The field of Refugee History is one that has developed over recent decades, looking at the enforced movement of people from their country as the result of catastrophes such as war, genocide and environmental disaster. Sadly, we live in an age of refugees and there is a pressing need to learn from the past to understand the present.

In recent years there has been established an academic centre for Refugee History which provides accessible resources for those of us interested in learning about refugee history globally. The historical study of refugees mostly accounts for broad movements of people and the national and international affairs which have come to bear upon them. It considers the causes of displacement through to refugee movement, settlement, relocation and all that this process entails.

Refugee History, as with the term refugee itself, is intimately bound up with place, community and identity. In many senses the history of refugees is always local history as refugees pass from, through and to places. Refugees may have been forced to leave a place, passed through in camps and sites of passage and of course come to new places. Refugees can therefore appear in the local histories of many places in many forms, departing, moving through and arriving.

In the British Isles we have refugees in many of our histories. People have been forcibly removed such as the expulsion of the Jewish population of England, the Highland Clearances and the Irish Famine. During our history Britain has also made refugees across the world through wars and colonialism. For instance, the refugee crisis following the partition of India in 1947, which was ironically a failure to appreciate local conditions and histories within the subcontinent.

Britain itself has a long, if chequered, tradition of accepting refugees from other countries. We have had refugees before the modern term ‘refugee’ even existed. In the late seventeenth century French Huguenots, Protestants exiled from their land, fled in large numbers to Britain. We can see the influx of these peoples in many of our towns and cities. England's 'First Refugees' | History Today

Refugees have continued to come to Britain into modern times. For example, Ugandan Asian, Vietnamese and Kurdish people arrived during the 1970s and 80s. For an excellent overview of the history of refugees in the UK up to the millennium then see this timeline: 400 Years of Refugee Movement to the UK

The sources we can use to study refugees in our localities are rich. Of course, in so many respects refugee histories are intertwined with those of the wider community. We find them in all the places we would otherwise expect such as in censuses, parish records and civil registration. Particularly though there are ways to concentrate on refugees in our local histories.

As a starting point there is a wealth of works on refugees with which to begin our studies. In addition to the specific resources mentioned throughout this blog please do look at these general books and websites:

Robert Winder, Bloody Foreigners: The Story of Immigration to Britain (2004)

Panikos Panayi, An Immigration History of Britain: Multiculturalism Since 1800 (2010)

Peter Gatrell, The Making of the Modern Refugee (2013)

The Heritage and Contributions of Refugees to the UK- a Credit to the Nation (refugeeweek.org.uk)

Our history - Refugee Council

Refugee Histories - Scottish Refugee Council

There are also more specific methods to get into researching refugees in our localities. [Many thanks to my students for discussing refugee local history with me and to Jane and Elicia in particular for resource suggestions.]

There have been regional studies of refugee histories. You may have one in your area. For example, Rob David’s, A County of Refuge: Refugees in Cumbria 1933-1941 (2020) considers attitudes towards refugees from Spain, Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia who came to Cumbria to escape Fascism. It discusses refugee experiences and their contributions to the county.

Refugees in Britain have often established their own groups, societies and organisations which can be searched for themselves as historic entities. Often communities have groups and heritage bodies that survive to the present day. For example, many Jewish people fled to Britain from eastern Europe during the Pogroms of the Russian Empire. They settled in a variety of places such as the East End of London and Glasgow. The plight of Jewish refugees in the twentieth century was again recognised by some who offered sanctuary in Britain in the Second World War. For those researching the Jewish populations of Scotland a visit to the Jewish Archives Centre is invaluable: SJAC – The Scottish Jewish Archives Centre

There have also been concerted efforts to study particular refugee movements. Perhaps the first refugee crisis in the modern sense were the Belgian refugees fleeing the occupation of their country by Germany during the First World War. Britain’s self-appointed role as protector of the Belgians saw many come to these shores. Tracing the Belgian Refugees is a fantastic project which has produced a free-to-use online database for anyone who would like to input information that you have found about a Belgian refugee, and to view the information that others have shared: Belgian Refugees (leeds.ac.uk)

Have a look at your local council or archive for projects, especially in localities which have taken in refugee communities in the past century. Local council minutes and papers may also be revealing. Thinking about Belgian refugees Brent Archives and Brent Museum produced for Refugee Week 2007: Belgian Refugees during the First World War- an introductory bibliography which has a brilliant list of resources for researching Belgian refugees across Britain.

Again, thinking about Belgian refugees you can see an excellent example of how research on refugees can be brought into your local history by Jane Roberts, historian of Batley, West Yorkshire, on her website PastToPresentGenealogy.

Local newspapers are one of our most invaluable sources for local history in recent centuries. For Belgian refugees they are a great resource to look at fund-raising, housing, committees, schooling and they can name those who come over and give their background details. You also get an indication of how British attitudes and actions changed as the war progressed. [A note that despite excellent digitisation many newspapers are not online.]

Refugees have existed in communities across Britain for hundreds of years. Local historians are bound to come across them in some capacity, coming, going or just passing through. I hope this basic introduction has given you some tools and inspiration to begin some research of your own. Please do contact BALH to share your own research as we would love to some refugee local histories on our blog. 

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the British Association for Local History (BALH). Any content provided by our contributors is of their own opinion and is not intended to malign any individual, group, organisation, or entity.