Z1205/262

Male. Immigrant from Pakistan. Former brickworker b. 1.9.1938 SIDE A (00 mins)Born in Kashmir, Pakistan, in a village of some 100 houses. The informant contrasts indoor life in Britain with the more outdoor life in Pakistan, but also stresses the economic advantages of working in Britain, especially as regards family support. (05 mins)On the family farm barley and corn were grown, and chapatti-like dishes were prepared using flour, water, chilli, milk and cream. His sister's and two brothers' families mentioned. Youngest brother is a teacher in Pakistan. All the family worked on the land, but manually, not using modern tools. [Informant's daughter helps to translate]. All his children were born in U.K. Kashmir winters are very cold, but no snow. Hailstorms sometimes. A dam built in 1967 causes fog - hitherto unknown. (10 mins)In winter, people sleep there in blankets. Mornings are cold, but the afternoon sun is pleasant. Not all children there go to school, through poverty. Many children work the land. Informant went to school for 7 years, though his brothers for longer; his sisters not at all, unlike today. Births were sometimes registered, sometimes not. Informant's father was illiterate. Now there is much more widespread education. (15 mins)Informant cannot remember Partition in 1947, though he knows that the Hindus left the village then. There was much hatred then, but the informant asserts that God loves everyone, and that basically all religions, including his own (Islam), feature prophets and teach much the same values. (20 mins)Informant came to England because he heard in Karachi, after the war, that there was work in factories, mills and foundries in U.K.cities. He came to Bradford, being given financial help from his cousin who was already living there. There were others from his village living in Nottingham and Sheffield. (25 mins)Informant could get no work in Bradford, nor in Derby. He came to Bedford (where more village folk lived), but again no job prospects. He worked for three years in Oxford, doing building work and hospital portering at the Radcliffe. He then returned to Pakistan for two years, but then came back to Bedford to join his elder brother here. He worked a few months at the brickworks, but also at other manual jobs, very hard work. Then he became a ticket collector on Nottingham buses. He married in Pakistan, but his wife did not join him until the 1970's. (30 mins)End of Side A SIDE B (00 mins)His first job at the brickworks was forklift truck driving, loading, transporters, very hard work. Everyone was friendly. All did piecework, working on even in spite of illness. (05 mins)The pay was not too bad, but he left the brickworks because he had an accident and subsequent back pain, and he walks badly. He has been back to Pakistan, but accepts that England is where his life is now. (10 mins)End of Side B END OF INTERVIEW Original Interview 40 mins

20 February 2004

From: 1935 To: 2004

item

Marston Valley Brickworks,
London Brick Company

brick worker, immigration, farm worker, crops, climatology, teacher, food, child labour, illiteracy, registration of births, EDUCATION, Islam, Hinduism, religious practices, injury, wages/conditions, Kashmir, Bradford, Oxford, Radcliffe, Nottingham