My Dad came to Sheffield in 1957 on a SUT coach from Vienna after escaping from the Russians in Budapest.
I know he slept in the City Hall Ballroom the first night he got here.
Afterwards he stayed in Crimicar Lane and Castleton before getting digs and a job.
Does anyone remember these refugees arriving?

I don't remember any Hungarians actually arriving , in the sense of seeing them arrive but I was 15 in 1957 and used to go in town a lot and a few Hungarians used to go in ,'El Mambo' on Union Street.
Later in life I had a friend whose dad came over , pretty much as your Dad did . He was 19 at the time . I've met him a few times ; a smashing bloke . I remember the family couldn't visit Hungary for a long time but I think finally managed it the first time , about 1978 . This was because my mate's Dad's mother was going blind and was ill so partly they were o.k. to visit on compassionate grounds .
I believe quite a fw Hungarians started to use the Polish Club on Ecclesall Road , for obvious reasons . I remember too , the dramatic newsreels at the cinemas and the sad broadcasts i.e. ,'This is where we must live and this is where we must die ' and , something like , " the Russians are getting closer . Please help us ..........[and then it faded out ]

Thanks for that. What was your mates Dad called?
I'll ask my Dad if he remembers him.

I worked with an Hungarian in 62/3.
He was a painter
All I remember was ,he was a compulsive gambler and not married, I think his name was Bill.
On the subject of Hungarians ,My ex boss here in Canada was one of the 1957 refugees.
I should also say one of my best friends ,He is worthy of sainthood

Puskas ,

For reasons of privacy , I'll send you a p.m . A bit busy at the moment but WILL send it -----promise !

I can remember the Hungarians arriving at the Midland Station and the Station was decorated for Christmas, It was cold but they didnt seem to care, they were safe.
In later years I worked at the Whitbread Brewery in Bridge St and there I was privileged to meet a Hungarian there, his name was Laslo and he was a very nice man, his leg was terribly scarred and I was told it was due to fighting the Russians.

Originally posted by puskas
My Dad came to Sheffield in 1957 on a SUT coach from Vienna after escaping from the Russians in Budapest.
I know he slept in the City Hall Ballroom the first night he got here.
Afterwards he stayed in Crimicar Lane and Castleton before getting digs and a job.
Does anyone remember these refugees arriving?

My former husband came to Sheffield in 1957. His brother got on the coach in Vienna before him (that was for Canada) and he was the last person on it. The next coach was for England so my husband got a place on that. When he left Budapest he had a few children from a Jewish family with him. Their father was a jeweller and he was given a suitcase with jewellery etc in it for bribes and expenses on the way. One of the children was quite small as he carried her most of the way across fields and under barbed wire etc. Once in Vienna I think the children went to relatives. When he arrived in Sheffield he was sent to Lodge Moor hospital as he had TB - we were married in 1958 and emigrated to Australia in 1967. He died in 1972.

Adrienne ,
I was 17yrs in 1956 i worked Robert Bros in Sheffield
i rember two Hungarians , John and Myklos ( i think ), the latter had to go into Lodge Moor Hospital , TB.
John cried after working the first week with no pay , did'nt understand the week in hand bit .
Have always rembered them ,
Val:clap:

I'd forgotten about Robert Bros.
I'll see if my Dad remembers those two. Hope they've been discharged !!

anybody know how many hungerian refugees england took in in the 195o"s

balmain ,

Well , I've no reference books or anything like that with me at the moment but I'd hazard a guess at between 15,000 and 40,000. Hungary's only a small country [pop. , then about 10 million ] and only a tiny proportion got out and some other European countries took some too.
Interesting point , though !

Around 200,000 escaped. I've read that roughly a quarter returned pretty quickly.
The vast majority went to Germany and the USA.

Thanks Puskas for your info.
My guess of 15-40 thousand may not be too far out then ?
Did you get my P.M. by the way ?
Just as a matter of connected interest , does anyone know how many East European people came here after the War ?
The reason I'm asking is that Britain , in my opinion , has always been sympathetic to various refugees , provided they are genuine and in reasonable numbers that a small country can cope with .

Thanks for your pm.
I don't know how many came into the country, but I'm sure it was far less than the number of brits who died during the war.