Chapter 18

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“I am from the village of Bilga which is in the district of Jalandhar. This is a large village and is well known due to its size and the fact that it has a Gurdwara of historical significance. The fifth Sikh Guru Shri Guru Arjan Dev Ji visited the area and the Gurdwara was built in his honour. Sikhs from around the world still come and visit the Gurdwara today.“

“My papa Gurdial Singh Sanghera was a farmer in India before he came to England. He was the eldest in his family and he came to England around 1956 and settled in Wolverhampton. I came over with my mother Surjit Kaur and my younger brother Balwant Singh and my sister Manjeeti Kaur in 1960. I was 16 years of age at the time. I had been to a local school for a few years before coming across.”
Simro Kaur Benning

“I was born in the village of Jandiali which is in the direct of Jalandhar. I was the youngest in my family. My father was Chanan Singh Benning and my mother was Beant Kaur Benning. I had three older brothers Nirmal Singh, Sohan Singh and Jinder Singh who was known to everyone as Shindi, and two sisters Gurdev Kaur and Harminder Kaur. When I was still quite young my father came across to England around the mid 1950’s. My brother Shindi came across in 1960 and my sister Harminder Kaur followed a few years later. Shindi was the only one of my brothers to come to England as my older brothers were already married and were looking after the family farm.”

“Before coming to England I was studying at the local village school. I was twelve years old when I left India. I was very much looking forward to seeing my father again as I had been a little child when he had come across to England. This was not uncommon in Jandiali as I remember many of my friends and cousins had male members of the family abroad working.”
Jagdish Kaur Sandher