Muriel Bussue (back row, second from left) at Lodge Moor Hospital; Bernell Bussue, her son (second row, second from the right)

When Lena Hunt arrived at Southampton, “it all seemed very busy and bewildering but I was met by someone from the Colonial Office … who put me on a train to Redhill Hospital. I was handed over to the people who look after new recruits. There were students from all parts of the world. We were a fair-sized family on the island and as I’ve grown older, I think I miss my home more than I did.”

The British Council for Overseas Students came to meet Joyce Bleasdille-Lumsden. They “put a tag on me with my name and address and I went into a minibus and they showed us around London. Everything was strange to me. The people all wore black clothes and the traffic lights. I had never seen a traffic light before! They showed us Buckingham Palace but I wasn’t interested! I was more interested in how the people were walking, busy, busy, busy!”

Nola Ishmael arrived at London Airport where the British Council met her and took her to Victoria Station where her sister met her with “a wonderful coat”. From there she went to Bishops Stortford Hospital, where the home sister met her. “We had had a long journey and were really exhausted. Home sister suggested we come into the dining room for a cup of tea and I can tell you I have never tasted a better cup of tea since! That was the best cup of tea in my whole life! I can tell you it refreshed parts that haven’t been refreshed since then!”

Back: First Impressions

Representatives from the British Council, the Colonial Office or the Salvation Army welcomed many of the new arrivals. Dr Stanley Moonsawmy found them “very, very kind and very good.”

The British Council met Denzil Nurse. “That was my first encounter with the British culture. I remember going into the house and I was offered a cup of tea and I threw the water on the fire because I thought the house was on fire! She said, ‘Did you not know that’s for heating?’ She made me comfortable and put me on the train from Liverpool (Lime Street) to Wakefield (West Gate).

That was another experience because I had never travelled on a train before. I saw nothing … it was fog all the way! My cousin had already warned me about the fog and he used to tell me if you put your hand out you couldn’t see your fingers! I didn’t believe him until I saw it.”

Muriel Bussue had not been on a train either. She was met by the Salvation Army and thought “they were brilliant because we travelled from Southampton to Victoria Station by train and as I had these two children they came up to me and said ‘Do the children need a drink of water or the toilet or anything?’ which was very good.”