Transcript for: Better Living

Interviewee: Ashraf Ali

Subject: Coming to England

I was about thirty years old.

And where did you live when you first came?

I lived here, in Newcastle. I came here in 1960, and I lived for three years in Newcastle, after that I came here to Huddersfield in 1964. I came here alone, and then my family came here in 1964, my wife and three children.

Why did you come to England?

It was for better living, for the betterment of my children. There's more money here.

What did you do in Pakistan?

I was a clerk in the Irrigation Department.

So you were educated in Pakistan?

Up to Metric level and then I served for 10 years in the Irrigation Department.

What job did you do in Newcastle when you lived there for three years?

I was a bus conductor at that time.

Where there many other Pakistanis when you came, or Indians or Asians?

Not so many like that, but now it's more. Because it was only single people; they lived on their own, then they brought their family.

Who did you live with when you first came?

I lived in lodgings, with about 10 people in that house in Newcastle; all living together.

Were there men or women?

No, they were separate. There were all single people there.

When did you come to Huddersfield?

I came here in 1964, and my family came here with three children and a wife.

Where did you live in Huddersfield?

Leeds road, then I moved to Lockwood, and then I bought a house in Crossland Moor, then I moved down here.

Where did you work in Huddersfield?

I worked in textile mills, mostly.

Where was the mill?

In Minsbridge, most mills were in Minsbridge. And then one in Greenfield, I work there for 5 years.

What was it like working in the mills when you came from Pakistan, and you were a clerk in Pakistan?

It was OK, because there were no other jobs, less for an Asian, for a clerk in Huddersfield. Most worked all the time in the mills.

How many years did you work in the mills for?

I worked 25 years in textiles, a long time. Then I retired in 1994.