Baltic people in the United Kingdom
  |
Notable Britons of Baltic origin: Lembit Öpik, Phill Jupitus |
| Total population |
|---|
| Baltic-born residents 4,363 Lithuanian-born (2001 Census) 74,000 Lithuanian-born (2010 ONS estimate) 4,275 Latvian-born (2001 Census) 32,000 Latvian-born (2010 ONS estimate) 2,005 Estonian-born (2001 Census)[1][2] |
| Regions with significant populations |
| London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow |
| Languages |
|
English, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, some Russian. |
| Religion |
| Related ethnic groups |
Baltic people in the United Kingdom are those born or raised/resident in the UK who are of Estonian (although only considered Baltic geographically, not linguistically or culturally), Latvian and Lithuanian origin.
Contents |
[edit] History, population and settlement
In the early 20th century, many Latvian and Lithuanian (Lithuanians in the United Kingdom) refugees began to settle in Glasgow (Lithuanian Scots) and at its height in the 1950s, there were around 10,000 in the Glasgow area.[3]
During the first period of Estonian independence in the inter-war years, Great Britain, and, especially, London, became a magnet for many young people from Estonia wishing to learn English. This was made easier by a bi-lateral agreement drawn up by the British (Agreement A), which allowed foreigners to live with English families and get board and lodging in return for housekeeping duties. After the initial influx, the number of immigrants gradually reduced as people were more able to find work and, as a result, they gravitated to a few towns and cities, in particular London, Leicester and Bradford, with smaller communities in and around Bolton, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Nottingham, Bournemouth and some north of the border in Scotland [4]
Significant numbers of Baltic people came to the UK in 1947 under a government backed scheme called 'Westward Ho'. The first group of DPs from the British zone of occupation of Germany arrived in the UK in 1947, called the 'Balt Cygnets'[5] - a thousand young Baltic women recruited brought to work in British hospitals. The Baltic men would come later that year, as the British government at the time considered these hard working and freedom loving people to be of the "right stuff" to help Britain rebuild itself after the war.
[edit] References
- ^ "Country-of-birth database". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/23/34792376.xls. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
- ^ "Table 1.3: Estimated population resident in the United Kingdom, by foreign country of birth, 60 most common countries of birth, April 2009 to March 2010". Office for National Statistics. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=15147. Retrieved 26 December 2010. Figure given is the central estimate. See the source for 95 per cent confidence intervals.
- ^ The Guardian (2006-01-23). "Lithuanians in Glasgow". http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1692714,00.html. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
- ^ UK Estonian Embassy (2008). "The Estonian community in the UK". http://www.estonia.gov.uk/estonian_community_in_uk. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
- ^ Dwyer, Claire; Bressey, Caroline (2008). New geographies of race and racism. ISBN 9780754670858. http://books.google.com/?id=OmHMultyyy0C&pg=PA56&lpg=PA56&dq=Westward+Ho+baltic+cygnets#v=onepage&q=Westward%20Ho%20baltic%20cygnets&f=false.
[edit] Bibliography
- Burrell, Kathy and Panayi, Panikos: Histories and Memories: Latvians and Their History in Britain [1]
- Budriuniene, Jolonta: Regeneration of the Lithuanian Emigrant Press: Fifteen Years' Experience [2]
[edit] External links
- The Baltic Music information centre UK
- UK Baltic Study Group
- Association of Estonians in Great Britain
- Bradford Eesti Kodu Club
- Great Britain Lithuanian Youth Association
- Latvians in Britain
- Latvian National Council
- Straumeni or Catthorpe Manor - Latvian cultural centre
- London Latvian Choir
- Latvian Welfare Fund/Daugavas Vanagu Fonds
- Rowfant House
- Latvians in London
- United London Latvian Church
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