Journeys Down My Street

Amidst all the coverage of contemporary migration to Britain, it is easy to forget the older generations of immigrants from across the world who have settled here and made Britain their home.

In this series, Mike Berlin, an urban historian from Birkbeck College, University of London, visits individual streets at the heart of such communities, to hear the stories of earlier immigrants - their arrival, their early lives and their observations on Britain today.

In this opening episode - the story of the Polish political refugees who settled in Britain in the late 1940s has been largely forgotten.

It involves invasion by both Germany and Russia and deportation to Siberia, followed by a brave share of the armed combat of World War Two. In spite of this, Stalin's influence after the war meant they had no home to return to and were excluded from the victory parades.

They tell Mike Berlin about the lives they made in Bradford, the community they built around Edmund Street, and their thoughts on a younger generation of economic immigrants, who have the one thing they craved - the choice to return home, if they wished, to Poland.

Producer: Beaty Rubens

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2013.

Older generations of immigrants share their stories from the heart of their communities.

Immigrants to Britain share their stories from the heart of their communities

Amidst all the coverage of contemporary migration to Britain, it is easy to forget the older generations of immigrants from across the world who have settled here and made Britain their home.

In this series, Mike Berlin, an urban historian from Birkbeck College, University of London, visits individual streets at the heart of such communities, to hear the stories of earlier immigrants - their arrival, their early lives and their observations on Britain today.

In this opening episode - the story of the Polish political refugees who settled in Britain in the late 1940s has been largely forgotten.

It involves invasion by both Germany and Russia and deportation to Siberia, followed by a brave share of the armed combat of World War Two. In spite of this, Stalin's influence after the war meant they had no home to return to and were excluded from the victory parades.

They tell Mike Berlin about the lives they made in Bradford, the community they built around Edmund Street, and their thoughts on a younger generation of economic immigrants, who have the one thing they craved - the choice to return home, if they wished, to Poland.

Producer: Beaty Rubens

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2013.

Older generations of immigrants share their stories from the heart of their communities.

Immigrants to Britain share their stories from the heart of their communities

Amidst all the coverage of contemporary migration to Britain, it is easy to forget the older generations of immigrants from across the world who have settled here and made Britain their home.

In this series, Mike Berlin, an urban historian from Birkbeck College, University of London, visits individual streets at the heart of such communities, to hear the stories of earlier immigrants - their arrival, their early lives and their observations on Britain today.

In this episode, Mike meets the Somalis of Bute Street, Cardiff.

At the end of the 19th century many working on the steam ships of the British Empire was an attractive career choice for seamen from Somaliland. Many came to Cardiff, found work in the docks heaving the coal that powered those ships, and the first settled in Butetown in 1890.

A vibrant community grew, centred on the docks and the mosque. But the last coal was shipped out in the 1960s, Cardiff docks are not what they were and Butetown has been redeveloped - and work is scarce.

The older generation of Somalis has, in recent years, been joined by new immigrants, refugees from their war-torn homeland. Their experiences and expectations are very different, as 'De Gabay' recently made clear. This was a day-long production with National Theatre Wales, in which young poets from the Somali community performed all around Butetown.

The Somalis whose families have lived in Butetown for a century, and more recent arrivals tell their stories, too.

Producer: Julian May

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2013.

Older and younger generations of immigrants tell stories at the heart of their communities

Immigrants to Britain share their stories from the heart of their communities

Amidst all the coverage of contemporary migration to Britain, it is easy to forget the older generations of immigrants from across the world who have settled here and made Britain their home.

In this series, Mike Berlin, an urban historian from Birkbeck College, University of London, visits individual streets at the heart of such communities, to hear the stories of earlier immigrants - their arrival, their early lives and their observations on Britain today.

In this episode, Mike meets the Somalis of Bute Street, Cardiff.

At the end of the 19th century many working on the steam ships of the British Empire was an attractive career choice for seamen from Somaliland. Many came to Cardiff, found work in the docks heaving the coal that powered those ships, and the first settled in Butetown in 1890.

A vibrant community grew, centred on the docks and the mosque. But the last coal was shipped out in the 1960s, Cardiff docks are not what they were and Butetown has been redeveloped - and work is scarce.

The older generation of Somalis has, in recent years, been joined by new immigrants, refugees from their war-torn homeland. Their experiences and expectations are very different, as 'De Gabay' recently made clear. This was a day-long production with National Theatre Wales, in which young poets from the Somali community performed all around Butetown.

The Somalis whose families have lived in Butetown for a century, and more recent arrivals tell their stories, too.

Producer: Julian May

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2013.

Older and younger generations of immigrants tell stories at the heart of their communities

Immigrants to Britain share their stories from the heart of their communities

Amidst all the coverage of contemporary migration to Britain, it is easy to forget the older generations of immigrants, from across the world, who have settled here and made Britain their home.

In this series, Mike Berlin, an urban historian from Birkbeck College, University of London, visits individual streets at the heart of such communities, to hear the stories of earlier immigrants - their arrival, their early lives and their observations on Britain today.

In this episode:

After the Nazi annexation of Austria in March 1938, Vienna's large Jewish community fled - some to Glasgow and Manchester but the vast majority to the area of North-West London close to Swiss Cottage.

The area became so full of German-speaking refugees that anecdotes tell of war-time bus conductors calling out "Finchleystrasse - Passports Please!" as the bus drew up at the top of the Finchley Road.

The shops and cafes are no longer there, but a vibrant group of elderly refugees share their memories of Finchleystrasse with historian Mike Berlin and reflect on their conflicting desires to recreate the best of Vienna whilst assimilating into British society.

Producer: Beaty Rubens

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2013.

Older generations of immigrants to Britain share their stories.

Immigrants to Britain share their stories from the heart of their communities

Amidst all the coverage of contemporary migration to Britain, it is easy to forget the older generations of immigrants, from across the world, who have settled here and made Britain their home.

In this series, Mike Berlin, an urban historian from Birkbeck College, University of London, visits individual streets at the heart of such communities, to hear the stories of earlier immigrants - their arrival, their early lives and their observations on Britain today.

In this episode:

After the Nazi annexation of Austria in March 1938, Vienna's large Jewish community fled - some to Glasgow and Manchester but the vast majority to the area of North-West London close to Swiss Cottage.

The area became so full of German-speaking refugees that anecdotes tell of war-time bus conductors calling out "Finchleystrasse - Passports Please!" as the bus drew up at the top of the Finchley Road.

The shops and cafes are no longer there, but a vibrant group of elderly refugees share their memories of Finchleystrasse with historian Mike Berlin and reflect on their conflicting desires to recreate the best of Vienna whilst assimilating into British society.

Producer: Beaty Rubens

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2013.

Older generations of immigrants to Britain share their stories.

Immigrants to Britain share their stories from the heart of their communities