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After
the end of the war Mr Patel decided that he no longer wanted to
remain living in England and so he decided to go back to live in
India. Circumstances changed and he came back to England in 1955.
When
he first arrived in Cheltenham he lived in a property in Brunswick
Road with three good friends - Chimanbhai Lalabhai Patel, Jasubhai
Jerambhai Patel and Diyrabhai Naranbhai Patel.
They
had decided to buy the house together, as a syndicate. This was
the very first house in the town that was brought by Indian people.
Jasubhai
had already left the property before Nandiben and her two children
arrived.
We
travelled by steamer boat from Bombay to England. It took around
15 days. I came with my two children Govindbhai and Hansaben.
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| Nandiben
Patel |
She
recalls: "We travelled by steamer boat from Bombay to England. It
took around 15 days. I came with my two children Govindbhai and
Hansaben to join him."
Mrs
Nandiben remembers the weather when she arrived in England. "It
was very, very cold. I have never seen anything like it, it was
snowing and I had never seen snow before. I had never walked on
snow before so I did fall a few times."
Diyrabhai
soon also brought his own property and then called his family. Chimanbhai
lived with them for a while before going his separate way too.
Mrs
Nandiben's husband found employment in Dowty Rotol and carried on
working there until he retired. The family lived in their first
property for a long time and only brought their present property
when Mr Patel retired.
Communication
Nandiben
now lives in Cheltenham on her own, her husband having passed away
a few years ago. All three of her children - Govindbhai, Hansaben,
and Pareshbhai who was born in Cheltenham - are married and live
close to her so they can visit every day.
Nandiben
has never learned how to speak English and initially relied on her
husband whenever they did such things as taking the children to
see the doctor. When the children were older she often relied on
them for communication.
There
wasn't much Indian food when we arrived here - in fact we didn't
even have an Indian grocery shop. So we relied on food that
came from London. |
| Nandiben
Patel |
Of
her earliest memories in England she recalls when the first Indian
marriage took place - a Mr Jemerbhai Patel got married in the register
office.
"There
wasn't much Indian food when we arrived here - in fact we didn't
even have an Indian grocery shop. So we relied on food that came
from London, so we could buy items like flour."
Since
settling in Cheltenham she has returned to India about five times
or more to visit friends or family, something she says was very
nice.
»
See 'The Hindu Community'
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