This Learning Disability Week, we are celebrating Langdon Members’ accomplishments#LDWeek

At Langdon, we believe our Members deserve the same experiences in life, and opportunities in work and education as their peers. We strive to empower all our Members, helping them to live life to the full by embracing their independence and being their best, true selves.

To find out more or to support Langdon, please visit www.langdonuk.org

Naomi and Sarah recently moved in to a two bedroom flat after living in Langdon homes with 24/7 support. The skills they’ve developed at Langdon have given them the confidence and the ability to live even more independently.

With the support of the Langdon Employment Team, Zoe has recently started a new administrative role that she really enjoys. With transferable skills from her previous employment, Zoe is flourishing in her new job. She’s able to help others and add real value to the team in which she works.

Jordan lights up when he plays the guitar. Now he combines his passion and skills with the confidence he’s developed to run a guitar club. Here he passes on his musical knowledge, teaching other Members how to play.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis led communal tributes, obersving: “His own horrific experiences inspired him to work tirelessly for a more peaceful and unified world and he inspired us to do likewise. Our ultimate tribute to Sir Ben must be a renewed commitment to guaranteeing that the lessons of the Holocaust will never be forgotten.”

Ben was honorary president and patron at the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust where chief executive Karen Pollock described him as a “visionary” and “giant amongst men” despite all he endured.

She said: “Ben taught us all about resilience, tolerance and the crucial importance of educating future generations. Ben always worked to ensure that survivors were looked after, he was a true leader of the survivor community.”

HMDT’s Laura Marks added: “He personified the spirit of survival, making Britain his new home and family yet never forgetting the lessons from the past. We are diminished by the loss yet strengthened by his memory.” Olivia Marks-Woldman, HMDT, noted: “Ben's loss to the Holocaust education and commemoration sector is incalculable.”

Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl commented: “His greatness was unparalleled. His legacy and his work for Holocaust education inspired so many of us.”

The United Synagogue said Ben was a proud member of Wembley United Synagogue, noting: “Ben was an extraordinary man with an extraordinary history who

1956 Melbourne Olympics, 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth Games and 1960 Rome Olympics.

despite all he went through went on to live an extraordinary life.”

Daniel Carmel-Brown, Jewish Care, said: “Millions of people all over the world have heard his story and know the true horror of what he and so many others went through.”

Michael Newman, Association of Jewish Refugees, said Ben “passionately” supported survivors and helped ensure they received welfare support and compensation in recognition of their suffering.

Yad Vashem UK described Ben as an “inspirational friend”.

Dave Rich, CST, said: “He often spoke about how humanity, freedom and the desire to create a harmonious society propelled his relentless work in Holocaust education. His drive was unwavering, reflecting his belief that education and posterity were instrumental in ensuring the horrors of the Shoah could never happen again. Never taking his liberation for granted, Sir Ben demonstrated what can be achieved when given the opportunity to thrive.”

World Jewish Relief’s Paul Anticoni said Ben’s commitment to Holocaust education was “defining”.

The 45 Aid Society added: “Ben was one of the greatest ambassadors for the Boys and, indeed, for all Holocaust survivors.”

Ben’s life is well documented including a biography, Ben Helfgott: From Victim to Champion, published in 2000.

Born in Piotrków, Poland, November 1929, Ben was one of three children of Moishe and Sarah Helfgott.

After the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, Ben and his family moved to a ghetto in his hometown, the first established by the Nazis. Initially working in a flour mill, Ben’s father got him a job at a glassworks outside the ghetto which ultimately saved his life. One night, he and fellow workers found the ghetto sealed. Some 22,000 to 24,000 Jews were deported to Treblinka, including Ben’s grandfather. Around 3,000 Jews had died from starvation and typhoid in the ghetto. Ben’s mother and two sisters remained in hiding. When the Nazis declared an amnesty, Ben’s mother and youngest sister, Luisa, were among 520 Jews who came out of hiding. All were taken to the woods and shot.

After the ghetto was liquidated in August 1944, Ben and his father were sent to Buchenwald, his sister Mala and cousin Ann were deported to Ravensbrück. After two weeks, Ben was sent to Schlieben then Theresienstadt. He was liberated by Czech partisans in May 1945, but tragically learnt that his father was killed during a death march.

Ben was among ‘The Boys’ who arrived in the UK on VJ Day. Around 700 orphans who survived the Holocaust, they began to rebuild lives in Windermere in the Lake District. Ben’s experiences are documented in Martin Gilbert’s acclaimed book The Boys, The Story of 732 Young Concentration Camp Survivors.

In 1947, Ben was reunited with his sister, Mala, who also miraculously survived.

Thirty boys went to Essex, Ben moved to Belsize Park, helped establish the Primrose Club for Jewish survivors and local youngsters, and attended Plaistow Grammar School.

A natural sportsman, in the summer of 1948, by chance on Hampstead Heath, Ben tried weightlifting. He improved during a year at Southampton University and amazingly was British featherweight champion in 1954. Ben went on to become three times national lightweight champion. He won gold in the lightweight division at the Maccabiah Games in 1950, 1953 and 1957. Ben led the British weightlifting team at the

1956 Melbourne Olympics, 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth Games and 1960 Rome Olympics.

Founding with fellow survivors The 45 Aid Society in 1963, Ben retired from the clothing industry aged 52, to concentrate on his charity and communal work including chairing the Board of Deputies Yad Vashem committee for two decades.

A motivational speaker for the British 2012 Olympic Team, Ben, who spoke seven languages, was appointed an MBE in 2000 and knighted in 2018 in recognition of his contribution to Holocaust remembrance and education.

At the time he said: ‘Their memory has to stay alive, not just for them but for posterity.’

A member of the executive of the Wiener Library, chairman of the Polin Institute for Polish Jewish Studies and vice-chairman of the Claims Conference to process German reparations for Holocaust victims, Ben received Poland’s Knight Cross of the Order of Merit in 1994 then the highest civilian award, the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit in 2005.

He was also a Pride of Britain Award winner and inducted to the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

Ben appeared on BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs in 2007 and BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are featuring Robert Rinder in 2018.

He is survived by his wife Arza, who he married in 1966, his sister Mala, sons Maurice, Michael and Nathan, and extended families.