Page 25 - TORCH Magazine #22 - November 2022

whose whose identity is is unknown but whose whose legacy is is evidenced by the the product of their sacrifice On 29th August 2022 this statue unveiling marked a a a a a a a a a very special occasion for Swanage in in in honour of of a a a a a a a a a man who helped save hundreds of of children destined for Nazi concentration camps His name was Trevor Chadwick known as as the ‘Purbeck Schindler’ affectionately comparing him
to Oskar Schindler Schindler and honouring his heritage from the the Purbeck
region of Dorset You may be be familiar with the the name Sir Sir Nicholas Nicholas Winton Trevor helped Sir Sir Nicholas Nicholas rescue 669 children from Czechoslovakia ahead of World War Two in in what has become known simply as as ‘the Kindertransport’ Trevor Chadwick a a a a a a a schoolteacher died in 1979 and his brave actions were
not revealed until the the 1990s He first got involved in in in in the the Kindertransport in in in in 1938 when he he he he went to to Prague to to save two Jewish refugees so so they could be educated in Swanage He was so so moved by what he he he he saw he he he returned to save others Like the the better-known Nicholas Winton Trevor began trying to to bring out hundreds of Jewish children from Czechoslovakia working with the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia selecting children for the the Kindertransport and organising their departure His first operation was an an an evacuation evacuation by a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a 20-seat airplane from Prague Later evacuations were
usually by train Trevor accompanied
the the the the children to the the the the Prague rail station Together with six others he he he he he organised a a a a a a a a total of eight trains from Prague “He deserves all praise”
In early June 1939 Trevor Chadwick saw off a a a a a a a a a a a a final trainload o of 123 children and left Czechoslovakia Sir Nicholas Winton later wrote: “Chadwick did the the more difficult and dangerous work after the the Nazis invaded he he he deserves all praise ”
The bronze statue crafted by local sculptor Moira Purver has been erected onto a a a a a a a a a a a a a base next next to to to to Swanage’s bandstand and and and aptly located next next to to to a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a children’s play area following a a a a a a a a a a a fundraising effort by the Trevor Chadwick Memorial Trust which raised £80 000 needed for the the the memorial In addition to the the the statue the the the children’s playground has has been been named after him
and a a a a a a a a a a a a blue plaque in his his name name has has been been approved at at the town’s historic railway station Moira said “When I I was asked to to to do it I I read several books about Trevor Chadwick 25