Sir Nicholas Winton dies

[Captain Seafort]

Sir Nicholas Winton, who organised the rescue of 669 children destined for Nazi concentration camps, has died aged 106.

Sir Nicholas, then a stockbroker, arranged for trains to carry Jewish children out of occupied Prague.

The prime minister described him as a "great man" and the chief rabbi praised his "exceptional courage".

He died on the anniversary of the departure of a train in 1939 carrying the largest number of children - 241.

His son-in-law Stephen Watson said he died peacefully in his sleep at Wexham Hospital, Slough.

Sir Nicholas brought the children to Britain, battling bureaucracy at both ends, saving them from almost certain death, and then kept quiet about his exploits for a half-century.

He organised a total of eight trains from Prague, with some other forms of transport also set up from Vienna.

The Englishman who saved children from the Holocaust

Sir Nicholas was born Nicholas Wertheimer in 1909 to Jewish parents
By 1938 he was a young stockbroker in London
He dropped everything to go to Prague to help Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi occupation
Sir Nicholas organised foster families for Jewish children in Britain, placing adverts in newspapers
The 669 children travelled on eight trains across four countries
Sir Nicholas's team persuaded British custom officials to allow all the children in despite incomplete documentation

The reluctant hero worked to find British families willing to put up £50 to look after the boys and girls in their homes.

Sir Nicholas was knighted by the Queen in March 2003. His work has been likened to that of the "saviour" of Jewish prisoners Oskar Schindler, however it was a comparison he was not particularly fond of.

The Rotary Club of Maidenhead, of which Sir Nicholas was former president, said his daughter Barbara and two grandchildren were at his side when he died.

As a six-year-old, former Labour MP, Lord Dubs, was one of the children who was put on a train out of Czechoslovakia

He paid an emotional tribute to his rescuer as "just one of those very special human beings"

"The real fact is that he was a man who saved my life and a lot of us who came on the Kindertransport owe him an enormous debt.

"His legacy is that when there is a need for you to do something for your fellow human beings, you have got to do it," he said.

'Moral courage'

His son Nick said of his father's legacy: "It is about encouraging people to make a difference and not waiting for something to be done or waiting for someone else to do it.

"It's what he tried to tell people in all his speeches and in the book written by my sister."

Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to Sir Nicholas, tweeting: "The world has lost a great man. We must never forget Sir Nicholas Winton's humanity in saving so many children from the Holocaust."

Last year, Sir Nicholas was awarded the Order of The White Lion by Czech president Milos Zeman.

Michael Zantovsky, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United Kingdom, who was a close friend described him as "a positive man who radiated good".

"It was incredibly moving to be present at some of the gatherings of him with his so-called children and the children of his children. They all owe their existence to him."

'Unfailing courtesy'

Former prime minister Gordon Brown described Sir Nicholas as "a real hero of our times".

"Anyone who had the privilege of meeting him immediately felt admiration, respect and were in awe of his courage.

"That courage led him to risk his life to save the lives of some of the most vulnerable people. His inspiration will live on," he said.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis praised Sir Nicholas' "exceptional courage, selflessness and modesty".

"He lived to see thousands of descendants of those whose lives he saved who were proud to call themselves members of his family, and who were inspired by his example to undertake outstanding charitable, humanitarian and educational initiatives," he said.

"I knew him to be a gentleman of unfailing old-world courtesy, with a warm heart and a ready self-deprecating wit."

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, who was Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1991 to 2013, called Sir Nicholas a "giant of moral courage" and "one of the heroes of our time".

"Our sages said that saving a life is like saving a universe. Sir Nicholas saved hundreds of universes," he said.

The Refugee Council tweeted: "Very sad to hear the news of the passing of Sir Nicholas Winton. He was an amazing man who saved many lives."

Beeb 106 is a very good innings, but no more than he deserved.

[Mikey]

Indeed, and he really received a mere fraction of the recognition for what he did that Wallenberg et. al. did.

