Bedford

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.

Bedford was one of these hostels.

Overview

The hostel was called Goldington Bury House and was on Goldington Road in Bedford, an historic market town north of London. The site of the old house now lies beneath a block of flats and the former grounds are used by Bedfordshire County Cricket Club.

The hostel opened in June 1946 and was run by Hechalutz, a secular socialist Zionist youth movement. It housed 40 people of which about 20 were members of the Boys.

The Staff

The hostel was run by Mr Katz, who was an agriculturalist, and his wife. He eventually resigned, as the children paid no interest in agricultural work. Mr and Mrs Epstein, who had been in Windermere, then ran the hostel.

Dr Gellner, a female doctor, looked after the children’s health.

The Bedford Story

Goldington Bury was a large Georgian house surrounded by extensive gardens.

In 1953, Goldington Bury was acquired by Bedford Borough Council. It was eventually demolished in 1964.

Around 20 of the Boys arrived in Bedford in June 1946. The hostel trained them in agriculture and mechanics. While at the hostel, some of the Boys worked in Bedford.

Initially, the Committee for the Care of the Concentration Camp Children were unhappy about the running of the hostel and it was said to have no routine.

In June 1946, boys from Alton  arrived at Goldington Bury. They intended to go to the Palestine Mandate and join a group of 25 members of Hechalutz.