Edith describes her journey to Britain and arriving in London. She then talks about arriving in Scotland and meeting the gentleman and lady who soon became her beloved Mum and Dad. INT: So how did you come to Scotland then? How did that happen? EF: Well, when we arrived…I’d never been on a boat before … Read more
Bob mentions what he can remember of his journey to Britain and his arrival in Selkirk. He goes on to describe his first introduction to the Mackenzie family of Forres. BM: I’m not sure where we joined the train and to this day I have never found out. Unfortunately there is a complete blank from … Read more
With the help of a Catholic priest, the family escape from Germany. W.G: My father was released and came home and so then we immediately made an effort to get out of Germany, and to get out of Germany it was not feasible to use public transportation because it was too dangerous and with two … Read more
And so that would be about ’45, ’44/’45 so the Russians are in. So now she made contact with London, my parents. So we were in contact again and now was the business how do we get out? So she went every day and put in petitions here and there and I suppose our luck … Read more
Susan explains that she had some distant relatives in Scotland and that is why she went there after the war was over Int: When you came to Scotland, how old were you then? Susan: I think I was 19. Int : You were liberated by the Americans and somehow you ended up here in Scotland. … Read more
Sidney describes the kindness of his new family – the Goldwaters. He talks about his early working life and his views on the Nazis. INT: They were lucky. So tell me about Scotland. What were your first impressions when you arrived? SM: When I came to Glasgow? Well, I was never in a big city … Read more
Rita describes her journey from Germany to Britain and her continuing belief that her mother would be arriving there too. INT: You had escaped from the prisoner of…well the concentration camp, what happened then? RM: I was taken by my aunt to her home and I stayed there a week or so with my cousin … Read more
Renate explains that her father was in St Andrews in Scotland being interviewed for a job on the day the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia. Renate then talks about Lawrie Wardale, the man she calls her “Scarlet Pimpernel,” who brought her and her family to safety in St Andrews in Scotland. INT: So, eventually you had to leave, … Read more
I went to Bradford first to secure the job. Irene’s papers weren’t quite ready so she came 6 weeks afterwards. I still remember, I had never crossed the Channel of course. I went with the train to Holland and then with the boat over to Dover, then to London. In London some of those committee … Read more
Then in 1945, just two/three months after the war, the Polish government sent me to Oxford. So I was escorted to the commanding officer’s office and told to pack my kit bag and off to England. INT: To go to Oxford University? MG: Yes. INT: Why you? MG: This is a letter from my commanding … Read more