The Indian Seamen’s Recreation Rooms in Hull

In the middle of the Second World War in east Hull, a centre opened in 1943 to offer comfort to the thousands of seamen from the Indian subcontinent passing through the city. At the end of my second week at the Hull History Centre, looking through the Missions to Seamen archives, I came across a file (UDMS/11/1/191) with the plans for this building, reports on why it was needed and details on how the centre worked.

During the Second World War, 40,000 Indian and Pakistani seamen were serving in the merchant navy and around 200 South Asian sailors came through Hull every week. Their ships docked in the east of the city and the seamen were reported by the local paper to be 'wandering around the city like a flock of lost sheep, just killing time' (Hull Daily Mail, 1942). It suddenly seemed 'urgent' to offer somewhere to welcome them, according to a report by the Missions to Seamen, where they could 'listen to radio programmes in their own language, read their own papers and books, talk their own language, and enjoy the warmth and comfort which is frequently missing on board their ships.' Because South Asian sailors were present in British ports throughout the country in this period, similar homes were opened in Liverpool, Glasgow and other ports around the country. Missions to Seamen were partially responsible for managing them.

Near the eastern docks in Hull, on the corner of Hedon Road and Delhi street, a small building was erected where South Asian seamen could spend time. The building cost £4,000, of which £1,000 came from local industrialist R. G. Tarran of Tarran Industries, another £1,000 from the King George Sailor's Fund, and the rest from other donors. According to the Hull Daily Mail, Delhi Street was only 'accidentally' chosen, although the name likely came from the fact that this area was where the ships carrying crews from India always docked. Because of this, the area was already strongly associated with sailors from the Indian subcontinent.

The Recreation Room for Indian Seamen in Hull opened with a special ceremony in 1943, with Azizul Huque, the High Commissioner for India in the United Kingdom as the guest of honour. Huque had already written a letter a year earlier recommending that a similar home for Indian seamen be established in Liverpool and had opened another recreation room in the Wirral a few months previously (Khan, 2025). The Mayor of Hull was also present, and made a speech where he explained that 'the Indian Seamen are no less a part of the merchant navy than any other seamen sailing the seas', who 'should have the same comforts and considerations as any other seamen' (Hull Daily Mail, 1943).

The centre was built to offer comfort to South Asian seamen in Hull. There was nowhere for them to sleep here, since South Asian sailors almost always slept onboard the ship, but the building offered recreational facilities and a prayer room. At around 90%, the vast majority of South Asian sailors coming to Britain during the Second World War were Muslim (Khan, 2025: 2). Thousands of men would have passed through here, taking advantage of a hot cup of tea and somewhere warm to meet friends. There was enough space to welcome up to 100 men at a time (one inventory specified that there were 100 teacups and 50 ashtrays), who could listen to the gramophone and the radio, borrow books or play board games.

The designs for the building also showed consideration for specific needs of sailors from modern-day India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. As well as the room that served as a prayer room, there was another back room with an Indian assistant/interpreter to help them write letters. Although some of the members of the committee designing the building thought that the South Asian men would be happier on 'couches, sofas or divans', they eventually decided on wooden chairs and armchairs. The building also provided bathrooms, specifically what one report called the 'squat native lavatories' that were known to be popular in 1940s South Asia. The bathroom next to the prayer room, where Muslim seamen could perform their ablutions (wudhu) before prayer, also demonstrates cultural competency around what they needed. This was likely due to input from Mr A. Hamed, the Pakistani man who managed the Recreation Rooms with his wife. 

The Indian Seamen's Recreation Rooms were only ever a cheap, temporary structure made from concrete. It has since been knocked down and today the site houses an electrical services company. There is no obvious sign of the thousands of South Asian seamen that passed through Hull during the Second World War and stayed in the Indian Seamen's Recreation Room; only the name Delhi Street offers a clue to this hidden history.