Talk on the Holocaust Memorial Garden at Millisle Primary School

Linda Patterson, recently retired Principal of Millisle Primary School, spoke  about the Holocaust Memorial Garden which has been created in the grounds of the school. The garden is in memory of the Jewish children who were refugees from Nazi Germany and who stayed on a farm at Millisle for a period of ten years from 1939. Linda said that she had been interested in the story of the Farm for a long time but became concerned that, as time went on, the story would be lost of how the refugees were welcomed and looked after in the village.

There are now still alive some of the men and women who spent part of their childhood at the Farm and the school is often contacted by them or their relatives. Linda felt that, while the memory was still active, now was the time to create something permanent that would record for posterity what had happened. This was brought home to her when she realised that many people she spoke to about the Farm had never heard of it or the Kindertransport scheme which brought the children from Germany, Austria or Czechoslovakia. It was then that the idea of creating the garden emerged. This would have the benefit of involving the pupils at the school in its creation and its maintenance.

The biggest problem to be overcome was the lack of any money for the project. The support of local people was needed and she was very fortunate to get the help of local historian Bobby Hackworth. He worked with the school to produce a video: “A Kinder Place - A Different World”. Other people who had been, or whose relatives had been at the Farm also helped. One of those, now sadly deceased, was Walter Kammerling who came to the farm when he was 15 and spoke to pupils in the school about his experiences there. Another was Ruth Kohner who remained in N. Ireland after leaving the Farm to which she had come as a toddler. While this activity and ongoing work by the Down County Museum brought the story to the attention of a lot of people it did not provide the funding.

The break came with a grant from the Lottery Fund of £10000 and this enabled work to begin. One of the first tasks was to commission a suitable piece of sculpture as the central feature of the garden. The tender went out worldwide, but the commission went to Ned Jackson Smith of Carrowdore who created a Star of David which looks whole from the front but broken from the side or back, symbolising the impact of the Farm in helping to put back together lives that had been broken. The landscaping was done by Rodney Brown in the form of a Star of David with roses on each of the points.

There was a large crowd at the opening ceremony, including many from the Jewish community in N. Ireland. The name of the Garden is, appropriately, “Safe Haven” and it now provides a continuing reminder that the Millisle Community did care about the refugees who came to them in time of need and their story continues to resonate today.

Past-President Greg McCourt gave the vote of thanks, saying that this story was one that the Club was very grateful to have heard told in such a moving way by someone whose leadership had brought about something so worthwhile.