Walsall Asian heritage project
The Walsall Asian heritage project was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and managed by Walsall Asian library user group.
Scope of the project
The project tells the story of the life experiences of people who decided to leave their homeland, embarking on a journey of many miles in order to better themselves. It tells why people came to this country and how they settled down.
Around thirty people from the Sikh, Hindu, Muslim, Gujarati and Bangladeshi communities were interviewed. The numbers of people to be interviewed from each community were estimated from the population figures for each of these communities in Walsall. In Walsall the majority of immigrants in the early sixties came from Punjab and Gujarat in India, Mirpur in Pakistan and Sylhet in Bangladesh. Later on immigrants arrived from East Africa due to the political changes there.
Interviews
The interviews were recorded on audiotapes and videotapes, and transcribed. There is a DVD that shows excerpts from the interviews grouped under specific topics.
You can find transribed excerpts on these webpages. They are arranged under the headings used in the DVD. The complete transcriptions are available from Walsall Archives. Copies of the DVD have been sent to a wide audience including schools, colleges and libraries.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the following people:
- Walsall Asian library user group
- Heritage Lottery Fund
- Walsall Local History Centre
- All the interviewees
- Forest Community Centre
- Sadhpury Films
All those who have supported the Walsall Asian heritage project.
Disclaimer
The views expressed on the Walsall Asian heritage project webpages are those of the interviewees themselves. They are not the views of either the Walsall Asian library user group nor Walsall Council and neither the group nor the Walsall Council takes any responsibility for the views expressed.
