Learn & Discover
Learn & Discover
Ukrainian Social Clubs
Ukrainian Social Clubs have a proud heritage in the UK. They tend to be affiliated with the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, which was founded in 1946, but some clubs date back even further. Founded by Displaced Persons forced to flee Ukraine after WWII, they have been fortified and strengthened by new generations of migrants, refugees and British-born Ukrainians who work together to protect and share their culture, language and traditions.
Header photo by Ben Masora on Unsplash
Laura Hadland
Beer dispense containers
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Emma Inch
A CAMRA member since 1997, John is volunteer with a keen interest in the technicalities of beer dispense, a GBBF bar manager, editor of Manchester’s Beer Buzz magazine and sits on CAMRA’s Technical Advisory Group.
The History
On Cheetham Hill Road in Manchester, a Ukrainian Social Club was established in 1929 on a single rented floor. One of the key founders was Joseph Lesniowsky, who had come to the UK in around 1909 and became an important leader for the Ukrainian community. They moved premises several times before purchasing 188 Cheetham Hill Road in 1943. The bar in the club gave the centre an income to sustain its activities.
This club was heavily used during WWII. Ukrainians serving in the Polish Armed Forces under British command and those serving in the Canadian and US armies stationed in the UK came to join in the social and cultural activities that took place there.
After the war, there was another stream of people who gained a much-needed warm welcome at the Manchester Ukrainian Club. This wave of immigrants and displaced people who came to Britain in the aftermath of WWII are often referred to as the ‘old immigrants’ (stari emihiranty). They arrived from Displaced Persons camps in Western Germany, Austria and Italy. Some had been taken from their homes as forced labour by the Germans. Others had fled in fear of Soviet rule.
The Manchester Club still exists in the Cheetham Hill area, presently located on Smedley Road. But It wasn’t just this city that welcomed the new arrivals. Ukrainian communities and their social clubs were set up around the country.
Bradford Ukrainian Club
Ewhen Chymera is the Director of the Bradford Ukrainian Club. A 3rd generation Ukrainian, his grandparents were among the founding members of the club, which was established in 1948. His grandparents had worked in German labour camps and were unable to return home – those that did go back to Soviet Union-held Ukraine were declared traitors by Stalin and sent to the gulags.
They arrived in Bradford after the war as refugees and worked in the textile mills where plenty of jobs were available. Ewhen’s grandparents were two of some 2000 active members of the Ukrainian Association in the town when it was first formed.
The Bradford Club bought premises on Claremont in 1950. Cultural activities like a choir, dance ensemble and sports clubs were established and flourished. A Ukrainian Saturday School was established in 1953 that supported over 100 children in the social club.
As the community established itself, grew and integrated it needed a new space. A larger venue was secured on Legrams Lane in 1981 which remains home to the club today.
The History
On Cheetham Hill Road in Manchester, a Ukrainian Social Club was established in 1929 on a single rented floor. One of the key founders was Joseph Lesniowsky, who had come to the UK in around 1909 and became an important leader for the Ukrainian community. They moved premises several times before purchasing 188 Cheetham Hill Road in 1943. The bar in the club gave the centre an income to sustain its activities.
This club was heavily used during WWII. Ukrainians serving in the Polish Armed Forces under British command and those serving in the Canadian and US armies stationed in the UK came to join in the social and cultural activities that took place there.
After the war, there was another stream of people who gained a much-needed warm welcome at the Manchester Ukrainian Club. This wave of immigrants and displaced people who came to Britain in the aftermath of WWII are often referred to as the ‘old immigrants’ (stari emihiranty). They arrived from Displaced Persons camps in Western Germany, Austria and Italy. Some had been taken from their homes as forced labour by the Germans. Others had fled in fear of Soviet rule.
The Manchester Club still exists in the Cheetham Hill area, presently located on Smedley Road. But It wasn’t just this city that welcomed the new arrivals. Ukrainian communities and their social clubs were set up around the country.
Bradford Ukrainian Club
Ewhen Chymera is the Director of the Bradford Ukrainian Club. A 3rd generation Ukrainian, his grandparents were among the founding members of the club, which was established in 1948. His grandparents had worked in German labour camps and were unable to return home – those that did go back to Soviet Union-held Ukraine were declared traitors by Stalin and sent to the gulags.
