trevorchadwick.uk Open in urlscan Pro
5.134.11.186  Public Scan

Form analysis
1 forms found in the DOM

GET https://trevorchadwick.uk/

<form role="search" method="get" class="et-search-form" action="https://trevorchadwick.uk/">
  <input type="search" class="et-search-field" placeholder="Search …" value="" name="s" title="Search for:">
</form>

Text Content

 * Home
 * Donate
 * Links
 * Contact Us

Select Page
 * Home
 * Donate
 * Links
 * Contact Us




THE TREVOR CHADWICK MEMORIAL TRUST

The Trevor Chadwick Memorial Trust has been established to bring long-overdue
recognition to the inspirational work of Swanage school teacher, Trevor
Chadwick, in the rescue of 669 children from Prague in 1939, both before and
after the Czech capital was occupied by German forces on 15th March that year.
This date was a turning point in the build-up to the Second World War, for
Hitler’s takeover of Prague and the remaining Czech lands not allocated to
Germany under the 1938 Munich Agreement finally persuaded the British and French
governments that only force would be effective against further German expansion.




TREVOR’S STORY

Trevor McKenzie Chadwick was born in Godalming, Surrey, on 22nd April 1907 to
Arthur Chadwick and Muriel (nee Hill). He had two older siblings, Vivian and
Cicely, and a younger one, Hugh. For the first few years of his life he lived at
his father’s school – Forres Preparatory School for Boys, Ducks Hill, Ruislip,
Middlesex. As a young adult, following colonial service in Nigeria he came to
Swanage after the Forres School (now Purbeck View) was set up in Northbrook Road
by his father in 1928. Trevor was resident there as a Latin teacher, living in
‘New Moorings’, latterly known as the Headmaster’s House. He was remembered at
the School for his kindness, for arranging bus trips for townspeople to attend
sporting events, and for organising parties for local disadvantaged children. He
was well liked by the town’s fishermen and became a volunteer member of the
Swanage Lifeboat crew, being a particular friend and drinking companion of
Lifeboat coxwain Bob Brown at the ‘Black Swan’ in the High Street.

Trevor became a volunteer member of the Swanage Lifeboat crew


THE UNSUNG HERO

 

In early 1939 Trevor Chadwick became one of a handful of mainly British
volunteers seeking to organise the rescue of those children in Prague most
threatened by an impending German occupation. The majority were Jewish but
others were the sons or daughters of Czech and Slovak anti-Nazis. The group’s
work was made possible by a 1938 Act of Parliament which permitted entry to the
UK of refugee children under the age of 17, on condition that £50 per child was
deposited by a sponsor to cover, in due course, a supposed return journey. All
in the group remained virtually unknown until Nicholas Winton received belated
recognition in Esther Rantzen’s landmark “That’s Life” BBC TV show in 1988. Many
honours for him followed, including a knighthood in 2003. He had spent only a
little time in Prague in the early weeks, thereafter switching to London to make
the necessary arrangements at that end of the operation. Much to his credit he
readily acknowledged that Trevor Chadwick was, as he said, “the real hero”. “My
associate Trevor Chadwick was in a much trickier situation. He did the more
difficult and dangerous work after the Nazis invaded….he deserves all praise. He
managed things at the Prague end, organising the children and the trains, and
dealing with the SS and Gestapo.”  It was sensitive as well as dangerous work,
especially interviewing parents and selecting the children, then obtaining
forged passports and other documents as necessary. When asked why Chadwick, a
fellow Briton, had received so little public acknowledgement for his vital role
in what came to be known as the Kindertransport, Winton – who died in 2015 aged
106 – pointed out that “Chadwick died many years ago, while I’m still here.” By
then all others in the rescue group were likewise long gone. They included
Doreen Warriner, Beatrice Wellington, Nicholas Stopford, Bill Barazetti and
Josephine Pike.

