100 stories of migration into and out of North West England have been researched and documented over three years by local volunteers and school groups. They are now available to explore on an interactive online map at https://www.migrationstoriesnw.uk/stories/ along with background information, educational resources and introductory films about the project.
Migration Stories North West https://migrationstoriesnw.uk is a 3 year project unearthing histories of migration in the North West from ancient times to the present day. The stories show how the North West has always been a place of migration, with people moving to and from other parts of the British Isles and other parts of the world as a result of conflict, colonialism and trade, as well as in search of work, educational opportunities or a better life.
As Gisela Renolds, Director of Global Link puts it:
‘People often feel threatened by migration, and think of it as people from ‘abroad’ coming to the UK. Yet Britain is top ten in the world in terms of emigration, that is, people moving and settling in other countries. Indeed, the fact that the UK has almost 1.2 million job vacancies demonstrates that the UK very much needs immigration of working age people.’
The project is headed by Global Link based in Lancaster, and is a partnership with four other organisations across the North West out of which Crossing Footprints is the one covering the wider Manchester region. The other three are Liverpool World Centre, Cumbria Development Education Centre and Cheshire Global Learning. Each partner has worked with local adults and young people to research and document histories of migration in and out of the North West from the Roman period to the present day. The project was also supported by historians and heritage organisations from around the region.
Migration Stories North West – documentary films
Crossing Footprints were commissioned to make three films about the project, one which gives an insight into the researchers’ reflections of a selection of stories from Year 1 of the project, migrations taking place from Roman times up to WWII. Another is a compilation of excerpts of stories created by school groups in Year 2, presenting storied after WWII.
Then finally there is a short documentary which discusses what the project is about, its relevance and potential:
The Migration Stories Exhibition
There is a pop-up exhibition touring across the North West, with panels that introduce the project and an interactive screen through which to browse the stories. It is presented at venues in Cheshire, Cumbria, Liverpool, Manchester and finally Lancaster. In Manchester it is being shown at the Central Library from 3rd October to 8th November 2024, presented in partnership with Manchester Histories with an informal launch event on 2nd October. There is also a special discussion panel event exploring not only the nature of migrant identity throughout British history but also the intersections between the history of migration and issues at the forefront of Black history. More details about the exhibition and associated events can be found at https://crossingfootprints.com/migration-stories-exhibition
Special Event: Migration, Identity, History
5.30pm – 7pm, Weds 16th October.
The Migration Stories Exhibition is taking place during Black History Month, and Crossing Footprints is also organising a special event exploring not only the nature of migrant identity throughout British history but also the intersections between the history of migration and issues at the forefront of Black history. This event will include speakers Washington Alcott, Louise Wong, Alison Fisher, Kooj Chuhan and features a live music performance by the amazing Jim Parris. Full details at https://crossingfootprints.com/migration-identity-history/ .
Migration Stories project process
In the first year (2021-2022) Crossing Footprints recruited a dozen voluntary community researchers to each explore local archives to find individual migration stories. The group worked with Manchester-based author Mickela Sonola alongside our director Kooj Chuhan to generate this section of the project.
The first year focused on migration stories up to WWII but not later. The second year focused on school groups doing more recent oral history within their communities, and the third year on generating media and educational outputs using all of this material. Here in Greater Manchester we worked with The Derby High School in Bury, and involved Fair Futures (a local educational community interest company) to deliver the workshops and develop the research outputs.
*About the four photos in the Migration Stories header image at the top of this page:
Credits for the above header image, presenting four stories from the Greater Manchester volunteer research team led by Crossing Footprints, from left to right:
1. Photo widely believed to be of James Johnson, taken by William Thorpe c 1868-1870 (reproduced with the kind permission of the Oldham Photographic Society. web: oldhamphotographic.co.uk),
2. Roman Altar in honour of Aelius Victor (copyright the Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester),
3. Portrait engraving of Enriqueta Rylands from a photograph by R.K. Durrant and Son of Torquay (copyright of the University of Manchester),
4. Jou Lim (courtesy of Jou Lim’s family).
