Many of these new arrivals decided to stay put – after all the Jewish communities that were already there were often willing to help them find accommodation, provide them with work (even if it was in sweat shops) and absorb family groups. Within a few years the new arrivals had often set down roots, helping to create new synagogues and Jewish schools, and contributing to British and Jewish communal life. Their names were on street shops and local businesses.
The pattern of community life was often the same. One generation, possibly two, would live in the rundown port areas; the next would migrate to the suburbs, now as British as they were Jewish. The First World War forced the integration of many, while a desire to fit in, trade and avoid community unrest were other factors.
The famous Jewish East End of London was in fact only a fleeting period 1880 to 1950, in fact it was already in decline by the late 1930’s. This was the same across the port cities, after all if you don’t need to live near a port and be constantly on the move why would you. The Jewish communities in these places were now more diverse and established, part of the fabric of the cities, identifiable only because of their names or which of the holidays they took off.
By the 1980’s another change had occurred. The importance of these port cities had declined, and many of them had begun to become run down and economically poorer. For the local Jewish communities the impact resulted in many of the young people moving away – they found jobs in other towns and cities, they merged with other Jewish communities. Once the youth went so did the parents – if they wanted to see their grandchildren. The local communities began to shrink, and some have gone almost entirely. Yet the Jewish community remain part of the important historic fabric of those cities. One of the many rich vibrant threads that brought new foods, new customs and new words into the local dialects which are still in those places if you know just how to look for them.
