Lancashire school commissions statue to honour Kindertransport students

A Lancashire school that gave refuge to three Jewish children fleeing Nazi persecution is raising £30k for a commemorative sculpture and garden space in their honour.

In 1939, Church of England institution Rossall School welcomed three German-Austrian Kindertransport children, Gerd Haag, Robert Augenfeld and Karl Schneider.

Each had been brought over by the Quakers and at first housed at the Dovercourt Bay reception camp near Harwich before finding places at the school.

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Eighty-seven years later, Rossall alumni, Juls Dawson, 52, from Epping Forest, who spent 14 years at the school, and cousin, Caroline Apfel, 49, from Finchley, are leading a project to create a memorial to the boys in the form of a sculpture by artist Ian Wolter, whose works include Safe Haven, the Harwich-based memorial to the Kindertransport, based in a garden of reflection.

Their efforts are supported by the school council. Descendants of the boys have been consulted on the process.

Dawson told Jewish News: “Rossall provided them with safety, support and a sense of belonging. I feel now more than ever, it is critical to educate the current students and future generations to the history of the Holocaust and this story of how many British Jews came to be in the UK especially in light of 50% of schools no longer having Holocaust Memorial Day in the school calendar anymore, not to mention the rise in anti-semitism that we are witnessing escalating every day.”

Sculptor Ian Wolter said: “In 2022 Dame Stephanie Shirley unveiled Safe Haven, my first memorial to the Kindertransport. I understand that the former headmaster of Rossall School was there that day so I was delighted to be approached to make a new memorial for the school. The new bronze sculpture will represent the three kindertransport boys that Rossall hosted. Though I’ll sculpt the statues from live models, I’ll model their faces from photographs of the actual boys.”

The sculpture, funded through a £30k campaign, will be unveiled in a dedicated open space in the school’s gardens in early 2027.

Nicholas Haag, son of Gerd Hagg, said: “Some 85 years ago, my 12-year-old father, Geoffrey (originally Gerd), came unaccompanied to England with his younger sister. Soon thereafter he was accepted into Rossall. I am excited and moved that the school is planning to create this Garden of Reflection with a memorial to Rossall’s Kinderstransport children and by implication all refugee children.”

Dawson and Apfel found Robert Augenfeld’s obituary and discovered that he had moved to Canada, changed his name to Arnfield and is reported to have said: “Rossall saved my life”.

Schneider’s mother was murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Andrew McBride, Rossall headmaster, said: “These students came to Rossall at a time of immense uncertainty, carrying with them stories of loss, resilience, and extraordinary courage. Their experiences form a unique and deeply important part of our history, and their legacy continues to shape who we are as a community today.”

Describing the aim of the Garden of Reflection as “a living space of memory and meaning”, he adds that “is designed not only as a place to remember, but as a place to connect. Here, past, present and future will align, in a shared space. At its heart, this project is about belonging. The Kindertransport students who found refuge at Rossall became part of the fabric of the school.”

Their story “reminds us that even in the darkest of times, there were acts of kindness and humanity that changed lives. The Garden of Reflection will ensure that these stories are not only preserved, but continue to inspire.”

Dawson hopes to organise a school trip to the National Holocaust Museum in Newark, Nottinghamshire, where his cousin, Adam Dawson, serves as its chairman.