The partition of Indian in 1947 was the beginning of a large scale migration to Britain from the Indian sub-continent. Britain had a labour shortage and needed people to help re-build the country after the Second World War

In 1954 there were ten Indian families living in Wolverhampton. Two years later the Indian Workers Association had a membership of one hundred and fifty.

Between 1961 and 1971 the largest number of Asian migrants from the Indian sub-continent settled in Wolverhampton, from 1,756 people in 1961 to 12,120 in 1971. Now according the 2001 census 14.3% of the Wolverhampton population are Asian or Asian British, this is three times more than the national average.

The Asian migrants tended to live in the same areas, and around these areas services to attend to the news of this community soon emerged. The housing the migrants lived in tended to be cheap as it was of a poor standard.
 
 

Although many of the Asian migrants became factory workers when they first arrived in the West Midlands, they were very proactive in their own and their children’s advancement educationally, socially and culturally. There was an Eastern Film Society in Wolverhampton that was formed in January 1956 for the 10,000 Asians in the West Midlands, in the year 1957-58 they had 512 addresses on their mailing list.

‘Very few of us are sufficiently advanced in the English language to enjoy the numerous entertainments available in this country. Our primary object, therefore, was to provide suitable entertainment in the form of films in our own language.’
(The Eastern Film Society, Secretary’s Report 1957-1958)

The Society was eventually to enlist the help of Mr Taff – from the Regal Cinema, Darlaston – who was able to help them screen films in an appropriate place. He eventually became a Society member and was elected Treasurer.

The Society not only showed films but were, as they grew, financially independent and were able to donate money to local authorities for educational purposes for ‘special classes for our people.’ Some of the donations for the year 1957-58 were to the Commonwealth Centre at Wolverhampton and West Bromwich Education Department. The Society was mentioned by the Commonwealth Welfare Council as an ‘example of how such a Society should be run’ and interest came from other areas of the country for guidance on founding such an organisation.

Wolverhampton Arts and Museum Service has a long history of making art and crafts accessible to the widest possible audience. To find out more about our Art Gallery, Craft Gallery and Museum visit our website.