Journey of a 10 year old in 1966
Personal Details
Name: Balbir
Date of birth: January 1956
Place of Birth: Kapurthala village in Punjab, India
Arrival Date in the UK :16th October 1966
Migration Story
What did you or your family do in your original country. e.g. student, professional, farmer, etc. ?
I was born in small village in Punjab and later we moved to Delhi, where my father worked in administration in Government offices. I liked Delhi and enjoyed going to school there, I had lots of friends and new everyone there. My Father left his job and went to England in 1963, so we had to move back the village. I missed Delhi a lot, the city life, my friends and all the other exciting things a city had.
Why did you or your family come to the UK ?
There were some changes to immigration, I didn’t know the full details at the time, but I had to go to England before I was eleven years old, or I could ending not getting into England if the rest of my family moved after I reached eleven. So I was told I would have to go to England to live with my Father.
Describe your journey to the UK and method of travel e.g. boat plane etc. ?
At the time of the journey I was ten and half years old, so I had to get on the plane all myself. I was looking forward to the plane journey. It was a BOAC plane, it was amazing and the journey to England was really nice, I had a really pleasant journey to London Airport and enjoyed it.
The day you arrived. Describe the first day, arriving, the experience, first thoughts?
When I arrived at the airport I had to go to immigration first, they asked me questions about myself and my father. Then they asked me silly questions, I am not sure why. They asked how many lampposts there were in England, I said I did not know, I had no idea. I was then let through and my passport was stamped.
I went out and was met by father, uncle and some cousins. They took me in a car to my uncle’s house in Hayes where my father was staying. I remember it was very cold, but the country looked impressive, the roads were so nice, the houses looks nice everything looked much better than India.
Where did you go on the first day, e.g. family, friend, hotel, etc.?
I stayed at my Uncles house with my father and cousins, I settled in quite quickly.
First few weeks – what did you do?
I had to go to Primary school and the nearest schools was Wood End Primary School in Hayes Middlesex. On the first day everyone was really nice to me, there were no other Indians in my class, everyone was English. I didn’t understand anything anyone was saying as I didn’t understand English, but everyone was nice and tried to help.
I remember I had to do a Math’s test, I understood all of this and did well, the teacher and classmates were impressed with this.
Ray Wilkins the Manchester United and Chelsea footballer was in my class, he used to play football in the playground at the early age in school. His brother was also there and they were also really nice.
I was there for about 1 year and eventually picked everything up and settled in quite well.
First few weeks – what did you miss the most?
I missed my family the most, my mother, brothers and sister were all still in India. Living in my Uncles house with my father and cousins was all ok, I was looked after, food and everything was good, I just missed my family.
First job or settling what did you do where did you live?
By time I went to Townfield Secondary Schools in Hayes, I was fluent and spoke good English. In my school there a few Indians, but the majority of the schools was English. Everyone was nice and got on, I had a lot of English friends, later I also had some Indian friends, but everyone just got on.
First year what do you remember?
Everything in England was a lot better, the shops, roads, education everything was good, it was a big change for me, but it was worth it.
I was mostly impressed with the TV my uncle had it was Black and White and I used it a lot. We didn’t have a TV in India, so this was new for me, I enjoyed watching and using the TV.
When I came to England I could speak and write Hindi and Punjabi really well, but over time I lost the writing skills as I learnt English.
Life in the UK – Free section describe or add any comments you want here?
My mother and family came to England in 1968, by then my Father had bought a house himself, which looking back was quite an impressive achievement, so he did well at the time. It was nice to eventually see my family and brothers and sister, they had grown quite a lot, but they had to pick up the language so it was hard for them.
I thought everything in England was much better than India, so I am glad I moved her. It was tough first of all settling in with the language issues, but I eventually picked everything up and had lots of friends.