Cab drivers from Stratford formed a convoy at the funeral of a man thought to be the first Sikh black cabbie.
They followed behind the horse drawn carriage which took Mohan Singh Rathore, known to many as Jimmy Singh, to the City of London Cemetery and Crematorium in Manor Park.
Mr Singh, aged 67, died on June 9 at his Forest Gate home after working as black cab driver for most of his life. His family believe he was the first Sikh black cab driver to hold a Hackney carriage licence which he gained in 1974. He used the taxi rank at Meridian Square in Stratford as his base for many years.
Mr Singh, was born in 1947 in what became Pakistan after Indian Independence in August 1947 and came to the UK as a young boy with his father, Gianni Santokh Singh Rathore and the rest of their family.
His son-in-law, Sukchen, ‘Shane’ Singh, also a black cab driver paid tribute to the ‘happy go lucky, simple man’ who lived for his daughter Nirmal and his grandchildren, Simran and Jay.
Shane thanked the 20 cab drivers who attended the funeral, £150 worth of flowers. Other cash will be donated to charity, he said.
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