Finding a Place to Work

print page prev page

Once accommodation had been sorted, the main task was to find work. Jobs were plentiful to begin with. It was often possible for men to choose between a number of job offers. Many had arrived with trades and skills that they were able to utilise, such as the carpenters and cabinet-makers, mechanics and drivers. However, others such as tailors and shoemakers had to learn new trades. In the main, they were employed in the manufacturing and engineering industries.

Research has highlighted the following employers (some are no longer in operation) of many of the earliest newcomers: Gloucester Aircraft Company in Brockworth; Gloucester Foundry; the Extrusion and Die Company; RHP Aerospace in Stonehouse; Brimscombe Foundry; the Gas Works in Bristol Road; Kell's Foundry in Charles Street; Grigg's Timber Yard; Hall's and Keck and Fielding and Platt.

Many of the women, who arrived later, found employment in the service industries, especially nursing and in factories, such as Wall's Ice Cream. The Wall's factory expanded after moving it's Head Office from Wembley to Gloucester in 1963, and still remains a major employer of African - Caribbean people.

For more information on personal experiences with finding work see the stories of Byron Thompson, Bernard Westcarr and Boyce Drake.