We Came By Sea: Stories Of A Greater Britain

by Horatio Clare

We Came By Sea, Stories of a greater Britain is an untold story of the small boats crisis, a story which shows the best of us. It is the story of the volunteers who help thousands of refugees in Calais, of the lifeboat crews mounting one of the great search and rescue operations of all time, of an unrecognised, uncelebrated, all but unknown Britain which is giving its all to help the vulnerable and desperate. It is a journey through an unexamined nation, a nation which is as truly great and good as the people in the dinghies believe Britain to be. It is not the story we have been told, and it is a true story.

Genres: Nonfiction

176 pages, Hardcover

Published June 2, 2025

About the author

Horatio Clare (b. 1973) is a writer, radio producer and journalist. Born in London, he and his brother Alexander grew up on a hill farm in the Black Mountains of south Wales. Clare describes the experience in his first book Running for the Hills (John Murray 2006) in which he sets out to trace the course and causes of his parents divorce, and recalls the eccentric, romantic and often harsh conditions of his childhood. The book was widely and favourably reviewed in the UK, where it became a bestseller, as in the US.

Running for the Hills was nominated for the Guardian First Book Award and shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. Horatio has written about Ethiopia, Namibia and Morocco, and now divides his time between South Wales, Lancashire and London. He was awarded a Somerset Maugham Award for the writing of A Single Swallow (Chatto and Windus, 2009).

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Those that arrive on these shores in small boats are here with the faintest hope of re-making a life on this island, and are vilified in the right-wing press. This narrative has sadly been picked up by the current prime minister, Kier Starmer, as he tries to out reform, Reform.

To try and understand what was happening to these people, who are desperate to try to start a new life, Clare heads to Dover, the current front line for those arriving from the continent. He is hoping to speak with some of these people, the volunteers who are caring for them, the people manning the lifeboats who often end up rescuing them as the substandard boats they are on get into trouble and who see tragedy most weeks> He is hoping to speak to the personal of the UK Border Force who are tasked with repelling this invasion force.

Mostly, he is there to discover the truth of what is happening, as he feels that the way this is being reported in the press is at best wrong…

Most of the people that he ends up speaking to wish to remain anonymous, which is understandable. There are various reasons behind this, but it is predominantly because they are not opening themselves up to the torrent of abuse they would get from trolls online. It is quite sad that it has come to this, but such is the power of populism. There are a few who don’t mind their names being mentioned. The discussions are eye-opening, and it is here that he begins to learn how big businesses ‘manage’ the situation through the lucrative contracts they have been awarded.

He moves on to Calais. The centre of this town is quite pleasant, however, the outskirts are pretty grim. There is a lot of poverty and crime. He is helped in finding where the people who want to cross the channel are by others who work in charities supporting those who have made it this far through Europe and are desperate to reach the UK.

There is a strong presence of the CRS riot police, who, it turns out, are partly funded by us. They seem to be aiming to irritate and provoke the 3000 or so people who are sleeping rough in the area.

Another charity worker highlights the folly of the amount of money being spent on this hostile environment. They suggest that the money would be better spent on infrastructure, integration and jobs for the people arriving. Not only would it make a massive difference, but the overall ongoing costs would be much lower in the long run.

This relentless demonisation of migrants didn’t apply when it came to Ukraine, though. 267,000 people applied and were granted visas. He imagines what it would be like of this same principle was applied to all asylum seekers who were wishing to move away from opposition and persecution in their home countries.

Back in Calais, Clare finds out that the police have stepped up their persecution of the rough sleepers. They raid camps, take tents and possessions. The charities helping these people can’t supply replacements fast enough. It is a nasty campaign. Immigration across Europe is a huge political hot potato. Borders are being closed on the southern shores, and Clare writes about the UK companies that have used this for their own advantage. They don’t seem to have a single atom of empathy or compassion among them.

The government at the time this book was written plan to house a large number of immigrants awaiting processing (horrid phrase), in a barge called the Bibby Stockholm. It is in need of a lot of repairs and upgrading to become fit for habitation, and surprise, surprise, a private company has been awarded a very lucrative contract to undertake the work. It is being carried out in Falmouth before being moved to Portland. No one is happy about it (except probably the company with the contract) and even when finished, it is fraught with problems. The inmates (it was described as a prison) complain of the treatment they receive there, and when Leonard Farruku commit suicide, the home office refuses to pay to repatriate his body. His sister starts a crowdfunding page and raises £19K in one day. The compassion of some of the British people is very moving.

The description of a boat journey undertaken by an artist in a small dinghy is quite tense. The projection of a future where immigrants realise their relatives took the same journey is touching too.

