Reminisence Session video interview

00:00 Four participants introduce themselves and give date of when they came to the UK.

00:54 Fazal explains why he came to England (Mangla Dam), getting passport in Karachi and living there for a year. Travelling to Basra then Baghdad before going to England. Discussion on the reasons behind not travelling directly from Pakistan to the UK.

02:13 Discusses the villages that the first migrants came from.

02:33 Fazal explains his migration to the UK, brother already in UK, plane to London, lost luggage, taxi to Bradford etc.

05:00 Fazal’s family had a watermill in Kashmir gave enough income to live, 25 acres and did masonry work. Some Kashmiris went to British India to work, others worked on the railway or on ships.

05:47 Living and working in the UK, fog, travelling from Bradford to Keighley for work, wages, availability of work, typical day.

08:55 Living together and managing expenses, using the basic consumption model that was used on ships, supporting those newly arrived in the UK until they found work, letters home to Pakistan.

10:58 Sharing houses, intention to return to Kashmir, sending any spare income home to Kashmir, UK government encouraging families to come over and join the workers.

12:14 Cost of living, bus fares, house hold expenses, shopping by leaving key and list with local shop owner who delivered the shopping to the house, development of Asian shops, the lack of produce with things like mango and guava only available in tins.

14:32 Shopping and learning English, Oxford cars, driving tests and driving experiences.

17:45 Not wearing slippers or salwar kameez out, problems not knowing English but having a good work ethic and using gestures and signs to be understood in work and when shopping, speaking mother tongue at home.