In 1964, when he was 15, Baldev’s father moved his family from the Punjab in India, via Kenya to find work. “He come meet his friend here and he went into [the] place and they offered him the job, so he decided to stay here.” he adds, “He was a joiner, after that he started his own building business.”. The business is still running today.

After completing an apprenticeship with his father, Baldev worked in the Potteries as a Plate maker. He worked in various Pot-banks including Badderly Green Pottery and Myatt & Son’s, marrying his wife Sarjit in 1970 in Wolverhampton (she arrived in 1969 from Kenya with her family). Baldev returned to India with Sarjit in 1974, his first visit back since leaving for the UK.

After returning to Stoke-on-Trent in 1976 he worked for 23 years for Johnson’s Brothers who were part of Wedgewood

He was made redundant in 1998, after which Baldev had a couple of part time roles but was told to retire after having several heart attacks.

Rattan (Baldev’s father) was one of the first Sikh’s to arrive in Stoke-on-Trent, “There wasn’t any Sikh temple so when he and my other Uncle came they decided to ask all the people if we [should] open this temple, so we opened one in Cobridge.” he explains, “They bought one off Jimmy Barrard, he said to them, “If you want to use it [for] a temple you can give me £100 for it. So they started in this two bedroom house.” Before they had a priest, Rattan used to fulfil the role, as he could understand the Holy Book (Guru Granth Sahib) and the Sikh faith was a big part of his life.

The temple was then split into two separate locations, Guru Nanak and Ramgarhia Sikh Temple. The Ramgarhia Sikh Temple in Fenton was founded 40 years ago and was formerly a Methodist chapel. Baldev explains “About 12 or 13 members all collected £5 a month to save up to buy the building.”

After raising funds, the community came together using whatever spare time they had on evenings and weekends to refurbish the church. Baldev is now retired, living with his wife and son, Val’s family in Newcastle-under-Lyme.