As winter comes, the cold makes the journey much harder. Clare heads to Liverpool to see how people are being helped in that city. There has been a lot of protests against them being there, mostly egged on by right-wing groups, but it is found that these protests fade if there is dialogue and resistance.

There are countless stories that could be told, but Clare only picks up on a few for this book. We are fed an ever more hysterical rhetoric by a press that leans further right each day, but the thing to remember is that there is only a small number of genuine asylum seekers each year. Having safe routes for these people would stop all the small boats and paying councils, particularly in the North, rather than the corporations that are making huge profits, would be better for everyone.

As climate change bites harder in the coming years, more and more people are going to be on the move, so we are really going to have to deal with it properly. This is a brilliant book, full of compassion for those who have made the decision to leave their home (or had it forced on them). There is a lot of food for thought, and as with all his other books, it is so well written. Read it as soon as you are able to.

[Tom Stanger · Rating 5 out of 5]

The small boat crisis is certainly one that has permeated mainstream news over the past ten years. For me, the issue was highlighted when former Prime Minister David Cameron very publicly refused to take in migrants from Calais, brandishing them “a swarm of people coming across the Mediterranean, seeking a better life, wanting to come to Britain”. Cameron was rightly admonished for this statement; however, this, in many ways, set the scene for a number of public attitudes since then, with rhetoric and treatment of migrants becoming more and more dehumanising from many public figures.

In We Came by Sea, Horatio Clare sets out to give not just the migrants a voice, but also those who work in border forces, charities and the RNLI, who also came under fire from Nigel Farage, who branded them a “taxi service” in yet another failed publicity stunt (donations to the RNLI rose 3000% following this event). In a world of media and political hysteria, We Came by Sea provides a voice of reason in a debate that seems intent on dividing the country, giving those who’ve been silenced on this issue a long-overdue voice in the matter.

Many of the issues talked about in We Came by Sea were not new to me. I was aware of the conditions of the refugee camps in Calais, which had not just been revealed in the news, but also friends who’ve had to visit whilst working in Home Office Asylum contracts, who also made me aware of the actual conditions these Asylum Seekers are placed into while waiting for their cases to be processed by the Home Office, so I was in a fortunate position when reading this book, to have some preparedness when opening these pages.

However, I found the underlying message in We Came by Sea to be one of hope, not just the hope these people have when trying to reach these shores, hope in that through the hard work of the various charities, the general supportive public and politicians throughout Europe who are working for the best interests of everyone, but also by exposing the hypocrisy of those who are whipping hatred against these people fleeing terror.

In We Came by Sea, Horatio Clare weaves a narrative that not just gives a voice to all those who have never had a voice in this more than vocal debate, but also a response to the ever-growing narrative by our public representatives that we are not becoming an “island of strangers”, but by helping those in need delves to the very heart of who Britain actually is, and that certainly is a story worth telling.

[Georgie Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be compulsory reading!!!

The only bit I was slightly unconvinced by was the focus on ‘good individuals’ in a system that is so utterly evil.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a sucker for a beautiful cover and title, but I have no regrets.

This is a book based on commissioned journalism for a newspaper - a series of pieces - and I felt quite aware of that throughout. I wouldn't have got to read it in the newspaper.

At the same time as reading this book, I read an article in a (different) newspaper about the issue of pride and negative assumptions about seaside towns and it tied in well with Clare's approach. He starts with a premise of reminding us that we can be good, compassionate, welcoming people in a way we can be proud about. It reminded me of two (now dead) individuals who lived with the view and were part of that Dover migrant welcome. He shows us examples, where we might not have expected to find this compassion, this welcome. Starting this way (when many try only to conclude this way) felt different.

The most disturbing and resonant element of the book for me was how many people felt they couldn't speak openly - he says the last time he was in a situation where people were quite so locked down in their thoughts was the dictatorship in Turkmenistan (about which I have read recently) - locked down by the way the hate-filled loud voices and excitable media behave but also sometimes by the precariousness of their personal position, especially insecure employment. To have the RNLI silenced and treated as though their work is shameful like this is appalling (and Clare's own past involvement is important as he talks about that service) The most jarring were the few gung-ho chaps from the Border Force champing at the bit to do 'pushbacks' - they do indeed need to be anonymous because they should be out of that job.

The story, for me, came across as very straight (he may not even have intended it to be so) - he shows us a lot, more implicitly than explicitly, notably for me the complexities of those helping, the burnout, and the complexities of those arriving. Mainly he is focusing on individuals, real people, but he does provide some interesting facts and figures - the size of the contracts for migrant services, and details of the restrictions on those waiting for their asylum claims to be processed. Another reviewer thinks there aren't facts and figures and thinks that writing about the Rwanda project and the Tory government contemporaneously mean the book is out of date already. I disagree - there's that 'those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it' and omitting that debacle is the first step in failing to learn. I also thought his references to the work of Gaia Vince on climate chaos induced migration were vital.

