ABSTRACT
By tracing a detailed lineage within these families, it is possible to identify some of the ways in which family memory creates an ethos which shapes the lives of its members. In all families there is clearly a 'migration dynamic' whose meaning differs as it engages with other predominant cultural motifs of both class and colour. Migration, even within families, is never that simple. Looking at families across generations identifies the role of the family in enabling and permitting migration. In the families presented here, the importance of grandparents in the raising of grandchildren is clear. The wider sample confirms the resilience and role of the 'transnational' family where examples are presented of first and second generation British-born children being sent home to grandparents, or family, in Barbados. Evidence from the interviews confirms a reluctance to return to Barbados unless substantial material improvements can be shown.
