There are very few records of ships arriving in Britain from the West Indies and the government did not register West Indian immigrants because they were British subjects.

However, there are inwards passenger lists (BT 26) for the period 1870-1960, for ships arriving from ports outside of Europe and the Mediterranean. The lists are arranged by date, port of arrival and by ship. The information for each passenger includes name, age and occupation, and from the 1920s intended place of residence.

There are no indexes to the passenger lists, but for the period 1906-51, if you know the name of the ship and approximate date of arrival, you can identify the port and month of sailing from the registers in BT 32.

There are no passenger lists after 1960 and none for people who travelled by aeroplane. It is possible that outwards passenger lists by boat and aeroplane may survive in the country of departure.

It is important to note that the passenger lists are only for ships arriving in UK ports. Information received by the Ministry of Labour from the Colonial Office relating to West Indians arriving in 1955 (LAB 8/1902) shows that many arrived by train in London via Calais and Dover after disembarking from ships at continental ports such as Marseilles, Genoa and Vigo. Any surviving passenger lists may survive in the countries of arrival.

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