Padmaben Sadhurambhai Patel

English transcript of her story

I was born in India, in a small town called Hubli 21/09/1933. My father's name was Umadbhai Lalubhai Patel. My father's occupation was a teacher. My mother’s name was Daiben Umadbhai Patel. When I was five years old my father left Hubli town and went to stay in a village called Borsad Vaslama. He started to look for a job and found a job as a teacher in a high school in a town called Dharwad. I studied in Dharwad until 6th form.

I got married to my husband in 1950 who was visiting India from Uganda (Tororo). After six months I moved to Uganda to live with my husband, where he ran a wholesale business in partnership. In 1952 he started to work in a Ugandan cement factory and in 1955 my husband had an accident and consequently lost one leg. He worked there for 20 years when the work permit was not renewed further. We then decided to move to Britain in 1972 when the Uganda’s President gave 90 days notice to leave. At this time my eldest daughter Anjnaben was studying in Ahmdabed in India. My second daughter Purnima was studying in Los Angeles in America. We left Uganda in September 1972 with my two other daughters Sudhben and Krishnaben and my son Vimleshkumar.

We left by 4.00am on a Saturday morning for the airport. On the way our car broke down in the notorious Mabira forest. It wasn’t until late at night that we got to our destination.

We were not able to take with us the £50.00 per person that was allowed. Once in England we were received by the Red Cross and taken aside as refugees. My 23-month-old son was hungry and crying. We were skint and helpless. An Asian named Jasubhai Patel came to our aid and obtained milk for my child and also left a £5.00 note with us.

We were then given accommodation in an American camp in Norfolk. We stayed here for one and a half weeks. After which we rang our family friend Dr. P.Apatel, who invited us to his home in Loughborough and asked the officers at the camp to arrange for us to board the train to Loughborough. We stayed at his house in Loughborough for ten days. He later arranged for us to rent a house and also provided us with the deposit money and other requirements for the house. We were all very grateful to him for he also offered a job as a receptionist in his surgery.

I worked at the surgery from 1973 to 1981. I had to leave the job due to my husbands health, who later died in February.

All my five children have educated to a degree standard. All my children except Sudha have settled in the USA. I have also managed to get my elderly mother from India to settle with me and my daughter Sudha in Loughborough.

For the last eight years I have been living happily in Vruth Nivas. (Sheltered Accommodation).