Blue Plaque unveiled at Tynemouth’s ‘forgotten’ Kindertransport hostel
A blue plaque has been unveiled to mark the location of a ‘forgotten’ hostel for young Jewish refugees in Tynemouth.
In 1939, 55 Percy Park became a home and place of refuge for more than 20 Jewish girls who fled persecution in Nazi-controlled parts of Europe.
They arrived via the Kindertransport initiative, an ambitious rescue effort which saw more than 10,000 Jewish children and young people safely transported into Great Britain.
The hostel was set up and funded by the Newcastle Jewish Refugee Committee with the support of local families.
Most of the girls, aged between five and 14, would be the only members of their family to survive the genocide.
The little-known story of 55 Percy Street is the subject of a new five-part BBC podcast, The Girls: The Holocaust Safe House, which tells of the girls’ journey and arrival in the North East.
On Thursday, ahead of Friday’s Holocaust Memorial Day event at the Quadrant, North Tyneside Council and special guests unveiled a blue plaque so that the history of the building, both tragic and inspiring, may never be forgotten.
North Tyneside’s Elected Mayor Dame Norma Redfearn DBE said: “It is a great honour for us to be part of this Holocaust Memorial Day activity here in North Tyneside and to mark what has been, up until now, a very much hidden part of our local history.
“Occasions like this give us the opportunity to reflect upon the horror of the Holocaust, of course. But these occasions are also a chance to celebrate the solidarity, kindness and humanity shown to those who, through no fault of their own, find themselves as strangers in a land far from home.
“Extending the hand of friendship, welcoming those fleeing war, persecution and injustice is something we will always strive to do in North Tyneside. It is my great pleasure and honour to unveil this plaque to mark this unique chapter in the history of North Tyneside.”
The ceremony was attended by members of the public and special guests including author Dr Vivien Sieber, the current homeowners Martin and Rosemary Anderson, and Brenda Dinsdale and Marta Josephs from the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.
Dr Sieber’s grandmother, Paula, arrived in London in 1938 as a refugee from Vienna, where she ran a cinema, and became a matron at 55 Percy Park. Her new book Kino and Kinder tells the story of her family’s flight from Nazi persecution.
She said: “The hostel was funded by a committee from Newcastle. They raised money from the local communities and had to pay for everything – food, clothing, heat, and medicine, because there was no NHS. Although it was set up as a temporary hostel, they ended up running it for six years. When heavy bombing started, they were given three weeks to organise a move to a house in Windermere, which didn’t close until 1946.
“I think the ‘Ordinary People’ theme applies amazingly because you have the ordinary people who set up the committee and did the funding, and local families and communities – who need to be remembered – who asked the communities to provide things.
“Given it was a time of great poverty and hardship, the communities went on funding the hostel right through to 1946 which is rather unusual. I think it tells you a lot about hope even in a really dire time when terrible things were happening.
“It’s lovely that there is a plaque and that the story is being told.”
The current owners of number 55 are Martin and Rosemary Anderson. Martin said: “We found out this time last year from the BBC that the house was used as a hostel during the second world war, helping and supporting the Jewish community through an appalling time.
“It’s really nice to have the house as a part of history. It’s our home…but it’s played a bigger part in other people’s lives and there’s lots of threads to the story and the more people aware of its history the better.”