In 1956 London Transport began their Caribbean Direct Recruitment scheme. I didn’t know much about the history of the scheme, but from word of mouth and anecdotes I’ve heard from older folk, I did know that plenty young men left Barbados in the early ‘60s to go and work in the London public transport system, and when I was in London a few years ago I would give a special smile and greeting when I happened to encounter a bus driver with a Bajan accent.
Today I learned a bit more about Bajans on the London Transport. For instance, I had thought that the recruiting scheme was a Caribbean-wide one, but apparently it was restricted almost exclusively to Barbados (it was extended to Trinidad and Jamaica for a year in 1966). I also learned from this great site that within about a decade of the start of the recruitment drive, 3,787 Barbadians had left little Bim to work with London Transport.
Now fifty years after the recruitment drive began, the London Transport Museum features a special exhibition with stories and photos from some of those first London Transport workers. The anniversary was also marked by a special supplement (PDF format) in The Voice newspaper. Transport for London (the successor to London Transport) is inviting submissions from those who went to London to “begin a new life working on London’s public transport”. And coincidentally (or maybe not?), just last month the Barbados Free Press linked to a great little story about one of those young Bajan men, Garfield Harris, who is now enjoying his retirement after 45 years as a London bus driver.
This is an exceptional piece. My aunt’s cousin went to London to be a nurse in the early 1960s. Her cousin’s husband also went to England in the lat 1950s and worked The British Rail until his retirement a few years ago.
They are enjoying life now with their grand children.
PEACE!
BarbadosInFocus · January 09, 2007
There’s a story in Sam Selvon’s collection, Ways of Sunlight, called “Working the Transport”, about a Barbadian called Small Change who goes to London and becomes a conductor on a bus:
“You must be read in the papers about how London Transport send men down there in the West Indies to get fellars to work on the tube and bus, and it look as if they like Barbadians, because they didn’t go to any other islands: they just get some of the boys from Little England—that is what they call Barbados down there—and bring them up to work the transport.”
Jonathan · January 10, 2007
Jonathan, thanks for that! I was thinking as I wrote this post, “Didn’t Sam Selvon write something about this? I’m sure he did.” But it wasn’t in “The Lonely Londonders” and I haven’t read “Ways of Sunlight” in years; I’m going to find a copy and check out that story. Thanks again!
titilayo · January 10, 2007
great post, thanks for the link
jdid · January 10, 2007