involved in
a number of fights, with local Teddy Boys and with white American
servicemen, who were stationed at USAF Brize Norton and Fairford.
Fights
often broke out when they danced with English girls.
Byron Thompson, who came to Gloucester from Jamaica in 1955,
states that: "The English girls liked the way we dressed, the
way we treated them and liked to dance with us."
The
Jamaicans were also often mistaken for black American servicemen.
Back at the base, the white servicemen had to get along with the
Black servicemen, but in Cheltenham at the dances there was much
antagonism. Winston Shaw recalls being told: "You don't have
any right to be where the whites are." This also led to a fight.
Black
servicemen and Jamaicans
The
black servicemen became friendly with the Jamaicans, and often travelled
to Gloucester after the dances, spending Sunday with them. Byron
recalls that after a particularly bad fight, where lots of people
had been hurt, the dance organisers called a meeting.
The
Jamaicans were asked to send a representative. As no one attended,
they were banned in their absence.
 |
| Winston
Shaw: Gloucestershire's first Community Relations Officer |
Arriving
as single young men, it was inevitable that many would form relationships
with young white girls. Many of their parents, and much of society
at large, did not approve. Mally recalls that the girls who dated
black men were "treated like the scum of the earth".
A white
girlfriend of Byron Thompson was threatened with the loss
of her job at Moreland Matches Factory in Bristol Road if she did
not stop arriving at work in his car. Despite this opposition, many
went on to marry English girls and to have successful and happy
marriages.
Not
having many places where they could socialise in peace, they tended
to create their own entertainment at home, having 'house parties'.
This however led them into conflict with neighbours and the police.
Winston
Shaw, on returning from serving in the forces, was well known
in Gloucester, particularly as a cricketer. Respected by the authorities,
he was often asked to the Guildhall to speak on different issues.
He recalls: "The police sometimes, when they had difficulties,
... parties or whatever, they would come to my home at night ...
I would go with them to some of these parties and ask them to tone
it down".
He
was one of a number of men in the community who, from time to time,
came together to discuss issues or problems. They developed good
relationships with Gloucester City Council, particularly people
like councillors Harry Worrall, Frances Fitch, Jo Warlow and Tony
Ayland; the Town Clerk, Andrew Boggon, and Chief Inspector Viner
of the police.
The
police sometimes, when they had difficulties, ...parties or
whatever, they would come to my home at night... I would go
with them to some of these parties and ask them to tone it down.
|
| Winston
Shaw |
Community
Relations Officer
As
GloucestershireÂ’s first Community Relations Officer Winston
also sat on a multitude of committees.
He
ran training courses for, among others, police and social workers,
giving them the "immigrant perspective"; represented clients
on immigration appeals and talked to pupils in local schools and
colleges.
He
also found the time to arrange a number of social events, such as
coach trips, which brought the communities together.
»
See 'Gloucester's first West Indian
Association'
|
