Viva Lewes Issue #157 October 2019

BITS AND BOBS
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY: LOOKING FOR LOCAL STORIES
Lewes Holocaust Memorial
Group first formed in 2014,
after its founding members
got chatting at a party. Supported
by both the Town and
District Councils, today it’s
going strong. “Lewes has become
known as quite vibrant
in its commemorations”, Gaby Weiner tells me.
“More and more people come along in solidarity.”
Those commemorations happen at the end of
January – Holocaust Memorial Day marks the
liberation of Auschwitz on 27th January 1945.
That first January, 2015, was also of course the
70th anniversary. “We had a performance in the
Town Hall, which was an overwhelmingly beautiful
evening,” says Gaby. “It lives on in memory.”
In 2020 they plan a concert for 25th January in St
John sub Castro; and possibly a candlelit walk as
well. The group is calling for
stories from people about any
refugees with a connection to
the town. These may be those
who fled Nazi Germany, or
anyone before or since fleeing
persecution on religious,
political or other grounds.
“We want to hear from anyone with a story”, says
Christine Cohen Park.
So far, having put a call out in Lewes News, they’ve
heard about families in Ringmer, Malling and the
Nevill, who housed or helped Jewish children
fleeing the Nazis, and an ex-Mayor’s wife, who
also originally arrived via Kindertransport.
Charlotte Gann
If you have any information, however fragmentary,
please email gaby.weiner@btinternet.com, or call
01273 472328
BOOK REVIEW: WE HAPPY FEW
In 1940, Richard Wicker, a young
RAF sergeant, was shot down over
Germany. He survived but was
captured, spending the next five years
as a prisoner-of-war. He weighed just
seven and a half stone by the time he
was liberated. Richard never talked
about his wartime experiences, and his
story might have been lost were it not
for a diary and his tenacious grandson,
David.
In later life Richard wrote daily in a diary that
was stored away after his death. When David
was given this last year he was intrigued, but
wary of uncovering difficult truths about the
grandfather he never knew.
Overcoming his reticence, David discovered
a gripping, beautifully written account of
Richard’s early years in Sussex, his time flying in
clapped-out planes with substandard
equipment on terrifying
missions, and a poignant account
of his journey home. David has
collected the diary passages into
this fascinating book, using other
sources to fill in the spaces that
Richard was too traumatised to
write about. His time as a prisoner
is described at a remove through
letters and logbook entries.
The result is a compelling, unsentimental, moving
story of how a quiet life was ruptured by
war. Creating a vivid picture of friendship, love,
fear and resilience, it’s a story that also resonates
in our world of polarised politics and conflict.
Lulah Ellender
We Happy Few by Richard Wicker (edited by
David Bradford), is available in Skylark.