Late founder of north of England Holocaust centre posthumously honoured with an OBE

The late founder of a Holocaust centre in the north of England, Lilian Black, has been posthumously honoured with an OBE in recognition of her work — and this week her widower, Frank Griffiths, collected her medal from King Charles at Windsor Castle.

In 2018 Lilian, the daughter of Eugene Black, a Holocaust survivor who was liberated from Bergen-Belsen, helped set up what would become Holocaust Centre North, based at the University of Huddersfield.

Her OBE — in recognition of her work for Holocaust education — was in fact awarded in 2020, but in October of that year she was admitted to hospital with Covid. Although she knew about her honour, she was unable to collect it, as she died of the condition aged 69.

Frank Griffiths, Lilian’s widower, spoke of his “deep pride” after this week’s ceremony. He said: “It was tough and very emotional, and lots of memories came flooding back. It’s difficult to collect something on behalf of your late wife, but this represented her life’s work. She was a powerful voice for Holocaust survivors, and I know she would have loved to have been here. I’m very proud of her.”

Mr Griffiths added that the ceremony was made all the more moving by the kindness shown by King Charles when he presented the award.

“He expressed great sympathy and said some lovely words. I invited him to come and visit Holocaust Centre North, and I hope he will one day.”

Lilian’s work in providing support for survivors and building links among people of all cultures and faiths has been widely praised and the Lilian Black scholarship has now been set up by the University of Huddersfield, which supports research into topics related to the Holocaust and genocide.