St Asaph

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

The Boys had survived the Holocaust as slave labourers in the Nazi concentration camp system, in hiding and by living alone. 

After arrival in the UK, members of the Boys spent time in the reception centres before being moved to children’s homes known as hostels. Others were sent direct to boarding school or yeshivas, and those who were sick spent time in sanatoriums.

Some of the members of the Boys were lucky enough to find relatives or were taken in by foster families but the majority were moved to hostels.

St Asaph was a holiday retreat where members of the Boys spent time.

Overview

St Asaph is in the Vale of Clwyd, in north Wales. The hostel in St Asaph was a training farm or hachsaraha and had been used prior to the Boys arrival in the UK. It was run by the religious Zionist organisation Bachad. Today it is a private farm.

Little is known about St Asaph’s. The wardens were Joseph and Traudel Honig until they were moved to Ascot in the winter of 1945-6. Children did not live here permanently but were taken for training sessions primarily from the Liverpool and Singleton Road hostels.