Bolton: Daughter's appeal to find father's long, lost friend

Anisa Fatima, aged 31, wants to find her father's friend who he has not seen since the 1980s.

Her dad, Mohammed Azum, aged 63, now of Firswood in Manchester, used to live in Settle Street in Great Lever.

It was when Mohammed was going through a rough patch that he met a man who would become a good friend, Ken Holt.

Anisa said: “Dad did struggle and this friend helped him in getting a loan from the bank at the time.

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“My dad was a newsagent, but his story is quite ‘rags to riches’, now he’s done really well for himself and is a property developer.

“It all starts with Ken.”

She continued: “Ken was an insurance salesman, he went knocking on my dad’s door one night. My dad told him he didn’t have any money, but they got talking and he invited him in for a curry.

“They used to have a lot of family around at meal times who would chit chat and that’s why Ken liked it and kept coming back to join in.

Ken Holt, who Anisa's father hasn't seen since the 1980s (Image: Anisa Fatima)

“And my dad ended up becoming friends with him.

“They would meet many times a week to talk.”

Around 1985-1986, Mohammed and his family moved away from Bolton to Moss Side in Manchester, where he bought a shop.

It was at that point that he and Ken grew apart due to the distance and Mohammed having more children and a shop to look after.

The last Mohammed had heard of Ken, he had moved to Preston, but he hasn’t heard of him for decades now.

Anisa wants to try and reunite her father with Ken, hoping to be able to give him a nice surprise.

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She said: “I think it would mean a lot to my dad if he’d be able to find him.

“I think dad has been wanting to find him to thank him. You never forget those who have been there through your hard times.

“On my behalf and because of the life my dad has given us, I think it will be a nice surprise for him.”

The information Anisa knows about Ken are that his name is Ken Holt, who would be aged around his mid-70s to early 80s now.

He lived on Blackburn Road in Astley Bridge and was an insurance broker with Hill Samuels, and also worked for a finance company.

He was married and had two boys, one Anisa’s dad remembers as having been autistic, and Ken was ‘really good’ at playing the guitar.

If you think you can help Anisa, please email her at anisa_fatima@outlook.com.