Researching Invisible Seafaring Family Histories

In a wide ranging conversation, independent scholar, Asif Shakoor, reveals how he discovered that his grandfather, born in what is now Pakistan, served in Britain’s Merchant Navy during the First World War. Since this discovery, Asif has carried out considerable research into his grandfather’s life as he travelled between continents, including his visit to the Royal Victoria Docks in December 1917. Asif’s research and stories include fascinating insights into the lives and treatment of seafarers born under British colonial rule from the early 19th Century up to the end of the Second World War. By continuing to make new discoveries and to share his stories widely, Asif aims to encourage others to investigate further into their families' seafaring pasts

About the speakers

Asif Shakoor is an independent scholar and authority on 'lascar' لشکر heritage. He grew up in Manor Park and is a former student of the University of East London (UEL). He is currently an Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the author of a forthcoming book, Unearthing Invisible Seafaring Histories of Empire. In addition to this, he writes for the Port Towns & Urban Cultures (PTUC) website, University of Portsmouth. Asif has also contributed research to the Maritime Archaeology Trust's booklet on BAME seafarers in WWI and to The Lascar Research Project, Our Shared Cultural Heritage (OSCH) programme at Glasgow Life Museums. He has worked on a project to digitise Cooks Certificates for Indian seamen at the National Maritime Museum, and he is a former Advisory Board member of the Mariners: Religion, race and empire in British ports, 1801-1914 project based at the University of Bristol.

Dr Georgie Wemyss is a social anthropologist and Co-director of the Research Centre for Migration Refugees and Belonging (CMRB) at the University of East London. She is the author of The Invisible Empire: white discourse, tolerance and belonging (2009) and co-authored the monograph Bordering (2019). More recently she has focused on the coloniality of maritime bordering regimes. At the same time, she has been working with East London-based community projects delivering Heritage Lottery funded projects that re-interpret colonial histories with links to the East India Company and docks. She was also co-investigator on the research project Statues and memories of empire in post-imperial France and Britain at the University of Exeter.

This event is open to the public and free to attend both in-person and online (via Zoom). In-person spaces are limited, so register now to secure your spot!