Welcome to this British Depth Study slide shows! designed for OCR History. In this I will try to cover all the topics so you can get a good understanding of each topic! Topics include (I will hopefully be making a second set of slides to cover the last seven focus points)
What impact did the Second world war have on the British people?
What Immigrants were living in Britain in 1945?
Why did different groups migrate to Britain between 1948 and 1972?
What were the experiences of immigrants in Britain?
What contribution had immigrants made to British society by the early 1970's?
What was the impact of the NHS on people's lives?
What was life like for Most women in the 1950s
Slide 2
Home Front
Everyone no matter age had to have a gas mask
Britain was divided into Three zones: Evacuation Areas, Reception Areas, Neutral Areas
Britain was preparing for war well before it actually started. Precautions were being taken months before war started.
Millions of people were evacuated in 1939. Yet from January of 1940 onwards people began to return home to their families. No bombs had fallen and families didn't see any reason for being split up any longer!
two days before war was finally declared - black out was introduced.
Caption: : Underground stations were often used for Air Raid shelters. People had to resort to sleeping on the tracks!
Slide 3
American GI's in Britain
American GI's:
American GI's had a huge impact in the United kingdom.
These GI's were very open and friendly and got on well with the locals - they were especially popular with the ladies.
So much so that around 80,000 British woman became 'Gi Brides' and after the war moved to America with their new husbands.
The GI's were well paid!
These soldiers began arriving in Britain from 1942 onwards
African American GI's:
A large minority of the American GI's were black
130,000 African American service men and women came to Britain
In Britain the US military was also segregated
Whilst the Americans were not class conscious. They were very race conscious.
Common Wealth Troops
Large numbers of Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders and Indians served in the British forces.
These incomers were usually warmly welcomed
There we over 40,000 marriages between Canadian servicemen and British women
The was also a large contingent from the Caribbean's as well
Prisoners of War
The largest groups of POW camps were German and Italian troops captured in the fighting in North Africa
After 1944 the number of German POW's increased significantly as allied forces advanced across Europe
There were over 1500 facilities which held prisoners
At its highest the POW population numbered 157,000 italians and 402,000 Germans.
The prisoners also had access to medical care just like allied troops. They even got paid wages! ... although very small wages..
At the end of the war a substantial number of prisoners (including around 25,000 German POW's) adopted Britain as their new home
Poles
One significant group who settled in Britain during the war were the polish.
Around 14,000 of them served in the Royal Air force. Many more served in the other armed forces in Britain and in other parts of the empire.
So many poles chose to settle in Britain - around 120,000 in all.
The PM had a personal interest in the polish contribution to the war effort.
The poles were generally popular in Britain and Britain was suffering from a desperate shortage of workers in the years after the second world war.
By the end of 1948 there were 65,000 polish workers in British industry whilst under the polish resettlement scheme.
Slide 8
Why did different groups migrate to Britain between 1948 and 1972?
Slide 9
Caribbean's
Push factors
To some Jamaica was a backwater where nothing was happening!
Some people had gambling debts which had pushed them to leave
By the late 1940's, unemployment in Jamaica and other islands was a major problem.
The sugar trade collapsed and there wasn't really a tourist trade either
Hurricanes had devastated Jamaica in 1944 and again in 1951
The Caribbean's had poor housing, poor wages, poor healthcare and an inadequate education system.
Pull factors
Because of the war, Britain was short of workers.
People felt strong loyalty toward the UK.. some people referred it as the "motherland".
The people of the empire admired Britain. The education system had taught them British history and British literature.
troops had told them stories of how Britain seemed like a land of opportunity
Britain was facing a labour shortage in the late 40's and early 50's.
Thanks to the Nationality act, citizens of the British empire had unrestricted access to Britain. The act became law in 1949
Success of previous immigrants drew more people in
By the late 50's money from workers in Britain was the second largest source of foreign income for Jamaica after food exports.
Slide 10
Indian Subcontinent immigratiom
Indian Subcontinent
There was a lot of poverty in India and Pakistan
The sikhs (who lived in Punjab a very dangerous territory full of fighting) were a minority
The majority of people worked to fill labour shortages
People had relations and friends in the UK.
Many had served in the British army during WWII and had contacts in the UK. the 1948 Nationality act gave citizens of the empire unrestricted access to the UK
Kenya
This was a former British colony which gained its independence in 1963.
There were 100,000 asians who lived in Kenya.
Kenyatta (the P.M.) gave asians a choice - become Kenyan or remain British.. But they could not be both.
95,000 decided to stay British
Asians were resented in Kenya for being successful and high earning.
in 1967 - the Kenyan government declared all Non-Kenyan asians were foreigners and could only stay and work on a temporary basis.
Many fled to Britain having feared the worst
Uganda
The Asian community had helped build up Uganda.
Resentment had built-up among Uganda's black population.
In 1972 President Idi amin issued a decree expelling asians from Uganda
60,000* had to be gone within 90 days
Amin declared a second decree stating that all professionals had to stay in Kenya.
Britain offered Ugandan asians a choice. Either an Indian passport or a British passport - most chose British.
27,000 Asians flew into Britain from Uganda with only what they could carry
* Depending on the source
