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In
1956 London Transport began a recruitment programme in Barbados,
and in 1966 extended this to Trinidad and Jamaica.
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| The
SS Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury in June 1948 |
The
arrival of the SS Empire Windrush in June 1948 in Tilbury Dock,
with 492 passengers from Jamaica, most of whom were ex-servicemen
seeking work, marked the beginning of post-war mass migration.
Later,
Enoch Powell, the Tory Health Minister from 1960-1963, was to invite
women from the Caribbean to Britain to train as nurses.
In
reality the response to the call for labour was minimal and by 1958
only 125,000 workers had arrived in Britain from the Caribbean islands.
However, there were also other factors at play.
USA
'preferred destination'
There
was an increase in prosperity in the Caribbean, mainly from tourism
and bauxite mining, meaning that there was more money available
for the passage overseas.
The
USA had always been an attractive and preferred destination. The
Farm Work Programme had given people from the Caribbean islands
the opportunity to work for American farmers, and many wished to
return when the war ended.
In reality the response to the call for
labour was minimal and by 1958 only 125,000 workers had arrived
in Britain from the Caribbean islands.
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| Our
Untold Stories |
However,
the 1952 McWarren-Walter Act passed in the USA considerably restricted
the number of Caribbean people who could settle there.
With this door closed to them, many looked to Britain, which until
restrictions on entry were imposed by the Commonwealth Immigrants
Act of 1962, gave all Commonwealth citizens the status of British
citizenship.
Settlement
patterns seem to suggest that people from particular Caribbean islands,
and even from particular parts of those islands, often came to the
same towns and cities.
Pioneers
This
was because they could join others who had arrived earlier and so
were able to offer valuable help in finding jobs and accommodation.
Many of the early 'pioneersÂ’'were also able to provide financial
assistance for the overseas passage.
Those
who arrived on the Empire Windrush in 1948 had been housed in Clapham
South Deep Air Raid Shelter, before being dispersed across the country
to areas in which their labour was needed.
In
the Midlands, semi-skilled workers were needed to work in the furnaces
and forges of the manufacturing industries which were expanding.
The
new arrivals also went to areas where the cost of living was high.
There they were needed as porters, cleaners, drivers and nurses
– jobs paying so badly that few whites wanted them.
»
See 'History'
» See
'The World Wars'
» See
'Slavery and abolition'
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