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During World War One, hundreds of Yemini sailors came to live in South Shields. They largely worked on merchant ships, replacing the men who were fighting in the trenches and many of them lost their lives during the war. One of Britain鈥檚 first Muslim communities, it numbered around 3,000 by the end of the war.

The men lived in boarding houses but some went on to marry local girls. One survey suggests around one in four people living in South Shields claim some Yemini ancestry.

After World War Two, the decline of the British shipping industry meant a fall in employment opportunities and the numbers of Yemini sailors in South Shields fell sharply.

But the community was put firmly on the map in 1977 when boxing legend Mohammad Ali visited the mosque to have his marriage blessed by the local imam.

Location: South Shields, Tyne and Wear NE33 1ES
Photograph courtesy of Shields Gazette