Dr. Nicholas Winton
British humanitarian
Sir Nicholas George Winton MBE was a British humanitarian who organised the rescue of 669 children, most of them Jewish, from Czechoslovakia on the eve of the Second World War in an operation later known as the Czech Kinder transport.
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
Picture 01: Nicholas Winton photographed with one of the children he rescued in 1939
- Former 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."
- 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"
- Daniel Taub, Israel's ambassador to the UK, said: "He was a hero of our time, having saved 669 Jewish children from the Nazi regime. His legacy, as a point of light in an era of darkness, will forever be remembered".
Born: May 19, 1909, Hampstead, United Kingdom
Died: July 1, 2015, Wexham Park Hospital, Slough, United Kingdom
Spouse: Grete Winton (m. 1948–1999)
Education: Stowe School
Children: Nick Winton, Barbara Winton, Robin Winton
Parents: Rudolph Wertheim, Barbara Wertheim.
Video 01: Sir Nicholas Winton is credited with rescuing 669 Czech children from the Nazis
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.
