Jewish East End Celebration Society
4A Cornwall Mews South, London, SW7 4RX
[email protected]

The role of Jewish East Enders in working with early Sikh arrivals in the UK is set to form part of a new documentary film whose creators are seeking people who can talk to them from a Jewish perspective about the partnerships that developed.

Many of the East End Sikhs made a good living as peddlers, with support from the Jewish community. They were offered goods to sell in advance and also offered lines of credit to get them going.  Jewish traders also offered these Sikhs accommodation, helping to make it possible for them later to start their own businesses.

The film is being made by Sebastian van der Velde and  his work partner Azadvir Singh, who have made a number of feature documentaries about the Sikh community ('Sikh musical heritage'/Amazon Prime, 'Battle of Amritsar'/Cinema release UK, USA  & Canada).

Sebastian says: “We are currently in the research stage of our new documentary about the early migration of Sikhs to Britain. During some of our interviews we discovered that many of the early Sikh arrivals settled in to East London and entered the profitable peddler trade. It seems that this was only possible because of the support they received from the Jewish community to get them started. 

“This is clearly a very important part of the history and this story. I was wondering if you would know anyone who might have any further information or stories from a Jewish perspective and would be prepared to have a chat with myself.”

All offers of help would be gratefully received by Sebastian at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Latest news

  • More emerges about H Lotery and Co

    A while back, we had a reader asking if anyone had any information about a company his mother had worked for in the East End and which she remembered as being called Lottries. The inquiry sparked some fascinating replies, which identified the company as H Lotery and Co, and we've just had a response from the grandson of the company's Read More
  • Project seeks material and memories from the legendary Yiddish poet A.N. Stencl

    Did you know or do you have material from the Polish-born Yiddish poet Avrom-Nokhem Stencl (also known as A. N. Stencl) who was once famous in east London for selling his celebrated Yiddish magazine Loshn un lebn (Language & Life), for running his Friends of Yiddish Saturday afternoon literary society and for his many acclaimed publications of Yiddish poetry? Stencl Read More
  • Two great East End events

    Two great East End related events take place next month. First, Tower Hamlets Local History Library in Bancroft Road, Mile End, has what should be a fascinating free talk on Thursday, 5 September (18.30 - 20.00hrs) entitled “The Petticoat Lane Foxtrot”. The next day, September 6, sees the opening of a great exhibition at the Brady Arts and Community Centre, 192-196 Hanbury Read More
  • East End playwright, novelist and poet Bernard Kops dies aged 97

    Bernard Kops, the great East End playwright, novelist and poet, and honorary president of JEECS, has died at the age of 97 The son of Dutch-Jewish immigrants, Bernard was born in 1926 and brought up in Stepney Green Buildings in a world whose frontier was Aldgate East tube station, a world in which clothing from the Jewish Board of Guardians Read More
  • Seeking the human being within, behind the cloak

    Bernard Kops, the great East End playwright, poet and novelist has died at the age of 97. Honorary life president of JEECS, he was an astute observer of both the old Jewish East End and the modern world. The interview below is from the JEECS magazine The Cable in 2006 and is being republished as a tribute to a great Read More
  • A fresh look at the Siege of Sydney Street

      The Siege of Sydney Street is the subject of a new book published on March 1 that provides a thrilling account of this iconic East End event. Read More
  • From Polish immigrant to East End artist: the lost Whitechapel boy

    Morris Goldstein, a near forgotten member of the remarkable group of artists and writers that flourished in the East End in the early part of the last century, deserves wider recognition. RAYMOND FRANCIS, his son, gives us a taste of his story in this extract from his book about his father's life. This article was published in JEECS's magazine The Read More
  • East End Brady days

    An exhibtion devoted to the history of the Brady Girls' Club opens in London on October 6. So it seemed a timely moment to republish these reminiscences of an iconic East End organisation originally published in our magazine The Cable in 2010. Read More
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3

For the old Jeecs site, visit www.jeecs.org.uk/archive