ONE of the original team to develop Holocaust Memorial Day in the UK organised the first event of its kind in Christchurch.

Captain Farnand helped create the national day in 2001 when he worked for the government, and was the driving force behind an event at High Cross Church in Christchurch on Tuesday.

Senior figures and members of the public from Christchurch, Bournemouth and Poole gathered for the event and heard a touching account of Kindertransport from Josephine Jackson, from the Council of Christians and Jews in Bournemouth.

Kindertransport was a huge operation carried out before the outbreak of World War II when 10,000 Jewish children were removed from Nazi Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland to the safety of UK families, hostels and farms.

Most discovered their families had been killed during the war but some were reunited with their parents afterwards.

In a speech, Captain Farnand told guests: “The Holocaust was a tragically scarring and defining event of the 20th century. “The horror of that era is an indelible stain on our collective memory and yet the same tragedies are still reoccurring in our time.

“We said after the war never again, but then we still allowed Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur and other genocides.”

Guests included Christchurch mayor Cllr Sue Spittle; Brain Smith, the manager of the Richmond Fellowship; and Dave Arundel, commander of Christchurch fire station.

After the event, Captain Farnand said: “It was good to see so many local people coming together to remember the atrocities of the Holocaust. “It is important that we continue to remember those whose lives were lost during this time.”