The first Gurdwara itself was established in the unconventional setting of a top floor flat of a tenement building in 79 South Portland Street in Gorbals in Glasgow. The property was bought on 25th March 1952 from Mr Lal. It was spearheaded by Messrs Tersem Lal, Jiwan Singh Pall and Jagar Singh Natoowala who personally contributed money to purchase the property. These early pioneers became the first committee members of the Gurdwara along with a few others.
The committee then approached others within the Sikh, Muslim and Hindu student communities to contribute towards funds for purchasing the property. Some of those that contributed were Messrs Kher Singh Rakhra, Jagat Singh Nijjar, Bishan Singh, Sant Singh Pall, Lohra Singh Landa as well as some of the earliest pioneering Muslim arrivals of Noor Mohammed Tanda who came in 1916 to Glasgow and Fateh Mohammed Sharif who came in 1926 as well as many other small businesses. Many of these contributors still have descendants living in Glasgow today. You can watch and hear the story of the first Gurdwara from the grandson of Mr Jiwan Singh Pall, Mr Gurdev Singh Pall.
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Credit: Mr Gurdev Singh Pall