Relatives met many of the new arrivals. They came armed with warm clothes and provided a welcome support in the strange new country.

Siburnie Ramharry’s brother was already studying in London and met her when she arrived in England. “Arriving … in the middle of winter was not very nice … I think for somebody coming from the Caribbean for the first time without one’s family, it’s quite a strange experience. Luckily my brother was just a phone call away.”

Olivine Benjamin arrived in Manchester and then took the coach to Sheffield, where her brother met her. “He brought this big coat and I thought Oh! We weren’t used to coats or things like that, but it was March and it was very cold. My brother had his own home with seven of his children and we all lived quite happily. Sometimes I did get homesick … the worst bit was leaving my mum back home and my other brothers and sisters.”

Sherlene Rudder was “absolutely terrified” when she arrived and “very inappropriately clad as well … you don’t imagine anything being that cold … Luckily my mother was at the airport waiting for me with some decent clothing! … I remember as we were landing I was looking out and I saw it was grey and dreadful. I thought it looked absolutely terrible and it was dark. I found my mum there who I hadn’t seen since I was 12 so that was fabulous, it really was.”
Louise Garvey’s mother too was waiting for her.

“I felt very lonely because of course I was leaving all my cousins and everyone back home. When I came off the plane … [it] gave me the impression of living in an icebox! My mum came to meet me … I was so glad to see her. I just sort of fell in her arms and she brought along this like Red Riding Hood coat. It was a long coat with fur around the tail, around the sleeves and it had a hood on it and had fur around that.”

Lena Hunt (first nurse on the left) on the ward at Christmas time

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