Holocaust survivor who fled the Nazis on the kindertransport then joined armed services to fight Hitler marks her 100th birthday by receiving medals she never knew she had earned
- Henny Franks fled persecution in Cologne, western Germany, as a teenager
- She volunteered for the Auxiliary Territorial Service after arriving in the UK
- The 100-year old was today awarded the Defence Medal and War Medal 1939-45
A Holocaust survivor who fled the Nazis has marked her 100th birthday by receiving war medals she never knew she was entitled to.
Henny Franks fled persecution in Cologne, western Germany, on the kindertransport as a teenager and after arriving in the UK, she volunteered for the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women’s branch of the British Army.
She served as a truck driver at a munitions factory until the end of the Second World War in Europe in 1945, but since then she has never received the medals she was entitled to for her duty.
To mark her birthday today, Henny was awarded the Defence Medal and the War Medal 1939-45 together with her HM Armed Forces Veteran Badge at a surprise ceremony in Jewish Care’s Holocaust Survivors’ Centre in London.
Henny said she was ‘overcome with joy’ to finally receive the medals and said it had been an ‘amazing’ day. She added: ‘Out of this world. I am so surprised – I expected a small party but nothing like this.’
Henny Franks (pictured) who fled the Nazis has marked her 100th birthday by receiving war medals she never knew she was entitled to
Henny (pictured) volunteered for the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women’s branch of the British Army and served as a truck driver at a munitions factory until the end of the Second World War in Europe in 1945
To mark her birthday today, Henny was awarded the Defence Medal and the War Medal 1939-45 together with her HM Armed Forces Veteran Badge (Pictured: all three awards)
Jewish Care is one of the largest health and social care charities dedicated to London’s Jewish community.
The ceremony was organised by AJEX, The Jewish Military Association, which reunites Jewish veterans and their relatives with their war medals.
AJEX JMA national chair Dan Fox surprised Henny at the birthday party.
He said: ‘It was an honour to surprise Henny today. As the ‘greatest generation’ become fewer, lasting recognition of their service and commitment is more important than ever.
‘The restoration and reclamation of medals is a striking way of ensuring this. They are artefacts or personal history, but also meaningful to families, communities and the nation as a whole.
‘They help us remember what veterans went through and to take pride in what they did.’
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