From India to London via Paris
Personal Details
Name: Jagat
Date of birth: February 1938
Place of Birth: Sandhwan, Jalandhar, Punjab, India.
Arrival Date in the UK :26th March 1962
Migration Story
What did you or your family do in your original country. e.g. student, professional, farmer, etc. ?
I was born on a small village in the Punjab in India, I went to school and later I had a job at Giddhar Bah , a town near the Pakistan border. I worked in in administration in the Office of the Irrigation department, supplying water to farms and towns.
My brother had moved to England earlier and was living and working there, he had been asking me about coming to England to work. At the time there was no immigration, so I just had to get a ticket.
My Brother had organized a ticket for me, so I had to give 24hrs notice to my employer and I resigned. I then went back to my village and started organizing and packing for England.
Why did you or your family come to the UK ?
My Brother told me to come to England for work as it was a good place for work and to live.
Describe your journey to the UK and method of travel e.g. boat plane etc. ?
My brother sent money and organized a ticket for me, via friends in the embassy. I am not sure of the exact details with booking, but I had a ticket from Delhi to Paris. The plane from Delhi to Paris was nice, the French Airline was very impressive at the time, the plane was very modern, clean and they gave good food and really nice service.
I arrived in Paris on the 25/3/1962 and my brother’s friend from the Embassy collected me and took me to a hotel, we were waiting for my brother to come as well to collect me. I was told to wait in the hotel, while the friend from the Embassy went to the airport to collect my Brother who had been on a flight from London to Paris.
We then had dinner with the friend and stayed at the hotel, the next day we went to the airport and caught a flight to London Airport. We then arrived in London on the 26th March 1962.
The day you arrived. Describe the first day, arriving, the experience, first thoughts?
We arrived in the evening, it was very cold and dark so I couldn’t really see much of the country.
Where did you go on the first day, e.g. family, friend, hotel, etc.?
We went to a house in Saxby Avenue, Hayes, Middlesex. My brother had been staying there with 12 men from India.
First few weeks – what did you do?
At the time my brother had recently had an accident and broke his arm in a factory so he was not working. The house was shared with 12 other men and they all lived and cooked together.
If you were not working or ill, everyone looked after each other and still gave food so nobody missed out.
I then had to get a job, my brother’s friend worked in a rubber factory and another friend worked at the bakery, so they helped me get a job there. I worked there for 5 months and was getting £9 and 10 shillings for 40 hrs. a week. I then moved to Hall and Herme Concrete factory in Heston, they were offering £15 which was more money, but the work was harder so I moved there.
It was very hard working there and the manager did not like Indians so worked us harder.
First few weeks – what did you miss the most?
I missed my family a lot. I had previously had an Office job, so the job in the concrete factory was very hard manual labour and the manager did not like Indians, it was not nice working there. The first weeks, I wondered why I had come, it did not seem better coming to England at first, later I learn to like England more.
First job or settling what did you do where did you live?
I worked for 3 years at the concrete factory, then went somewhere else to work for a short period, then I went back and worked there again. I eventually got a job at a food factory in Silverdale Road in Hayes.
First year what do you remember?
It was hard work and cold, I worked hard and sent money to India, I just remember work and sending money.
Life in the UK – Free section describe or add any comments you want here?
I eventually grew to like the country and enjoyed living in England.
In September 1964 I passed my driving test, it was £1 for each lesson and passed easily. My first car I bought was in 1964 it was a Grey Anglia Estate.
In 1966 my brother and I had saved enough money for a deposit on a house, which we purchased as partners in Hayes middlesex for £5000.
Later my wife and two sons came over in 1970, we lived together with my brother in the house that, until I purchased my own house in 1978.