[Hilary Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an impressive book, combining stories about those seeking asylum in this country and those who, contrary to all the rhetoric about ‘immigration’, work tirelessly to give support and hope in the face of such negativity. Horatio Clare also includes facts and figures- eg recent polls showing that the headlines we read and the government are not the full story and don’t reflect the views of many in our country. It’s a fascinating and thought- provoking book, as well as being very readable.

[Debby Binns · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very thought provoking book. It describes immigration via the small boats that arrive in the UK each day/week and year. It tries to break down boundaries and break down the damaging rhetoric of “us” and “them”, and to suggest that there could be a “we” in the stories.

[Michaela Salmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book about asylum seekers coming to the UK via France in the small boats which we hear so much about in the media. The author interviews various people involved and visits Calais and Dover, as well as asylum hotels and the short-lived Bibby Stockholm asylum ship. He asks asylum seekers why they want to get to the UK specifically and are willing to risk life and limb to get there which is interesting - it’s about language and family connections but also a strong perception that the UK is a fair place, less racist than other parts of Europe and a place of opportunity for new arrivals. This is ironic, given the current media storm about asylum seekers, but also justified in this book by the amazing people who rescue and then help asylum seekers and the genuine recognition of common humanity shown by the lifeguards and the people who look after and ‘process’ the asylum seekers when they first arrive at Dover and those who provide care in Calais. The author also points out the tiny proportion of migration which is represented by the small boats people (about 4%) and looks at possible solutions to the problem of people risking death at sea, the most important one clearly being to have alternative legal routes in place.

[Jools · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be required reading for every adult in the country. Meticulously researched, written with candour and empathy for all concerned. This book reminds us who we are, and exhorts us to do all we can to get back to that - to be the people and the country we are expected to be, and to stop giving the blaring ignorami the attention they crave.

[Rob Sedgwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short book is written in the style of a travel book; don't expect detailed charts or stats on immigration figures (there aren't any). It's also out of date, even though it's just been published, full of talk of Rwanda and half-forgotten Tory ministers from the previous administration. Writing a book like this in the last year of a government was always a big risk.

From the title, I was expecting (and hoping for) personal stories of the immigrants themselves. There are one or two, but it's mainly the stories of people who help the immigrants - charities, RNLI, border forces, etc. The author's basic argument is that this is a welcoming country, that we need immigrants, and that the anti-immigration press only represents a minority of people. He goes around speaking to people who largely approve of immigration, but their existence doesn't prove anything. The two big problems are a misunderstanding of the different types of immigration, and the incredibly inefficient process in the UK to process their applications, while denying asylumn seekers the chance to work.

It sounds like the ones who do come by boat are the well-heeled asylum seekers. Why the UK? Family/language/tolerance seem to be the main reasons for the views published in this book. The poorer ones have to make do with trying to sneak a ride on lorries, the traditional route into the UK. Immigration will continue as long as people want to come here and there are jobs for them when they do come. Those who go to so much trouble are likely to make a success of their lives, even if they have to waste years waiting for their applications to go through.

[Sean Farrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars feels a bit generous, but I did quite enjoy this book. It brings quite a human face to the Liberal side of the immigration debate and gives some comfort that there are people out there who do care about those in desperate need. It also goes a little way towards explaining Why Here?

But not really enough. And the book doesn't really dig into the reasons for migration in the modern world. We all have our theories but I want to know why people are leaving their homes to come here? Who is responsible? What can be done at source, if anything, to stop people having to migrate? Are the West, as I suspect, to blame - for the Wars, the climatic issues that lead to wars, the supply of arms, the economic collapse etc etc? And therefore are we not responsible for helping the victims of these and other existence- threatening problems? Or are these people responsible for their own problems and, if so, why do they expect us to help?

This book doesn't answer this. I'm still looking for the book that will.

[Joe Tristram · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this enlightening and useful, but although I agree with the message (that people are good and given the right opportunity this comes out as kindness) I felt the execution was a bit crude. As though Horatio Clare was in a hurry to get the book out, as he may well have been, given that, like all journalism, the subject is fast evolving and if he took too long it would have been irrelevant.
The only other one of his I've read is Heavy Light, about his experience of psychosis and being sectioned under the Mental Health Act, which I thought much more complete and well thought out.

[Claire H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Particularly love the framing Clare comes to by the end of his book. Will be gifting to my MIL!