Iftikhar Ahmed, originally from Rakhrawanin, Jhelum, came from a family of ten. He spoke to One Voice Blackburn about his journey to England and the legacy created by so many of his friends who came to Blackburn in those times.

"I had four sisters and four brothers including myself. My life in Pakistan was great. My father was head clerk in the district army service. I had big shoes to fill but struggled with sticking to one job. I was young and immature at the time and wouldn't last in one workplace for longer than a month."

Iftikhar, now 84 lives in Brookhouse, Blackburn, but started his working life near his home village.

"I worked in a military textile mill as a weaver at one point. I earned around 90-120 rupees per month. That's equivalent to less than £1 in today's currency. Our family situation was good because of my father's job. I did take advantage of this and was very spoilt. My father became irritated with my lack of ambition.

"I wanted to turn my life around. This is when I decided I wanted to work in the UK. I thought to myself that I wanted to return everything my parents had ever done for me and I wanted to be financially independent."

In July 1965, Iftikhar Ahmed, aged 26, decided to move to Blackburn in hopes of finding work and making his family proud back in Pakistan.

"My parents were supportive but scared of the uncertainty of how I'd cope or how often they'd see me. The whole process took around three months. I didn't have to go through an interview stage because I was called on a 'recommendation'. All I had to do was get a passport made."

Iftikhar came to this country on a voucher scheme. It was essentially a visa that the British Government handed out to people from foreign countries, to come to work in factories and mills.

"At that time everyone in Pakistan had one wish which was to get to the UK to make money and work in a stable job. There was huge demand in the UK for people from foreign countries to do manual labour.

"Everyone moved to Blackburn to find a job at the time as there were hundreds of factories and mills. Blackburn was the place to be, I worked with people from all over the country."

"When the opportunity came up to travel to the UK for work, my parents were naturally very happy, but they wanted to make sure I was married first. I got married 15 days before I moved to the UK. Everything happened so quickly.

"I promised myself that I would drown every single bad habit I ever had and lift my father's head up high. After some emotional goodbyes I finally left for a new beginning in Blackburn. I chose Blackburn because I knew family and friends that lived there. Blackburn had ample job opportunities due to all the mills and factories, so a job was inevitable."

As soon as Iftikhar Ahmed arrived in the UK he realised that everything was going to be very different from the place he had left behind.

"When I first stepped outside Heathrow Airport, I noticed that the air was fresh. It was all so overwhelming it was like stepping into a whole new world. When I reached Blackburn, I was amazed with the amount of vehicles on the road.

"Compared to today there weren't many at all, but in Pakistan cars were virtually non-existent especially where I was born and raised. The roads smooth and a lot wider than in Pakistan.

"I was surprised at how people were following rules based on colours at traffic lights. This may sound silly but there were no rules on the road in Pakistan. There was a huge difference in the temperature too. It was July so it wasn't too cold, but it wasn't anything like summer in Punjab.

Like many people Iftikhar Ahmed misses some of the very best spots in 1960s Blackburn.

"I remember my first trip to the Blackburn Market. I was in awe of the building and all the things that I could buy. Everyone was thoroughly nice here, but I didn't care about that initially.

"Cleanliness was something I noticed right away. The streets were clean, shops were well kept, and items were displayed neatly. I lived in a village in Pakistan so everyone would just pile their rubbish up on some empty land. There was no bin service or litter pickers out on the streets.

Iftikhar's first home was in St. Andrew's Street, near Shear Brow. At the time it was a three-story house and 11 people stayed at the property together. He still lives nearby in the Shear Brow area.

"We each paid £1 a week for rent and everyday essentials like beds, bedding and kitchen appliances were included. The house was decent in size even with 11 of us living under one roof. We had a front room, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, an outdoor washroom and five bedrooms. Two people shared each bedroom so there was enough space. The house was clean and well decorated.

"Our bathroom situation wasn't the easiest. You can imagine how difficult it would be with 11 men sharing one bathroom. We didn't have central heating or proper carpets. We would heat the home with coal fires. We would all gather in one room whilst the fire would be burning."

There are lots of halal food stores in Blackburn nowadays, and even the main superstores stock halal produce, but it was very different when Iftikhar and his friends arrived in the UK.

"We all shared expenses, and all of us had different duties. There were three of us including myself who oversaw the cooking. Master Rasheed was responsible for sorting out the food shop. There were only two or three halal shops when we moved to Blackburn.

"We would go down to the local shop and order the things we needed. They would write this down in a book with our address next to it. Our order would then be delivered to our house in a few days.

