The Tiber Flowing with Much Blood

Abstract

The vast majority of black immigrants who arrived in London after the Second World War dragging their cardboard cases and letters of introduction down dingy back streets in Notting Hill, Brixton and Lewisham were neither intellectuals nor radicals, but found jobs as hospital porters, bus drivers, London Underground workers or casual labourers. At least one commentator thought the new bus drivers and ‘clippies’ brought a refreshing chaos to London Transport.

The pre-war bus crews were men who loved the lash. Highly paid, and cocks within their own working class areas, they took a perverse pride in their subservience. They were the men who loved to stand to attention, wear their gleaming, white coats on the correct day of the year and who knew their well-paid place within their semi-military organization. But undisciplined labour from overseas has made a fortunate havoc of many stupid rules. The bare headed men and women, the coloured scarves, open necked shirts, brown shoes, the occasional punching of a passenger, skirts of their own choosing instead of the official uniform-wear, are small comforts that have been won against the employer and without any assistance from the official union by people who are indifferent to the prized humility of the old guard busmen.¹