Montford Hall

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 children’s homes known as hostels. Montford Hall was one of these hostels.

Overview

Montford Hall hostel was in Nelson Colne in Lancashire in the north east of England. It was close to the industrial city of Burnley. The hostel opened in March 1946 and closed later that year. It was sold by auction in late 1946.

The hostel was run by the Manchester Jewish Refugees Committee.

^{David Herman London, c. 1946.}

“Montford Hall was a stately home with extensive grounds set in beautiful countryside on a hill. It was completely isolated from the rest of the village. Although the setting was lovely, it was a very cold building. The weather was cold and damp during my stay there, and I felt the cold much more than I had in Prague. In Prague, there had been snow and ice on the ground, but the air was dry. Here in England, it was damp, and I did not like it. We had open coal fires in the main rooms but the building remained draughty.

Upon arrival at Montford Hall, we were met by the staff. The madrichim (Jewish youth leaders), teachers, cooks and cleaners all lined up to welcome us. One person who stands out in my mind from that time was the odd job man. Although he wore a shirt without a collar, he wore a black bow tie at all times, and this looked very funny.

Everything seemed very different and very foreign. Some of us were unhappy and wanted to return to Prague.”

David Herman, David’s Story (Herman Press, 2016).

Montford Hall was an elegant country house, built at the turn of the century. It had extensive grounds and was set on a hill. The property is now a private house.

The Montford Hall Story
David Herman recalled that local people came to “stare” at them at the gates.

The children received lessons in a variety of subjects that lasted all day, at first conducted in German and later changing to English as their language improved.

They also played plenty of sport, such as football and volleyball, and went cycling in the countryside.

On the weekend, they were invited on outings to nearby towns with other youth groups and frequented village dance halls such as the famous Imperial Ballroom in the nearby town of Nelson. “Th’Imp”, as it was known, was host to many famous acts in the 1940s, such as The Joe Loss Orchestra, Oscar Rabin and His Band and singer Lew Stone, and later hosted the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in the 1960s.

The Manchester Refugees Committee who oversaw the hostel considered that Boys in Monford Hall were “very difficult” and even considered fostering them with non-Jewish families. In June 1946, after 10 weeks at Montford Hall, some of the Boys were given the opportunity to transfer to Nightingale Road hostel in London, which Herman took.

The Staff

Mrs Wolf was the cook and the Committee for the Care of the Concentration Camp Children found her difficult to get on with.

Most of the teachers were German refugees, many ex-university professors.