Yemeni immigration to South Shields is one of the earliest examples of modern integration. The earliest Yemeni is recorded in South Shields in 1894. Today South Shields is home to 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th generation Yemenis descended directly from this wave of seamen who settled in and made this town their home. Some have described South Shields as the town ‘where colour doesn’t count’ and the term ‘Yemeni Geordie’ has been used to describe an identity born of the blending of two cultures which came together as one. Today, there are many residents of South Shields with links to Yemen through a parent, grandparent or great grandparent even where this link is not visibly obvious. Many in South Shields with distant links, still carry their Arab names and many others who do not descend from this community directly have happy memories to share of growing up alongside the community, with the community as one wider South Shields community. The path to tolerance and acceptance however, was not straightforward and many compromises, sacrifices and struggles are buried in this history. These borne by the Yemeni men themselves but also their British wives and their mixed race children. British Yemeni integration is a story of endurance and resilience and unapologetic perseverance.
(c) South Tyneside Libraries
A Perspective on Childhood
“They were very happy times, people didn’t have very much money. We had our own way of amusing ourselves, playing games of buttons and having cut-outs. Placing different pages of a book and using a pin to go to the leaves of a book and if you were very lucky you found a cut out. That was a great prize. You’d have skipping ropes and whips and tops you know, we were just like other children.”
Mrs Selma Hussein A quote taken from Mrs Selma Hussein (early 1990’s).
Interracial and Interfaith Marriages: Changing the Landscape in South Shields
A Young Mohamed Muckble
Mohamed and Rosetta Muckble later years
‘I remember when I was 8 years old, I used to meet him to open the coffee shop. An he had this great big massive stove, old fashioned stove, and he used to light this stove and you couldn’t see anything for smoke. You had to open all the windows, winter time and all till it settled down and then I’d have banana and toast with him, just me and him until the Arabs would come, and he’d make them coffee.’
Maureen Marshall Granddaughter of Mohamed and Rosetta Muckble
Our Story
Mohammed Muckble and His Scottish Catholic Wife, Rosetta
Together they had 10 children though sadly lost 2 and ran a boarding house in Holborn and later a café and fruit shop on 21 Laygate Lane. Rosetta, a staunch Catholic, married Mohammed who was a Muslim at the age of 17. She held firmly to her Catholic faith throughout her life and never converted to Islam, though many of the local women who married Yemeni seamen did. Their oldest granddaughter, Maureen Marshall (nee Dellin), was born in Laygate Lane and has vivid memories of her grandparents happy home. “They agreed to respect each others religion, so my mother married my grandfather in a mosque and my grandfather married my grandmother in a church”
“In Ramadan, she stood by him. She prepared all his food and put a little banquet on for him for when he was allowed to eat in the morning”.
“He (Mohamed Muckble) was a bit of a scrooge really, and he had this parrot and the Arabs were terrified of this parrot, and he used to laugh (…) this giggle would come because he knew the Arabs were frightened (…) and he used to sell them glasses of lemonade, and coffee but sometimes the lemonade would go out of date … he still used to keep it and sell it and the Arabs liked him that much they never complained about it”
Maureen Marshall Granddaughter of Mohamed and Rosetta Muckble.
Our Story
Mohamed Muckbles Cafe
Together, Mohamed and Rosetta ran successful businesses including a café on the site of what today stands as the Al-Azhar Mosque.
“He (Mohamed Muckble) was a bit of a scrooge really, and he had this parrot and the Arabs were terrified of this parrot, and he used to laugh (…) this giggle would come because he knew the Arabs were frightened (…) and he used to sell them glasses of lemonade, and coffee but sometimes the lemonade would go out of date … he still used to keep it and sell it and the Arabs liked him that much they never complained about it”
Maureen Marshall Granddaughter of Mohamed and Rosetta Muckble.
Ali Fasa’s ‘Refreshment House Licence’ enabling him to serve drinks at his place of business.
Ali Fasa (Farrah Ali), his wife Mary Catherine Mayne Celebrating Golden Wedding Anniversary with their family
Identity Certificate of a Young Ali Fasa
The Census document showing Ali and Mary Fasa’s Laygate address.
Early attitudes to mixed race marriage
Friction between the Roman Catholic Church and Muslims over the religion of children born from multi-faith unions. Canon J B Byrne of the church spoke out in the one known instance of such an interaction, stating that the children of Muslims and Catholics should be brought up Catholic. The response from Sheikh Abdullah was very much one explaining that the Catholic or Christian wives of Muslim men are not forced to convert to Islam (and many did not), but that the children should be brought up Muslim. Whilst clear on his religious views, Sheikh Abdullah very much tried to limit conflict and did not want to have issues with other faith groups in the town.
