Cunard Line poster. Source: Library of Congress.
During the Victorian period many people moved to Britain from Africa, India, America and the Caribbean to escape from enslavement and subjugation, and to study or find work. They were often part of the colonial workforce in the armed forces and trades, ensuring the expansion of trade and the probable exploitation of other nations. This expansion of trade and industry provided colonial countries like Britain with a continuing workforce and resources, and maintained trade routes for incomers from these countries into Britain. Other incomers, among them people from Germany who were fleeing a series of crop failures in Europe, and Polish refugees seeking safety in Sheffield, have equally contributed to the growth of the town; in the first case with new ‘convenience food’ including pork pies, and in the second by working in the expanding cutlery industry. Yet others brought their languages, their music and their skills in entertaining.
You can read more of their stories in the SGCT publication Incomers: a hidden history of global connections in Sheffield General Cemetery.