"The only day that we would all sit and eat together was a Sunday. We all had different jobs and rotas, so our days off never matched up. If the weather was nice, we would all go to the cinema to watch a Bollywood (Indian) or Lollywood (Pakistani) film. There was a cinema on Bolton Road that we would go to."

Although people came to Blackburn for economic reasons there was always just enough time to enjoy themselves, as Iftikhar continues to explain.

"I would go down to the cinema every week regardless of the weather. I would go with my only nephew at the time. I would come home after a night shift and attempt to sleep but he would come and knock on my door and wouldn't leave until I agreed to take him. I didn't need to do much convincing as I secretly loved going. My nephew lived on Bicknell Street with his family, so it wasn't far at all.

Work was easily available in the 1960s and many people from the south Asian continent flocked to take up occupation in factories as the textile trade still thrived, and the employment aftermath after the second world war was still endured

"My first job was at Roe Lee Mill. I worked on the machines as a weaver. We were all determined to work hard and make money. We would all say that we were going to work for five years straight and then go back to Pakistan. Little did we know that we'd be here for the rest of our lives.

"I worked five days a week, eight hours each day. I earned around £17 a week working on night shifts. You would get paid extra for doing these shifts. Sometimes I did overtime which would bump my wage up to £20 a week. That was a fantastic wage as I only paid £1 rent and £1 towards expenses. The rest I would use for things like clothes and leisure and then send the rest to Pakistan.

"I would send the money to my father's or wife's account every two or three months. We would save up and send a lump sum. I would send around 1000 Pakistani Rupees. We sent money to Pakistan through Habib Bank that was situated on Victoria Street. There was a Habib Bank branch near our village in Pakistan, so it was a straight-forward process.

"Initially, we would communicate through writing letters. It took weeks to get there. After a few years a village near our house in Pakistan set up a telephone box. We would call the telephone box where a worker would answer the phone, we would tell them to go and call so and so from our village. We would then call back in 15 minutes where our family member would be present to receive the call from the other end. I would ask my wife how the family was and tell her how much money I had sent and who she needed to give it to.

"Young people now are very

them a part of your journey."
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I went back to Pakistan for a visit five years after I came to Blackburn. I couldn't wait to see my family and friends. I remember my father giving me a hug and telling me how proud he was of me, My mother couldn't stop crying, happy tears of course."

Iftikhar was also impressed with the people of Blackburn, and they were very welcoming to the new workers.

"They were well dressed, well-educated and did anything to help you. There was a great level of respect between everyone living here regardless of your heritage.

"Blackburn has changed immensely. Everyone moved to Blackburn to find a job at the time as there were hundreds of factories and mills. Blackburn was the place to be, I worked with people from all over the country. Now you find people moving to the cities to work as there's a lot more opportunities there.

"Halal takeaways and restaurants were very rare and almost non-existent. Now they are everywhere. People have embedded our culture and heritage here in Blackburn. I knew of only one Islamic shop on London Road.

"When we initially moved to Blackburn, if we saw someone of South Asian heritage driving a car in the 1960s and even the early 1970s we would all be very impressed and couldn't stop staring. My first car cost £25.

"After leaving my first job I began to work at J. A. Porters. The salary was a lot better. As well as being a machinist, I also worked as a mechanic. I was self-taught after watching my friend work at his garage. It was a hobby, but I would fix my friend's cars when they encountered a small fault.

"One of the managers at work came to me and told me that his car wasn't functioning properly. He ended up selling his car to me for £25. The car was in pristine condition, I knew right away what was wrong with it. It cost me absolutely nothing to fix.

"I have had opportunities to work all around the world, but fate has always brought me back to Blackburn. I worked briefly in Germany but jobs weren't as secure as they were in Blackburn, so I decided to come back and continue working here.

"We would all say that we were
going to work for five years straight
and then go back to Pakistan. Little
did we know that we'd be here for
the rest of our lives."

In the late 1960s and early 1970s families started to arrive from the sub-continent to join the men, and as children started to be born in this country the landscape started changing very quickly, according to Iftikhar.

"We all had got our own homes and our responsibilities began to increase. We would have to do the school pick up and drop off, buy food and necessities from town or the shops and on top of that, work. Women who came from Pakistan couldn't speak English and didn't have an interest in learning it.

"Young people now are very privileged even though they may not think that. The older generation sacrificed a lot to get you to the position you are in today. Make them a part of your journey. They are the ones who got you here".

Transcribed by Shazia Kasim from;

Published on Cotton Town, June 20​24

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"I stayed in London for about six months where I worked in a plastic factory. Later I moved to Bradford where I worked in a wool mill and then some time in Accrington working in a cotton mill".

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