Arrivals: Allere McIsaacs (known as Vonnie)
In September 1960 when Allere (known as Vonnie) was 18 her grandmother paid the air fare for her to travel to England. Vonnie recalls the cold and how old and dirty the factory buildings appeared, reminding her of prisons.
On her arrival Vonnie made her own way from London to Stoke where she would stay with family friends for a short period.
Vonnie had hoped to become a nurse, so after successfully completing an entrance exam, she was to begin nurse training. However, Vonnie could not settle in Stoke and after meeting with a cousin moved to Doncaster where she has lived ever since.
Shortly after moving to Doncaster, Vonnie found work as a bus conductor, followed by two years working at Cooplands. A chance meeting with an old friend from Balcarres would mean she would soon begin a new life with her husband to be, Keith McIsaacs, who had travelled to the UK in May 1960 aged 20.
Vonnie’s hope of recommencing nurse training was halted when she became pregnant with her first child. She became a full time mother and housewife, raising her family in Doncaster. Keith passed away in 2007. Vonnie is now the proud mother of six, grandmother of seven and a great-grandmother to one.
