Caribbean Community

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In this section, community members share their memories of migrating to the United Kingdom. You can learn about their experiences of work, education and community-building as well as and their struggles, achievements and competing notions of Caribbean and British identities.

These oral history interviews illustrate the extent to which historically the Caribbean community were aware of changes to their rights and obligations brought about by successive acts of parliament from 1962 as well as the stages by which it became clear that significant numbers of people were having their right to remain in the United Kingdom challenged.

Please visit the Interview Keywords section at the bottom of this page for an indexation of all main interview themes.

Birmingham Focus Group

This interview took place with three Birmingham residents Ossy, Miss Brown (Leonora) and Blossom. Miss Brown arrived in the United Kingdom in 1958, Blossom arrived in 1964. Ossy was born in Birmingham in 1963 to Jamaican parents. Together, they share their memories...

Buddy Larrier

Reverend Buddy Larrier has been an active mental health campaigner for decades. He was a bus driver but was detained in Bexley Mental Hospital and lost his job. His story is featured on the UK television programme Politics of Madness. Buddy, currently based in...

Deborah Grandison

Deborah Grandison was born and registered in the United Kingdom in 1973, the year the Immigration Act 1971 came into force. She was issued with a birth certificate by the London Borough of Wandsworth. The Act restricted Commonwealth migration into the country and...

Birmingham Focus Group

Buddy Larrier

Deborah Grandison

Oral History Interviews

UK High Commissioners & Home Office

Patrick Ashworth

Victoria Dean

David Fitton CMG

Tony Smith

Arthur Snell

Glyn Williams