London Transport’s Caribbean recruitment

In the period after the Second World War, London Transport (LT) experienced labour shortages. To maintain a sufficiently large workforce, the organisation increasingly needed to look beyond London itself. In February 1956, it began a recruitment drive in the Caribbean, at the invitation of the government of Barbados. Many thousands made the journey from the Caribbean to Britain to work on London’s transport system.  

LT was particularly lacking in entry-level recruits to do difficult jobs involving shift work and long hours. In the British Caribbean, still part of the widely disintegrating British Empire at this point, populations were growing. Jobs were scarce in some areas, with many seeking opportunities to study or work overseas.  

Beginning with the arrival of the Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks in June 1948, thousands of Caribbean people made the long journey to Britain, with the optimism of Lord Kitchener’s calypso song ‘London is the place for me’ ringing in their ears. 

Some had experienced life in Britain through military service during the war. Many had learnt much about Britain through the Anglo-centric education system of colonial rule. Despite never having set foot in the UK many regarded it as the ‘mother country’. As the first wave of Caribbean arrivals settled in London, some found work with LT. 

In the immediate post-war years, LT had attempted to recruit staff in northern England and Scotland. By 1950 the company had also actively recruited from Ireland. But with staff shortages continuing, in 1956 LT looked to the Caribbean.  

Men and women were recruited directly from Barbados to work in a variety of LT roles. The government of Barbados lent recruits the fare to Britain, which was then paid back over two years. Similar schemes were run with British Rail and the National Health Service. 

‘As a youngster I was thinking of going to sea and went to the job exchange at home [in Barbados]. I didn’t want to go to the USA, so I jumped at working for London Transport. The government paid for the fares then we would have to pay it back over time’ 

Handley Best, recruited in Barbados as a bus conductor in 1961  

LT’s direct recruitment in Barbados continued until 1970, having also been extended to include Jamaica and Trinidad. In later years the number of recruits fell, hampered by more stringent restrictions on immigration imposed by the Commonwealth Immigration Act introduced by the Conservative government in 1962. 

Recruits were met on arrival and taken to temporary accommodation, usually close to where they would be working. Those that had served in the armed forces in Britain during the war had some familiarity with their surroundings, but many recruits had no experience of London or Britain. Either way, adjusting to a new climate and culture was challenging. 

Many recruits found London cold and unwelcoming. Some found it hard to find accommodation and others were frustrated they had to accept basic jobs despite their education and skills. Many also encountered racism.

There was one driver who was really bad to me…I went to the Supervisor and said I couldn’t work with him and I was leaving…The Superintendent asked if I thought the driver’s behaviour was because of my colour. I didn’t know. A few days later they told me he had been dismissed and asked me to stay. I’d been the fourth person to complain about the same driver…and they didn’t want to lose me!’ 

Desmond Dennis, who came from Jamaica to work for LT’s Central Distribution Services in 1956 

New recruits were quickly placed in a variety of roles, including bus conductors, Underground station staff, canteen assistants and in track maintenance and building work. There were many new skills to learn, while new recruits also had to cope with homesickness and finding their way around a huge new city. 

Despite the education and skills of many recruits, they had to take lower status jobs as a way into the organisation, hoping these roles would lead to promotion or other employment. Some white staff felt threatened by the newcomers, despite the fact that they were filling vacancies. Initially, trade unions tried to place a quota on the number of Black recruits and the type of work available. 

Arrivals from the Caribbean soon forged their own communities within LT and across the city. Those with religious faith often joined local churches or established new congregations. Clubs and dances were popular meeting places. Many found friendship and support through their work and through social and sports activities.  

LT had a network of sports clubs and societies, which could help establish new friendships. With cricket popular in the Caribbean, many new recruits were in demand in local neighbourhood teams where they lived. They also met up with each other and socialised in LT teams such as the Central Road Services cricket team, which included the best players from the bus garage teams. They held the National Public Service Vehicle competition cup for three decades from the 1960s to the 1990s.

Many of those who left the Caribbean had expected to stay in Britain only for a few years but remained for most of their working lives. As well as making new friends at work and in their communities, many still maintained strong links with home. While some returned to the Caribbean, others who had families with roots in Britain remained. 

‘My idea was, and the other fellows as well, was to come here for five years, get as much money as you can and go back…I’m still here after 44 years and I still ain’t got the money!’ 

Carl Hoyte, recruited as a bus conductor from Barbados in May 1962 

Retirement has often led to difficult decisions between remaining in the UK, alongside children and grandchildren born and educated in Britain, or returning to a different Caribbean from the islands they left many years before. Several islands have established returning residents’ associations to help people cope with the pressures and expense of resettlement, and to keep a social network of friends and former colleagues.  

For some, such a choice was taken out of their hands. In 2018, the Windrush scandal revealed the stories of people who had been wrongly detained, denied legal rights, threatened with deportation or wrongly deported from Britain. This was despite them having been born British subjects and having arrived in Britain from the Caribbean before 1973 as part of the ‘Windrush generation’. 

Over the years, technology, re-organisations and privatisation have contributed to London Transport’s workforce shrinking. In 1947, LT had 100,000 staff. By 1956, this had dropped to 87,000. This had reduced to under 35,000 by the end of the century. In 2000, Transport for London (TfL) was created, integrating a variety of modes into one body. 

Today, TfL’s workforce includes new generations of Black Londoners, some of whom are children and grandchildren of the first Caribbean recruits. London’s transport system – much like the wider city itself – would not have been able to function without them.