Kindertransport, Woodcraft and Lessons to Learn

In October 1938 Henry ‘Koodoo’ Fair, National Organiser for Woodcraft Folk was visited by a Czech youth leader from the Red Falcons with an urgent request. Henry knew the young Czech woman because she had previously been at the Brighton Woodcraft International Camp, 1937 and he had probably attended the Bodenbach International Camp where several hundred Czech Red Falcons had attended. Red Falcon are socialist internationalist youth groups, and persecuted by the Fascists, being closed down and their members ‘in peril of their life, hundreds are refugees, sleeping in fields and ditches…’

Brighton 1937 Camp newspaper'The Children's Republic of Brighton' — Brighton 1937 Camp newspaper, from ‘The Children’s Republic of Brighton’ https://suzannehinton.uk/2019/07/14/the-childrens-republic-of-brighton/

Henry 'Koodoo' Fair at Camp — Henry ‘Koodoo’ Fair at Camp

The visit was a plea for help, and alongside Sir Nicolas Winterton (whose life story is told in ‘One Life’ film 2024), he did everything he could to campaign and rescue children , leading to ‘The Kindertransport’. First Henry wrote to all Woodcraft District Leaders. During the Spanish Civil War he had already raised massive sums of money appealing to them. He also asked, ‘can you take a boy or girl, or perhaps two boys or girls?’ 40 Homes were found immediately for Czech children, and over the course of the next year another 1000 children were cared for from Czecoslovakia, of the 20,000 Kindertransport children. For his part in the operation ‘Mr. Fair’s name was near the top of a Gestapo hit list, saying he should go before a firing squad.’

And what can we learn? First of all Woodcraft Folk along with countless others across the World still mark ‘Holocaust Memorial Day‘, 27th January, the day when 80 years ago Auchvitz-Birkenau was liberated by the Red Army. Many more concentration camps were liberated in the coming months, and since then there have been more Genocides.

What I hold onto is that we are not powerless to make a difference. Woodcraft Folk have developed resources to introduce young people to issues about refugees and displaced people from Henry Fair’s story, and others in Woodcraft Folk Archives. Also Holocaust Memorial is about remembering what has happened, recognise the (many) genocides as they happen and to act.

Here are some images and film footage from our Archives how Holocaust Memorial Day has been commemorated in South Birmingham District – We’re exploring these as part of #100Objects for 100 years.