Ukrainian migration to the United Kingdom
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| Ukrainians in the United Kingdom
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| Total population |
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Est. over 100,000 |
| Regions with significant populations |
| London, South East, Manchester, Nottingham, West Midlands, Bradford and rest of West Yorkshire |
| Languages |
| English, Ukrainian, Russian |
| Religions |
| Christianity, Ukrainian Orthodox, Judaism. |
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Ukrainian migration to United Kingdom has been occurring since the eighteenth century. Today, there are many Ukrainians living in the UK and many citizens of the UK have Ukrainian ancestry.
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[edit] History
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Although Ukrainians have been present in the UK since the late 18th Century, the first documented evidence of Ukrainians in the UK was confirmed by an entry in the Aliens Register in Salford of J. Koyetsky from Brody, Ukraine in 1897. Some 100 families settled in Manchester prior to WWI and in the post war years a community centre was established. An Information Centre was founded in London and religious and cultural links established with Manchester. In 1931, Bishop Andriy Sheptytskiy and Fr. Josyf Slipyj, both of whom in turn in later years became head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, made a notable pastoral visit to Manchester. Elsewhere, the first generation of Ukrainian immigrants started arriving in the South-East, in particular, Hertfordshire in 1947 as displaced persons. After World War II, work-permit schemes issued under the Attlee government recruited Ukrainians to work in the mills of Lancashire and the greenhouses of the Lea Valley. After a short stay in a transit camp in East Anglia, many were brought to a displaced persons camp in Newgate Street Village in Hertfordshire. At the camp, many young people became affiliated to The Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, which had its headquarters in London, the association acted as an important support network for those separated from their family and friends.
After the end of WWII, more large numbers of Ukrainians (mainly displaced persons from camps in Germany) arrived in the UK . Ukrainians were integrated into the UK as European Voluntary Workers, while Ukrainian POWs from the Polish and German armies were also demobilised and settled in the major cities of the UK.
[edit] Population and distriubtion
Although official figures are not available, estimates put the number of Ukrainians working in London as high as 40,000, with possibly up to 100,000 Ukrainians in the UK as a whole. Many have been compelled by force of utter need to leave their family and friends. This is due to the collapse of the former Soviet Union and privatisation in 1991 which has left the Ukrainian economy floundering and about 70% of the population living in poverty. While London naturally has the majority of Ukraininians, other cities with sizeable populations include, Bradford, Nottingham, Manchester and other areas around Yorkshire and the West Midlands.
[edit] Religion
A large number of Ukrainians living in Britain are Ukrainian Catholics, under the jurisdiction of the Apostolic Exarchate for Ukrainians in Great Britain.
[edit] Notable Britons with Ukrainian ancestry
| Name | Occupation |
|---|---|
| Elena Baltacha | tennis player |
| Sergei Baltacha Jr. | footballer |
| Lew Grade, | showbusiness impresario and television company executive |
| Michael Grade | chief-executive of ITV, former chairman of the BBC |
| Marina Lewycka | novelist |
| Bordan Tkachuk | CEO of Viglen Computers (part of the Sir Alan Sugar's group of companies) |
| Zoë Wanamaker | US born actress, raised in Britain of Ukrainian and Russian descent |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB)
- BBC Born Abroad - Ex-USSR
- Ukrainian Cultural Calendar in the UK
- Ukrainian Youth Association, Bradford
- History of the Ukrainian Community in Manchester
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