Maniben Jasubhai Patel

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Maniben Jasubhai Patel was born in Samapur, Surat in the Gujarat region of India. Her husband already lived and worked in Cheltenham before she arrived here with her two children.

Mr Patel had first arrived in Coventry in 1955 coming to Cheltenham a year later. He was a skilled man and quickly found employment at Dowty Rotel. He lived in a hostel during the week and at the weekend he would travel to Coventry to stay with some friends. Once he knew that he had found a suitable job and was settled, he then sent for his family.

Maniben traveled from India to England with her two children. Naran aged ten, and Savitaben aged six years old. They all traveled on an END Liner, steamer boat. Maniben recalls that it took fifteen days to travel to England and that there were a lot of families travelling on the boat. They were well looked after while they were on the boat, being provided with Indian food which was nice to have. She remembers that there was a lot of ice in the water. The weather was also very cold - something she was not used to.

Maniben arrived in London with her children on the 28th February 1961. She found it overwhelming to travel alone with her children. Her husband met them and brought them back to Cheltenham - believed to be the very first Indian lady to come to the town.

After school in Cheltenham their eldest daughter Naranbhai got an apprenticeship in Dowty for four years and then went to University and managed to gain a degree. Her younger daughter Savitaben gained her nursing qualification and pursued a career in midwifery, she is now a manager. The couple had two other children - one born in the Victoria Hospital and the other in St Paul's Hospital.

Maniben remembers that people were very welcoming and nice when she was trying to settle in Cheltenham. She would often get lost in town but people would escort her back home even though she could not speak English. There were always police walking in the street which would also help as well. She would buy a range of groceries from a man who used to come from Birmingham.