Basque refugee children practising traditional dances in 1937/8. (Photo source: Cambridgeshire Collection)
Refugee children from the Basque region in Spain (1937)
In May 1937, nearly 4,000 refugee children from the Spanish Civil War were brought over to Britain for safety. 29 came to Cambridge, where they were supported by the Cambridge Basque Refugee Committee led by Professor Francis Cornford. They were housed at first in the Old Vicarage in Pampisford, but later moved into a large college-owned house called Salisbury Villas on the corner of Station Road and Tenison Road in Cambridge. Here, they lived with their chaperones for two years. They were taught English and maths by local undergraduates, and many volunteers helped to support them. Professor Cornford gave his holiday home in Norfolk to the group, so they could enjoy a holiday by the sea.
Suzie Spitzer (aged 2) here with her parents Hansi and Leo around 1936 in Vienna. Suzie came to Cambridge as a Jewish Kindertransport child. Her parents did not survive the Holocaust. (Photo source: Ann Chadwick)
Refugee children from the Kindertransport (1938/9)
10,000 refugee children (mostly Jewish) came in 1938/9 to Britain, arriving with the various Kindertransports from Germany, Austria and the Czech lands to escape Nazi persecution. Around 120 children found their residence in Cambridge. They were supported by Greta Burkill and other members of the local Refugee Committee, which had its HQ at 55 Hills Road. Most were housed with local foster families, but some older teenagers were accommodated in a hostel at 25 Parkside. The children went to local schools and some were offered scholarships by the Perse School and other private institutions. Most of the children never again saw their parents, who had become victims of the Holocaust. The papers of Greta Burkill (from the Refugee Committee) are still held at the University Library.
The parents of Henry Starecki at the Polish Resettlement Camp in Fowlmere around 1950. (Photo source: Henry Starecki)
Refugees from Poland after the Second World War
At the end of the Second World War, around 150,000 Polish military personnel and their families were residents in Britain. The men had fought with the British army and RAF and could not return to Poland, which was under Stalin's dictatorship post-1945. They were at risk of being persecuted by Stalin, as they had fought with the British. Several hundred were housed in and around Cambridge in former army or air force barracks, including one at Fowlmere and two in Trumpington. In the 50s, many moved from the barracks into Cambridge, where they formed a vibrant Polish community, centred around the Catholic Church on Hills Road and the newly-created Polonia social centre on Chesterton Road. Many lived in the Mill Road area, and the first Polish shops were set up there.
The gate at the Vietnamese community centre in Coldham's Lane. (Photo source: Mike Levy)
Refugees from Vietnam (1970s)
The end of the war in Vietnam in 1975 left many Vietnamese feeling vulnerable and unsafe and approximately 800,000 fled in small boats from Vietnam to other countries in Asia. Around 19, 000 were allowed to resettle in the UK. Some had been rescued by the Royal Navy and housed temporarily in Hong Kong (a British territory in the 1970s). Around 250 Vietnamese came to Cambridge. A house in Hooper Street became a de facto hostel for Vietnamese families and support was given by local volunteers from different churches. The Bell School and other schools offered free English language courses. The Vietnamese community quickly organised itself, and several small businesses were set up. As the older generation became more frail, the community set up a care home in Coldham's Lane, marked by a traditional Vietnamese gateway.
A group of refugees from Chile at the Cambridge Botanic Garden in the early 1980s. (Photo source: Carol Bell)
Refugees from Chile (1970s)
Refugees, both adults and children, escaped the brutal military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, who had led a coup in 1972 against the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende. Those seen as opposing the dictatorship were imprisoned, tortured and murdered. From 1974, the British government accepted around 3,000 Chilean refugees. Several hundred came to Cambridge, organised by a very active local support group. The Bell School played an important role by offering free courses in English as well as social and moral support. The Botanic Garden became an important place for the community to socialise on Sundays.
Churchill College today (Photo source: Mike Levy)
Refugees from Argentina (1970s)
Argentina was ruled by a military junta from 1976 to 1983. During this time many of those who opposed the dictatorship were arrested and ‘disappeared’. Political activists went into hiding and several ten thousand Argentinians managed to get out of the country and find safety in other countries. A handful came to Cambridge and made their home here. Churchill College played a key role in supporting them.
Adisa Beaumont, a refugee from Bosnia at the Cambridge Botanic Garden, 1990s. (Photo source: Adisa Beaumont)
Refugees from Bosnia (1990s)
The civil war in former Yugoslavia created a humanitarian crisis in the 1990s. This was especially true for the Muslim community of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Around 200 refugees of this community managed to get to Cambridge, where they were supported by the Bosnian Refugee Action Group (BRAG), which was made up of concerned local volunteers. Some Bosnians were housed in a large hostel in Chaucer Road, and a very active drop-in centre was opened on Newmarket Road. The local Red Cross played a large part in supporting the refugees, and its shop in Burleigh Street became a lifeline for the impoverished Bosnians.