In 1969 my family took advantage of the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme and moved to Australia from the UK. Like hundreds of thousands of other people, we instantly joined the ranks of the much fabled Ten-pound-poms.

Moving to Australia had a profound effect on my life, as it did on almost everyone else who took part. This was amplified in my case by returning to my home nation some six years later in 1975.

Despite a recent and somewhat negative portrayal on the BBC of the lives of the early poms, I feel our story remains under reported and wrongly interpreted. For most of us it was a joyous experience, and I feel that version of the story needs telling. I realise others have tried but I can't see how another stab at it will do any harm.

However, I must point out that my book differs from all the others I've managed to read, because its semi-autobiographical, so it's not just about me. In my story I also take a lot of time to explain historical context and cultural differences. It is, I hope, the truest everyman account so far written about this major historical event. It needs to be because we ten-pound-poms are not getting any younger.

This book is a love letter to my second home and also to my current one. We are two great nations still joined culturally and historically, whether people like it or not. How long that remains the case I couldn't say. However, it mattered in 1969, and at least for now, it still does to a large group of people. Many of whom went on to make Australia great, or in my case brought some different ideas back to the UK.

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• Biographies & MemoirsHistorical

• Publication Date: October 17, 2024
• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 449 Pages
• File Size: 29 KB