New information

Here we have collected new information on the characters already included on the website.

Original Transcripts of Michael YAnni

The two transcripts of Michael Yanni, a Sierra Leonean seaman born in 1918, reveal to us differing accounts of his journey to the UK via the SS Cuba ship. One account, given to Rudolph Dunbar, a Guyanese composer and musician, gives a damning account of his experiences and can be read here in its original form; The other, given in a BBC broadcast offers a glittering report, which can also be read in it’s original form here.

Four men standing outside a brick building, with one man playing a guitar and shaking hands with another man, near a sign that reads 'West Indies House Sailors Hostel.'

West African seamen being welcomes to West Indies House

Activist, MBE and community leader, Charles Udor Minto was a tireless campaigner who created safe spaces for North Tyneside's burgeoning black community in the 1930s and 40s.

A champion boxer in Nigeria, his career as a seaman brought him to North Shields where he continued fighting - this time on a political stage.

Video, Information and Pictures courtesy of Davey Young, Heritology Society, North Shields, TWAM and Imperial War Museum IWM D10714

Charles Udor Minto

Watch the video about Charles Udor Minto's life
Community Heroes
Two men in a kitchen preparing food at a table. One man is chopping meat, and the other is stirring rice. The kitchen has utensils, dishes, and a window in the background.

Minto in the kitchen of Colonial House, North Shields

Two women sitting outdoors under a patterned umbrella. One woman is holding an umbrella and smiling, while the other is sitting next to her with a relaxed posture. Both are dressed in vintage dresses, suggesting a past era.

Minto’s wife, Mary J. Clarke (left), who was instrumental in hosting events at Colonial House

WIlliam Fifefield

William Fifefield, from St. Kitts, was a military bandsman and owner of a boat used to transport people across the River Tyne. He lived in the working class areas of Newcastle, near the Black Gate and Tuthill Stairs but had sufficient means to buy his boat and later an apprenticeship for his son. He was literate and accepted as a freemason in the lodge at Swalwell (Gateshead).

You can read more about his name, family and career here.

Thank you to Peter Livesey for contributing this additional information.

A black and white painting of two sailing ships docked in a harbor, with buildings in the background.
A photo of a vintage long drum made of wood with decorative metal studs and rope detailing, labeled as British, from 1714-1777.

An image of ‘Comfortables’ on the River Tyne

A ‘Long Drum’ from Britain 1714-1727

Mary Ann Macham

Mary Ann Macham arrived in North Shields in 1831, after escaping slavery in Virginia. She was welcomed by the Miss Spences, a prominent Quaker family, working in their household until her marriage to a local rope-maker. She died in 1893, and has recently been commemorated with a memorial stone in Preston Cemetery, Tynemouth.

Information and Pictures courtesy of Low Light Museum, North Shields

The Escape of Mary Ann Blyth (neé Macham)
Mary Ann's own account of her escape
Gravestone of Mary Ann Blyth, nee Macham, 1802-1893, surrounded by purple and yellow flowers, with a green plant to the right.
A black and white historical photograph of a woman seated at a desk wearing a Victorian-era dress with a high collar and bonnet.

Her memorial stone in Preston Cemetary, Tynemouth

Mary Ann Macham

Dive deeper…

Todd’s article on the lives of people of African descent in the 19th century in Tyneside has been an invaluable source of information for our calendars, booklets and walks. Similarly, Hannah Kent’s article on Black lives in Tyneside 1939-52.

These articles are now available from North East History, Volume 53 and Volume 52 respectively and can be read here.