Clive, A nice piece of news. Thanks for posting. So many unsung hero's. It is nice to see the recognition. Regards Tom
Denis Avey, a British POW who helped Auschwitz inmates, and Sir Nicholas Winton, who organised kindertransports, received their medals in person. Both have been the subject of previous threads. http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/news-articles/22793-man-who-smuggled-himself-into-auschwitz.html http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/news-articles/13059-children-holocaust-train.html BBC News - Medal honours UK's Holocaust 'heroes' Jane Haining, a Church of Scotland missionary who ran an orphanage for Jewish children in Budapest, and was murdered in Auschwitz, was also awarded the medal. BBC News - Holocaust heroine Jane Haining honoured by PM The full list of recipients is: In person Sir Nicholas Winton - Maidenhead - organised the rescue of 669 mainly Jewish children by train from Prague in 1939. Denis Avey - Derbyshire - a former prisoner of war who helped German Jewish inmate, Ernst Lobethall, to survive Auschwitz. Posthumously Sister Agnes Walsh - from Hull, she sheltered a family from December 1943 in her convent in Cadouin, Dordogne. Albert Bedane - a physiotherapist in Jersey, who sheltered escaped French POW and Russian slave labourers and also a Dutch Jewish woman. Albert hid them in the cellar while he treated Nazi soldiers in his clinic in the room above. Ida and Louise Cook - London - two sisters who as opera devotees, traveled to Europe for musical recitals before the outbreak of war. They took with them British visas they had worked hard to secure for Jews needing to escape Nazi occupied Germany. On their return journey, they smuggled jewels, furs and valuables back to England on behalf of the families. Ida wrote many titles for Mills and Boon, which partly funded their missions to rescue 29 people. Sergeant Charles Coward - Edmonton - as a POW in Auschwitz, he was appointed Red Cross liaison for 1400 British POWs. He used this position to smuggle food and contraband to Jewish inmates and smuggled himself into the Jewish camp, in order to confirm the horrific conditions there. Major Frank Foley - Somerset - working as a spy in the British embassy in Berlin, Frank risked his life by issuing false visa to desperate Jews. He is well documented for saving 10,000 people. Jane Haining - Dunscore, Scotland - Jane had worked as school matron at a Jewish orphanage in Budapest. When war broke out, she was in England and immediately returned to look after her girls. She was arrested in April 1944 and eventually sent to Auschwitz where she died. June Ravenhall - Warwickshire - June was a British housewife living in Holland with her husband and three children. When war broke out, her husband Les was taken to a prison camp and never seen again. June agreed to shelter a young Jew called Louis Velleman for a long period of time, even though she knew his discovery would mean almost certain death. Sofka Skipwith - Cornwall - Sofka was born into Russian aristocracy but arrived in Britain after the revolution. She was arrested in November 1940 after protesting at an anti-Nazi rally and was interned. She saved a newborn baby by smuggling him to the Red Cross and enabled many people to escape by using the contacts she built up. Princess Alice of Greece - England - Princess Alice was mother to the Duke of Edinburgh. She worked to organise shelters for orphan children and sheltered three Jewish women when Greece was occupied. Bertha Bracey - England - a Quaker who worked tirelessly to lobby the British government about the plight of the Jews in Germany. She was instrumental is setting up the Kindertransport which brought 10,000 mainly Jewish children to England from mainland Europe. Louisa Gould, Ivy Forester, Harold le Druillenec - Jersey - these were two sisters and a brother. Louisa and Ivy sheltered two Russian POWs while Harold taught them English. All three were arrested and Louisa was sent to Ravensbrueck camp where she perished. Harold was the last surviving British citizen at Belsen. Henk Huffener - Guildford - Henk took British citizenship in 1950 when he moved to England. Up until then he had lived in Holland where he worked hard to smuggle Jews out of the country to Switzerland and Spain. Stan Wells, Alan Edwards, George Hammond, Roger Letchford, Tommy Noble, John Buckley, Bill Scruton, Bert Hambling, Bill Keeble, Willy Fisher - 10 British POWs who saved the life of 15 year old Jewish girl Hannah Sara Rigler who escaped the death march outside Danzig, while her mother and sister perished. Sara is still alive and lives in New York. New award to honour British heroes of the Holocaust - Corporate - Communities and Local Government
I believe the photo may be incorrect since I've read that they were definately armed with Achillies tank destroyers at this time and hope the War Diary and associated documents will assist. Without further ado...
CL1 Many thanks for the "head-up" It is always heartening to learn about people who, in those terrible days, risked their own lives to protect others and so right that their deeds should be recognised in this manner. Lest we forget ! Ron
A medal honouring ordinary Britons who helped Jews and other persecuted groups escape the Nazis has been presented to two men by Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Sir Nicholas Winton helped saved nearly 700 Jewish children while Denis Avey came to the aid of prisoners at Auschwitz when he was a POW nearby. The Hero of the Holocaust medal was also posthumously awarded to 26 others. BBC News - Medal honours UK's Holocaust 'heroes' I missed this story - Sorry if already posted.
