Jock Lawrence

The Central British Fund (CBF) put together a large team of people to look after the Boys.

The Boys were teenage and child-Holocaust survivors, who were brought to the UK after the war for rest and rehabilitation.

The British government offered 1,000 visas to bring the Boys to the UK but the caveat was that the CBF were responsible for their care and would pay all the expenses.

George ‘Jock’ Lawrence was born in Dundee, Scotland, in 1913. Lawrence was a retired PE teacher who lived at Troutbeck Bridge, not far from the Calgarth Estate, which was used as the Windermere reception centre.

In 1945 Lawrence answered the advertisement for a ‘Games Master’ to help the Boys at Windermere with their recuperation. Being outside and active in the beautiful surroundings of the lakes was a vital part of their recovery.

Lawrence was well loved amongst those he encountered at the Calgarth Estate. He later moved to London and was reunited with many of the survivors he had cared for before he died in 1995.