They arrived in Bradford after the war as refugees and worked in the textile mills where plenty of jobs were available. Ewhen’s grandparents were two of some 2000 active members of the Ukrainian Association in the town when it was first formed.
The Bradford Club bought premises on Claremont in 1950. Cultural activities like a choir, dance ensemble and sports clubs were established and flourished. A Ukrainian Saturday School was established in 1953 that supported over 100 children in the social club.
As the community established itself, grew and integrated it needed a new space. A larger venue was secured on Legrams Lane in 1981 which remains home to the club today.
“People breaking into song or dance is completely common,” Ewhen laughingly says of Bradford’s Club. “At our last Ukrainian Festival people were quite happily breaking into an old Ukrainian folk song at two or three in the afternoon, beer in hand! That is something that really unites Ukrainians in the UK.”
— Laura Hadland / Ewhen Chymera
“You get soft, almost wine like aromatics, refeshing… acidity and apple driven, when you try Kent and Eastern style ciders”
— Alison Taffs
“People wanted to gather together in their free time, whenever they could,” Ewhen explains to me. “To speak their own language, and discuss the politics of the time, much like other social and working men’s clubs up and down the country.”
The first waves of Ukrainian settlers came from Western Ukraine in the main, so they always leant towards Ukrainian independence. As well as creating “a little Ukraine, a home away from home” they wanted to increase support for their cause in the UK. They would fundraise for the fight for freedom. The first generation took to the streets to demonstrate for causes like the release of political prisoners and the rights of the Ukrainian church in the 1950s and 60s.
The most recent influx of Ukrainians, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, has added a new dimension to their efforts to preserve Ukrainian social, political and cultural life in the UK. The Bradford Ukrainian Club, like others around the country, has been a mouthpiece for those displaced people, catching the attention of British politicians to raise awareness. They also provide practical support like facilitating access to driving licences and ESOL (English as a Second Language) lessons. Perhaps more importantly, they have also provided a much-needed resource for British sponsors in the Homes for Ukraine scheme, helping them to break down linguistic and cultural barriers.
“People wanted to gather together in their free time, whenever they could,” Ewhen explains to me. “To speak their own language, and discuss the politics of the time, much like other social and working men’s clubs up and down the country.”
The first waves of Ukrainian settlers came from Western Ukraine in the main, so they always leant towards Ukrainian independence. As well as creating “a little Ukraine, a home away from home” they wanted to increase support for their cause in the UK. They would fundraise for the fight for freedom. The first generation took to the streets to demonstrate for causes like the release of political prisoners and the rights of the Ukrainian church in the 1950s and 60s.
The most recent influx of Ukrainians, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, has added a new dimension to their efforts to preserve Ukrainian social, political and cultural life in the UK. The Bradford Ukrainian Club, like others around the country, has been a mouthpiece for those displaced people, catching the attention of British politicians to raise awareness. They also provide practical support like facilitating access to driving licences and ESOL (English as a Second Language) lessons. Perhaps more importantly, they have also provided a much-needed resource for British sponsors in the Homes for Ukraine scheme, helping them to break down linguistic and cultural barriers.
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Ukrainian Beer
Ukraine is a part of the Eastern European vodka belt. Vodkas and flavoured vodkas are consumed copiously in the Bradford Ukrainian Club. That said, beer is also now an important part of the Ukrainian drinking heritage, with its popularity picking up considerably in the last 20 years as the craft beer and brewpub trends hit the nation.
As you might expect, the most common beers on offer in Ukraine are lagers influenced by German producers. Ewhen told me a little more about the beverages that have been served at the club over the decades:
“For a long time, Ukrainian beer wasn’t available in the UK so we drank what everybody else drank. Tetleys, John Smiths or whatever was brewed locally.”
Tetleys is on draught at the Carlsberg-tied club alongside a couple of lagers and they only recently stopped serving Tetleys Mild after lockdown. The Ukrainian club in Manchester serve JW Lees in their bar.
In the 1980s, Bradford created the ‘Pils Convention’. Second-generation Ukrainians loaded up their cars with Holsten Pils, a vat of curry from one of Bradford’s famous restaurants and headed to the Ukrainian camp in Weston-on-Trent to help with maintenance work over the weekends.