It's funny that he went by Winton later on... a cousin of mine who was a professor at Hebrew University just passed away, who until that point was considered the preeminent scholar of the history of anti-Semitism in the world. My family's name has as its second syllable the phoneme "-reich-"... being potato farmers originally from southern Poland and close to Austria-Hungary, the reference to a tract of arable land in the name is understandable. This cousin of mine, though, had as the second syllable of his name the term "-rich-." We always thought it was for ease of spelling on his book jackets. The truth, as my dad found out a couple of years ago, is that this cousin escaped the Holocaust by running to Great Britain - where the authorities would not register any name containing the German word "reich."

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Fair thee well, good sir. And thank you.

[Nutso]

I posted the video of him finally meeting descendents of those he saved a few months back. The theme of the night was "People who are alive today because of Nicholas Winton." Seeing the entire audience stand up when asked "who is alive today because of Nicolas Winton," brought the hero to tears. The man had kept what he'd done secret for so long, only a chance discovery by his wife brought it to life.

[McAvoy]

I remember that video. It is sad that not that many know about him. There should be a movie about him.

[Mikey]

I remember that video. It is sad that not that many know about him. There should be a movie about him.

An even worse omission: Sir Winton does not appear among the British honorees on the roll of Yad VaShem's "Righteous among the Nations." How is that possible?

[Captain Seafort]

An even worse omission: Sir Winton does not appear among the British honorees on the roll of Yad VaShem's "Righteous among the Nations." How is that possible?

Nitpick: it's "Sir Nicholas". As for the question - because his parents were Jewish.

[Mikey]

Nitpick: it's "Sir Nicholas".

Nitpick: It's "Sir Nicholas." The punctuation goes inside the quotation marks.
Seriously: so it's correct form to say "Sir Nicholas" or "Sir Nicholas Winton," but not "Sir Winton?" Duly noted.

As to the topic... I thought Yad VaShem counted as so-called "righteous gentiles" any who were not practicing Jews themselves. After all, if we go to ancestry - as Hitler himself did - then good old Lieutenant Adolf would have himself been considered a Jew. There are families, at any rate, in the Ukrainian list who I thought had Jewish blood down the line.

In any event, Yad VaShem and similar organizations tend to have a slightly anti-gentile bias in their work.

[IanKennedy]

Seriously: so it's correct form to say "Sir Nicholas" or "Sir Nicholas Winton," but not "Sir Winton?" Duly noted.

Yes, that is correct. It's never Sir Winton, only "Sir Nicholas" or "Sir Nicholas Winton":

DeBrett's Website

[Mikey]

Understood, but a tad odd to American ears - over here, the use of just the first name is considered to be a more familiar form of address, while the use of the full name (with or without form of address) or just the surname (with a form of address) is considered to be the more formal type.

*EDIT* If "Sir Winton" is incorrect, wouldn't it also be an error of omission to refer to the man as "Sir Nicholas Winton" rather than "Sir Nicholas Winton MBE?"

[IanKennedy]

*EDIT* If "Sir Winton" is incorrect, wouldn't it also be an error of omission to refer to the man as "Sir Nicholas Winton" rather than "Sir Nicholas Winton MBE?"

If you are writing to him, yes. Not if you are talking about him.

[IanKennedy]

Understood, but a tad odd to American ears - over here, the use of just the first name is considered to be a more familiar form of address, while the use of the full name (with or without form of address) or just the surname (with a form of address) is considered to be the more formal type.

Generally here too, however, for Knights it's different.

[Mikey]

If you are writing to him, yes. Not if you are talking about him.

So, you use the order in direct address but not in general. Unholy Baphomet, do you limeys just like complication for its own sake?

Generally here too, however, for Knights it's different.

Of course, since knighthood is bestowal of formal honor... so it only makes sense to use the less formal form of address.

[IanKennedy]

So, you use the order in direct address but not in general. Unholy Baphomet, do you limeys just like complication for its own sake?

As in the address on the envelope would be the full thing will letters, but, the Dear Sir x would not.

Of course, since knighthood is bestowal of formal honor... so it only makes sense to use the less formal form of address.

I suspect it originates from the fact that Sir is the honour, especially as it's said every time you talk to them. Much in the same way as Mr Smith is more respectful than just Smith. The rules are all in the DeBretts page here.

[Angharrad]

Well,

Prince Philip
Queen Elizabeth

and so on