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Elsie Atkinson, Jean Bielik, Linda Atkinson and Vilma Bielik, Hollingwood Lane, c.1965

Jean Bielik is in the centre of the photograph and her step-mother-in-law, on a visit from Hungary, sits in the foreground of the image.

Jean’s husband Attila was born in Hungary but fled the country and moved to Bradford after the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. Visits from family members were infrequent, with travel to and from the soviet-controlled country closely monitored. Travellers would have been subjected to rigorous checks on their return to Hungary – with one family member noting they were subject to a strip-search and thorough check of possessions before being allowed to re-enter Hungary.

Courtesy of Diane Bielik

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