On January 27th, I was invited to Westminster Central Hall in London to attend a special service celebrating Holocaust Memorial Day 2015, marking 70 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was part of the Memory Makers project translating the story of survivor Sabina Miller into an illustration.
Before the special service for the event, I met with Sabina to present my final illustration to her - which I had specially framed for the occasion. I gifted my piece, simply called 'Sabina', to thank her for such a wonderful meeting back in October and to give her something to remember her young life by; as she left the war with no possessions.
Sabina's daughter, Sandra, got in touch with me recently to tell me how much her mother and family love the illustration - and that Sabina has displayed it, pride of place, in her kitchen where she spends most of her time.
The Service
200 survivors attended the commemorative service encompassing music, poetry and personal testimonies. Prince Charles of Wales, the Duchess of Cambridge, Prime Minister David Cameron, Sir John Hurt, David Dimbleby, Michael Palin, Adrian Lester, Christopher Eccleston, Lawrence Fox, Keeley Hawes and Sarah Lancashire also attended the event commemorating the survivors, as well as politicians and other celebrities.
It was a truly wonderful commemoration and I'm very grateful indeed to have been invited along and be part of the atmosphere remembering those who lost their lives in the Holocaust. The service was televised on BBC Two later that evening which you can watch on the iPlayer here.
After the event, a reception was held which presented a good opportunity to talk with other survivors, memory makers and volunteers. Tami and I had the pleasure meeting Sarah Lancashire and Helena Bonham-Carter!
In the Media
My illustration, as well as other works from the artmakers of the Memory Makers project, was featured on the Jewish News website as well as the Huffington Post UK.
I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone at HMDT, This is Fishburn, Amazon PR and all of the volunteers for having me as part of the Memory Makers project and for being so accommodating to myself and my Guide Dog during the event.
Find out how you can get involved with the Memory Makers project by clicking here. You can also follow the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust on Facebook and Twitter.