 




PLEASE DONATE TO SUPPORT US

 

 

Donate Now




TREVOR SAVED GERDA MAYER

 Trevor Chadwick’s first visit to Prague in January 1939 was to bring two
refugee boys to the school in Swanage. In the event he also brought a third
child, a girl called Marietta Wolf-Ferrari, Geoffrey Phelps, a fellow teacher
and had accompanied Trevor to Prague, offered for his family to sponsor
Marietta, she first stayed with the Phelps family in Kent then at the School in
Swanage. Having delivered the three children, he promptly returned to Prague to
work for the rescue of many more child refugees, one of which was the Poet,
Gerda Mayer. According to a 2010 book by his younger son William, he had
thousands of potential refugees on his lists but, to his abiding regret, could
only save some hundreds of them. It was Trevor Chadwick who often stood on the
platform of Prague’s Wilson Station to see the refugee trains depart, where a
statue of Sir Nicholas Winton, surrounded by grateful children, now stands.
Unable to save the final full train of children who were about to start their
journey from Prague when the borders were finally closed by the Germans – a
tragedy which was to haunt him for the rest of his days – Trevor Chadwick
returned to England that summer, initially to teaching in Swanage and, like his
associates, rarely spoke of this time. 

Gerda Mayer was accompanied by Trevor and stayed at his mother’s house before
going on to boarding school.


GERDA MAYER'S MEMOIRS

See an extract from Gerda Mayer’s memoirs about Trevor Chadwick

View Now


TREVOR’S LEGACY

More than 370 of the 669 children saved have never been traced and do not know –
or never knew – the full story behind their existence. It is estimated that
alive today are many hundreds of descendants of the 669, all of whom owe their
lives to Chadwick and that small group of rescuers.

 

In the following years Trevor Chadwick led something of a chequered life, which
contrasted somewhat with his conservative, Christian family upbringing.
Described by fellow teacher Guy Phelps as “Not the heroic type” and something of
a “Black sheep”, at one point he joined the RAF, where he was first
court-martialled and later promoted. Mrs Annie Bridger, of Swanage, whose father
was Trevor’s cousin, says the family today is “Very proud” of his pre-War
achievement. She recalls in her late teens spending time together with Trevor
and his second wife Sigfrid – 28 years his junior – at their home in Oslo,
Norway. Trevor was suffering from tuberculosis and had moved there to
recuperate, saying that the clean, fresh air helped him. For a time he worked
for the academic publisher Oslo University Press. “He had”, says Mrs Bridger, “a
wonderful wit. I only discovered in the last few years what he had done.”

 


“THE PURBECK SCHINDLER”

Trevor Chadwick, lately described as “The Purbeck Schindler”, died aged 72 at 90
High Field Lane, Southampton, on 20th December 1979. He was buried in
Godlingston Cemetery, Swanage, on 7th January 1980 in Plot B994, which is
unconsecrated ground. Other members of the Chadwick family are buried nearby.

 




OUR PURPOSE

 

It is the purpose of the Memorial Trust to ensure that Trevor Chadwick is never
forgotten and an appropriate, high quality memorial to him and his achievement
is permanently displayed in a public place in his home town of Swanage. To that
end a bronze statue is being commissioned at an estimated cost of £80,000, for
which a public appeal is being launched. It is intended to locate the memorial
on part of the recreation ground, overlooking the sea and close to the
children’s play area which will be named accordingly. A tree commemorating
Trevor Chadwick will also be planted at a suitable location. The Memorial
Trust’s plans enjoy the full backing of Swanage Town Council, together with many
people and organisations within the town.




HOW TO HELP

Help us by making a Donation

or Contact Us to get involved

Donate Now


MOIRA PURVER HAS CREATED AN AMAZING SCULPTURE OF THE TREVOR CHADWICK STATUE



Visit www.moirapurversculpture.co.uk

VISIT MOIRA’S FACEBOOK PAGE

ABOUT

The Trevor Chadwick Memorial Trust has been established to bring long-overdue
recognition to the inspirational work of Swanage school teacher, Trevor
Chadwick, in the rescue of 669 children from Prague in 1939, both before and
after the Czech capital was occupied by German forces on 15th March that year.

MENU

 * Home
 * Donate
 * Links
 * Contact Us

VISIT US ON FACEBOOK

Our Facebook page
Facebook News article

The Trevor Chadwick Memorial Trust works together in association with The
Swanage & Purbeck Development Trust.



Herston Cross House, High St, Swanage BH19 2PQ

Company Limited by Guarantee, Registration No: 8743407

Registered Charity No: 1162662

 * Facebook

Web Design by Radikls