MP secures meeting with Communities Secretary over plans to build memorial to the Windermere Boys

On the floor of the House of Commons this afternoon, Cumbrian MP Tim Farron asked for the Government to support the Lake District Holocaust Project’s plans to build a memorial to the Windermere Boys.

Speaking during Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Questions in the House of Commons, Tim said: “It's vital if we're going to tackle the reality of antisemitism in the present by learning from the past.

“In the summer of 1945, 300 Jewish children who survived the death camps in Nazi Germany came and made their lives and were rehabilitated on the banks of Windermere lake at Troutbeck Bridge, affectionately known and proudly known by all of us as the Windermere Boys.

“As we work together to celebrate their legacy and to use that legacy to make sure we fight antisemitism in every part of our country, would he meet with me and people involved with the project to discuss how we can build a lasting memorial to the legacy of those wonderful young children who built a new life in this country and overcame the horrors of Nazi Germany?”

Responding, Secretary of State Michael Gove said: “I'm really grateful to the honourable gentleman for making that point and reminding us of that episode in our history.

“Absolutely, I'd be delighted to meet and work with him in order to make sure that that signal moment in our history is properly celebrated.

“It's been a feature of the United Kingdom that we have always recognised the vital importance of standing up against antisemitism and providing refuge for those who are fleeing persecution.

“So I look forward to talking to him in due course.”

On the floor of the House of Commons this afternoon, Cumbrian MP Tim Farron asked for the Government to support the Lake District Holocaust Project’s plans to build a memorial to the Windermere Boys.

Speaking during Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Questions in the House of Commons, Tim said: “It's vital if we're going to tackle the reality of antisemitism in the present by learning from the past.

“In the summer of 1945, 300 Jewish children who survived the death camps in Nazi Germany came and made their lives and were rehabilitated on the banks of Windermere lake at Troutbeck Bridge, affectionately known and proudly known by all of us as the Windermere Boys.

“As we work together to celebrate their legacy and to use that legacy to make sure we fight antisemitism in every part of our country, would he meet with me and people involved with the project to discuss how we can build a lasting memorial to the legacy of those wonderful young children who built a new life in this country and overcame the horrors of Nazi Germany?”

Responding, Secretary of State Michael Gove said: “I'm really grateful to the honourable gentleman for making that point and reminding us of that episode in our history.

“Absolutely, I'd be delighted to meet and work with him in order to make sure that that signal moment in our history is properly celebrated.

“It's been a feature of the United Kingdom that we have always recognised the vital importance of standing up against antisemitism and providing refuge for those who are fleeing persecution.

“So I look forward to talking to him in due course.”