One Suitcase – An Introduction

One Suitcase tells the stories of migration into Middlesbrough and Redcar & Cleveland after the 2nd world war, during the ‘Windrush’ period and beyond, but typically between 1950 and the 1970s.

After World War Two, Great Britain was in a period of rebuilding. With a declining population, industry required lots of cheap labour to fill this shortage.

The 1948 British Nationality Act formalised a decision by government in 1926 to allow free movement of workers from the former British Empire countries, which had been re-branded as The Commonwealth.

Men from the former ‘Colonies’ and Ireland were recruited directly by British government through foreign offices, and through families already here in the UK.

Adverts promised safe travel and guaranteed work. The ‘MV Empire Windrush’ sailed famously from Jamaica in 1948, landing at Tilbury Docks in London in June that year, and brought workers destined for the London Postal Service, Health Service and Transport Systems.

Industries across the UK also benefitted from incomers, including the motor industries in the Midlands, steel production in South Wales and Sheffield, and in textile manufacturing in Leicester and around the mill towns of Lancashire and Yorkshire. Here we needed workers for the steel works at Lackenby, for shipbuilding and dock work, and in our chemical industries.

In Teesside by far the largest migrant movement during this time was from Ireland, closely followed by South Asian countries of India and Pakistan and Bangladesh which were still reeling from the effects of Partition.

This project shares their journeys and stories of becoming part of the tapestry of this part of England.

5 Thousand Rupees or 5 years

The Partition of India came about in 1947 with the end of the British Raj – the Crown rule in the country, with the Indian Continent being broken up into the independent dominions of India and East and West Pakistan.

Between 14 and 18 million people migrated between the countries and elsewhere to flee the violence that happened due to the unexpected and violent nature of partition, with mostly Muslims relocating in Pakistan and non-Muslims to India. Pakistan was further split as Bangladesh was formed in 1971 from the former East Pakistan

On the border of Pakistan and India, in 1961 work began on the Mangla Dam in the Mirpur district. Over 280 villages and the towns of Mirpur and Dadyal were submerged, with more than 110,000 people displaced as a result.  The Pakistani government gave some of those displaced passports and British work permits and many came to cities in the UK from this region.

Men came, ready to work in local industry along the Tees, often with no more than £3, the amount local governments deemed an acceptable amount.

Many arrived wearing Salwar Kameez, the traditional clothing of South Asia, with one suitcase containing a thin suit and a blanket, religious items and essentials. New arrivals often changed into their suit on arrival at the airport before travelling on to their new home.

Living conditions when they arrived were basic, often with four beds to a room, each man sharing a bed with another man who worked on an opposite shift, but with a plan of only staying for a few years or until enough had been earned (5,000 rupees or 5 years) this temporary situation seemed worthwhile.

The Rose of  Tralee

This area has always been influenced by Irish migration. Middlesbrough in particular was influenced by the first substantial movement of Irish migrants who came to work in the town which expanded from 25 people in 1800 working on and around a farm to 150 in 1831 and 90,000 in the 1880s.

These migrants came from across the UK, from Wales and Durham mining communities and from Ireland as well as from further afield as far as eastern Europe and Jamaica.

Workers came to the Docklands, to new industry and to work the mines of the Eston Hills. At the end of the 19^th Century, Middlesbrough had the 2^nd highest percentage of Irish born migrants after Liverpool.

Catholics, who were further oppressed made the town their own, and many of the new estates built to house workers between the 1930s and 1970s had a Catholic Church built to accommodate them.

The need for workers during the mid-century period prompted the government to look again closer to home for workers to join those from the Commonwealth, ensuring free movement for Irish migrants seeking employment.

Families would often come via Liverpool, and travel to different parts of the UK, wherever work was available, and often travelled between the UK and Ireland, bringing family members with them, and travelling by boat- sometimes on cattle boats.

Irish Catholics maintained their culture through local church religious celebrations and holy days, including processions through the streets. The substantial churches in the centre of the town were a vital part of Irish life and community.

This didn’t, however, stop anti-Irish sentiment, and racism towards non-white and Irish settlers. Some of those who settled further from the centre of town were victims of racial slurs. This period for the Irish communities was summed up with signage in properties for rent and work places stating:

‘No Blacks – No Irish – No Dogs’

Canon Street

Incomers historically found homes in the parts of towns offering the cheapest accommodation, partly to send more money home, in part to join family members already living in a particular area, and often because they were required to work in employment paying the lowest possible wages.

The street houses of our local towns saw more migration than more affluent areas, and roads around St Hilda’s and Cannon Street were where ex Commonwealth an Irish communities settled.

The development of supermarkets caused a closure of corner shops at a point where migrant communities wanted more of the comforts of the homeland.  South Asian families opened food and grocery businesses in their wake, offering spices and ingredients as well as take-away food more akin to their countries of origin with adjustments for the British pallet to make the hot food businesses viable.

In the 1960s, with a downturn in industry and a need for less workers, tensions were rising around immigration, and Commonwealth Immigrants Act of 1963 brought an end to free movement against a backdrop of anti-immigration speeches in government.

The result of the upcoming act was a move for immigrants to hastily bring family members, wives and children before this was no longer possible.

In the 1961 Cannon Street area of Middlesbrough a disturbance between a Yemeni worker and a group of young Teddy Boys resulted in the stabbing and death of one of the English boys, which heralded the beginning of race rioting along Cannon Street.

Non-white businesses including the Taj Mahal restaurant were attacked, and disturbances including damage to numerous Asian businesses continued for some days, with a ‘mob of 500’ as reported in the Evening Gazette at the time involved.

South Asian families barricaded themselves into shops and businesses in fear of their lives, until eventually police brought the rioters under control, but by then the rioting had become national and international news.

Racism, and ongoing violence didn’t stop the migrants and their families thriving in our local towns. Settlers built careers, businesses and lives and moved out to more affluent areas and to the greener estates, setting up groups and societies.

In the 70s Cinemas worked with Asian community groups to bring Indian and Pakistani films to our towns including the hugely popular Asian blockbuster ‘Kabhi Kabhie’ which showed at the ABC Cinema in 1977.

By  2021 People of South Asian decent make up 10% of the population of Middlesbrough and in Redcar and Cleveland, people of mixed decent make up the largest non-white minority, but even within our white communities, Irish decadency is endemic, discovered more regularly through genealogy apps and DNA testing.