Czechs in the United Kingdom refers to the phenomenon of Czech people migrating to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

from the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

or from the political entities that preceded it, such as

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. There are some people in the UK who were either born in the Czech lands or have Czech ancestry, some of whom descended from Jewish refugees (e.g.

Kindertransport The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children (but not their parents) from Nazi-controlled territory that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World ...

) who arrived during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Population

The

2001 UK Census A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...

recorded 12,220 Czech-born people resident in the UK. With the accession of the Czech Republic to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

in May 2004, Czechs gained the right to live and work elsewhere in the EU, and large numbers moved to the UK for work, although there has been substantial return migration. The

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for t ...

estimates that 45,000 Czech-born immigrants were resident in the UK in 2013. Figure given is the central estimate. See the source for 95 per cent confidence intervals. The 2011 UK Census recorded 34,615 Czech-born residents in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, 1,256 in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, 2,245 in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, and 662 in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The figure for Scotland includes people who specified that they were born in Czechoslovakia, but the figures for England, Wales and Northern Ireland do not. 1,279 people in England, 39 in Wales and 16 in Northern Ireland are recorded as having been born in Czechoslovakia without specifying the Czech Republic or Slovakia.

Notable people with Czech ancestry

Milan Baroš Milan Baroš (; born 28 October 1981) is a Czech footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for FK Vigantice at amateur level. In 2005, he was part of the Liverpool team which won the UEFA Champions League. He went on to win Ligue ...

, footballer *

Roman Bednář Roman Bednář (born 26 March 1983) is a Czech former professional footballer. Club career Czech Republic Born in Prague, Bednář started his career as a youth player at ČAFC Prague before he stepped up to Gambrinus liga side FC Bohemians ...

, footballer *

Patrik Berger Patrik Berger (; born 10 November 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He started his career in his own country with Slavia Prague and spent a season in Germany playing for Borussia Dortmund. He moved to ...

, footballer *

Georgina Bouzova Georgina Bouzová (born 1 June 1976) is an English television actress best known for her former role as Ellen Zitek in the BBC One medical drama ''Casualty''. Previously, Bouzová had a number of minor television roles including in '' Doctors'', ...

, actress *

Alf Dubs, Baron Dubs Alfred Dubs, Baron Dubs (born 5 December 1932) is a British Labour politician and former Member of Parliament. Early life and education Born in Prague in what was then Czechoslovakia, Dubs was one of 669 Czech-resident, mainly Jewish, child ...

, politician *

Petr Čech Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He also plays semi-professional ice hockey as a goaltender for Chelmsford Chieftains. Described by numerous players, pundits and managers as ...

, footballer *

Josef Franc Josef Franc (born 18 January 1979, in Čáslav, Czech Republic) is a former international motorcycle racer who competed in Grasstrack, Longtrack and motorcycle speedway. Career He has appeared as a track reserve in the 2007 Czech Republic S ...

, motorcycle speedway rider * Vera Fusek, actress * Eva Hayman, Holocaust survivor, diarist and nurse *

Anna Hájková Anna Hájková (born 1978) is a Czech-British historian who is currently a faculty member at the University of Warwick. She specializes in the study of everyday life during the Holocaust and sexuality and the Holocaust. According to Hájková, "M ...

, historian *

Eva Jiřičná Eva Jiřičná (born 3 March 1939) is a Czech architect and designer, active in London and Prague. She is the founder of the architectural atelier ''Eva Jiricna Architects'', operating in Britain (at first as ''Jiřičná Kerr Associates'') fro ...

, architect *

Jan Kaplický Jan Kaplický (; ; 18 April 1937 – 14 January 2009) was a Neofuturistic Czech architect who spent a significant part of his life in the United Kingdom. He was the leading architect behind the innovative design office, Future Systems. He was be ...

, architect * Jan Kavan, diplomat and politician * Čeněk Kottnauer, chess master * Karel Kuttelwascher, fighter pilot * Sir Frank William Lampl, Life President of

Bovis Lend Lease Lendlease is a globally integrated real estate company that creates and invests in communities, workplaces, retail, and infrastructure projects, headquartered in Barangaroo, New South Wales, Australia. History Founding The company was establ ...

* Miroslav Liskutin, fighter pilot WW2 *

Herbert Lom Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru (11 September 1917 – 27 September 2012), known professionally as Herbert Lom (), was a Czech-British actor who moved to the United Kingdom in 1939. In a career lasting more than 60 ye ...

, actor *

Dan Luger Daniel Darko Luger MBE (born 11 January 1975) is a former English rugby union international who was a member of the squad that won the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Rugby career Club career Dan Luger was born in Chiswick and is the son of a Croa ...

, English

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player *

Ivan Margolius Ivan Margolius (born 27 February 1947) is an author, architect and propagator of Czech culture and technology. Life Margolius was born in Prague, son of JUDr Rudolf Margolius, Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade, and Heda Margolius Kovály, Czech ...

, author, architect and propagator of Czech culture and technology *

Jan Pinkava Jan Jaroslav Pinkava (born 21 June 1963, in Prague) is a Czech-British-American producer, director, writer, and animator. He directed the Pixar short film ''Geri's Game'' and served as co-director and co-wrote the story for ''Ratatouille'', bot ...

, animator, film director * Hana Maria Pravda, actress *

Dominic Raab Dominic Rennie Raab (; born 25 February 1974) is a British politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Secretary of State for Justice, and Lord Chancellor since October 2022, having previously served from 2021 to ...

, politician *

Karel Reisz Karel Reisz (21 July 1926 – 25 November 2002) was a Czech-born British filmmaker, one of the pioneers of the new realist strain in British cinema during the 1950s and 1960s. Two of the best-known films he directed are '' Saturday Night and S ...

, film director *

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

, screenwriter, playwright

References

External links

www.pohyby.co.uk - Czech and Slovak community portal in the UK - more than 24000 members

Czech and Slovak Club in London

British Czech and Slovak Association

Czech Centre London

Czech Radio London

Immigration to the United Kingdom by country of origin Czech Republic–United Kingdom relations {{Europe-ethno-group-stub

Population

Notable people with Czech ancestry

See also

References

External links