My father, Manzoor Hussain, who has died aged 88, was a lecturer in engineering who made a substantial contribution to public life in Watford, Hertfordshire, as well as to the Muslim community in the local area.
A senior lecturer in engineering at Acton Ealing Tertiary College in west London for many years, where he was also head of department, Manzoor had arrived in the UK from Pakistan in 1960, and within a couple of decades had become a well-known figure in Watford, where he lived from 1963 onwards.
Someone who had a strong belief in civic duty, he became the first Muslim councillor in Watford, representing the Labour party in its Vicarage ward from 1984 to 1988. He also became an executive committee member of Watford Community Relations Council (1982-86), a governor of Watford grammar school (1990-94) and chair of Watford and District Fabian Society (1984-94).
In addition, Manzoor played a key role within the Muslim community in Watford, helping to build the town’s first mosque and providing educational and welfare guidance.
He was born in Nala Musalmana, a beautiful village on the edge of the Pothohar plateau in the Punjab, in what was British India but is now Pakistan. After attending Denny’s high school in Rawalpindi he became the first person in his village to attend university, obtaining a degree in maths and physics from Gordon College in the city.
After moving to the UK he obtained an HND in electronic engineering from Luton College of Technology, and then qualified as a chartered engineer, afterwards working for various firms across the south-east of England.
In 1972 he decided to pursue a career in teaching, and ithe following year obtained his certificate of education from the Victoria University of Manchester (now the University of Manchester). In 1979 he also gained a degree in electronic engineering from Oxford Polytechnic (now Oxford Brookes University). By 1982 he was a senior lecturer in engineering at Acton Technical College. A decade later, by which time that institution was part of Ealing Tertiary College, he became head of its engineering department until his retirement in 1996.
Aside from his community work in the UK, Manzoor did not forget his home village in Pakistan. With other family and clan members, notably his brother, Muhammad Aslam, he successfully lobbied for the building of a permanent road to Nala Musalmana, and for electrification of the surrounding area. He also raised funds for the building of a girls’ high school in the village, as well as a clinic and hospital.
Over the years Manzoor supported and guided his sisters, cousins and various clan members who arrived in the UK, and helped them to settle into their new lives. He appreciated the UK for its rule of law, egalitarian and altruistic values, and was proud that the next generations of his family were able to be successful in the country in fields such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, law, IT and teaching.
In 1966 he married Mubarik Begum, a teacher. She survives him, along with their sons, Faisal and me, and five grandchildren.