As South Shields continues to embrace its multicultural identity, interfaith marriages stand as a testament to love’s ability to bridge divides and foster unity within the community. Granddaughter of Muhammad Muckble, Marion Cassin returns home to South Shields to get married. (Bottom left)
Grandaughter of Mohamed Muckble in the Shields Gazette for her Marriage (C) Shields Gazette
The British wives of the Arab Seamen were much to be admired. Not only did they break societal norms but they faced an uphill battle every day to be treated equitably. They were forces to be reckoned with, often helping to run their boarding houses and family businesses and defending their families against an onslaught of racism.
A postcard written by Elsie Cassim to Mr Riddick presumably of Riddicks shoe store which was a longtime standing shoe shop in South Shields until fairly recently. This postcard is showing the administrative role she, like many British wives, played in managing the affairs of Arab Seamen,
Sheikh Abdullah Ali’s Dispute
(c) The Shields Gazette 30/07/1937
(c) The Shields Gazette 30/07/1937
Mixed race children
Mixed race children were used time and time again as an argument against interracial marriage in the 1920’s and 1930’s.
(c) South Tyneside Libraries – unidentified couple
(c) 18/02/1929
Celebrations
(c) Shields Gazette
British Pathe have a video of one of these processions.
(c) Shields Gazette
Significant community events and interesting stories
14 year old Norman Abdo Ali learns the Quran in one year
Britains first Arabic broadcast
(c). The Shields Gazette 05/01/1938
Radios only able to pick up broadcasts from Rome
Permission for halal slaughter at local slaughter house / trip to Hajj to perform the holy pilgrimage to Mecca.
There was a massive lovely community, everyone new each other. Mams played with their kids in the street, it was lovely growing up in that. You didn’t really know any different and it wasn’t just Cornwallis Square it was the whole of Laygate and houses that have (since) been pulled down; Bowman Street beside old trinity church. There were Yemeni communities, there was people from the Carribean, there was English people, you didn’t know any different. It was just a nice community, everyone was together (…), there was no prejudice, you could walk into other peoples houses and that’s how we lived.
Aminah Hasan
Aminah (Elaine) Hasan, a South Shields resident, of English and Carribbean heritage was born on Portberry way and grew up on Cornwallis Square. She states:
“The influence of the Yemenis has a massive impact on my life, that’s why I became a Muslim. Especially through Uncle Saeed and my auntie Hagra who knew the Quran through going to the school, the way of life, the food, (…) was a massive influence. I became a Muslim and never looked back, I was really happy to do that”.
Aminah’s uncle, a Young Sheikh Saeed
Aminah’s Uncle Saeed went on to be an Iconic Sheikh in South Wales, a reminder that the Yemeni communities of the UK are also intricately linked. His presence touching many lives including Final Score presenter, Jason Mohammad.
Iconic Welsh Figure In The History of Islam
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Sheikh Saeed in Later Life
Deaths
One problem faced by the 1st generation of migrant Yemenis was the question of where to bury their dead. according to Islamic customs. Ali Fasa campaigned tirelessly to have a section of the cemetary, for Muslims, facing Mecca and succeeded in 1937. The proposal was initially rejected by the council but was discussed again and put to the vote. 27 councillors voted for it and only 7 against.
(c) Shields Gazette 02/01/1937
Ahmed Saleh funeral at Harton Cemetery 13/02/1935 (South Tyneside Libraries)
(C) Shields Gazette 09/03/1937
The first person to be buried in the new Muslim section of Harton Cemetary was the wife of Sheikh Ali, Miriam Ahmed.
Miriam Ahmed
Mariam had been under the care of Ali Fasa and his wife Mary Catherine Mayne after her birth mother left and her birth father had no choice but to go to sea to earn money for his family.
Mariam went on to marry South Shields Sheikh, Al-Hakimi but their happiness was short lived. At the age of 19, Mariam died tragically as a result of child-birth.
Her infant daughter, Rafia, did not survive and they were both buried together in 1937.
The people of South Shields, driven by curiosity and interest, flocked in droves to see the traditions of a Muslim funeral. Over 2000 people came out to see the procession, police struggled to contain the crowds and the event dominated Shields Gazette headlines.
A touching example of the Anglo-Arab family dynamic with both English and Arabic names together in the same families.
Today
Today, many British Yemenis still hold a strong relationship with Yemen having been born and brought up in South Shields. The photo below shows 5th generation South Shields born Yemeni, Mohamed Al-Sayyadi visiting Yemen in 2023.
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Explore the Legacy of the Yemeni Community Today
Join us on this journey to uncover the untold stories and rich history of the Yemeni community in South Shields. Start exploring now.
Youssef Nabil, Gharavi, T., Hebden, P. and Kipling, M. (2013). Last of the dictionary men : stories from the South Shields Yemeni sailors. London: Gilgamesh Publishing p 44.. ↩︎
