The Boys at no. 18

Earlier this year, Gloucestershire Archives commissioned a short film about the former Kindertransport hostel at 18 Alexandra Road, Gloucester, to mark the hostel gaining “blue plaque” status in June.

The Boys at no. 18 features descendants of some of the 10 Jewish boys for whom the hostel became home, and was premiered to an audience of over 70 people during the Gloucester History Festival. 

It was accompanied by a mini film from our Why Archives series, in which Senior Archivist Karen Davidson reflects on the importance and on- going impact of the so-called “Kindertransport archive” held in our collections.  This is shorthand for 3 boxes of material generated by the Gloucester Association for Aiding Refugees, which in 1939 led local efforts to establish the hostel.  

An online exhibition of key items from this modestly sized collection caught the eye of New Yorker Michael Zorek, son of hostel boy Werner, and so started a chain of events which has led, almost 20 years later, to a blue plaque being unveiled and a film seen by some 70 people and rising.

 Michael Zorek and Jennifer Zorek-Pressman, son and daughter of Werner Zorek, standing alongside the blue plaque unveiled on 20 June 2022

You can see the film The Boys at no 18 here and Karen’s Why Archive piece here

The online exhibition is on our website here

Gloucestershire Archives will be having a “thank you” tea party for our volunteers in December, and we will be showing both films again then.