Leaving
In March 1938 Hitler came to Austria.
A school friend came to warn us and said, 'For Heaven's sake get out!'
And we fled in the middle of the night.
(First Generation Austrian Jewish Woman, b.1914)
We left the displaced persons' camp in Germany
in May 1947, and we came to England by boat in June 1947. They
only took you if you'd been right healthy.
(First Generation Ukrainian Woman, b.1923)
The textile factories in Bradford wanted girls...They
were recruiting all young girls over twenty-one, single, healthy.
We came by train from Pordenone to Milan, sixteen of us from the
north and then we met a group of girls from the south, and all
together we were about eighty.
(First Generation Italian Woman, b.1931)
We were denied houses. We were denied jobs. The
only thing that was really open to us was the mills with very
bad pay. It was known as wet spinning, and you moved about in
the mill in your bare feet because you were up to your ankles
in water.
(First Generation Irish Woman, b.1921)
All I remember is my mum saying that we're going
somewhere to join your dad, and she obviously mentioned England,
but it just seemed like another place in India. I didn't think
anything existed outside India.
(First Generation Hindu Man, b.1960)
A lot of the church congregation came to our
house on the day we were leaving and prayed for us. The school
made a special announcement and a lot of them turned out to wave
us goodbye.
(First Generation African-Caribbean Man, b.1957)