Banners have been installed across the borough to commemorate victims of genocide.

Every year on January 27, Holocaust Memorial Day honours the six million Jews who died tragically during the Holocaust.

In absence of in-person events, the council has organised an alternative display for 2021 which can be viewed while out for a walk.

Banners are outside 22 locations, such as high streets, parks and libraries, which unveil stories from the holocaust.

These include the millions of people killed under Nazi Persecution and in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

The biographies and photographs were gathered by pupils from Hampton School, and the displays were pulled together with support of Cllr Jo Humphreys, Ward Councillor for Whitton.

The story of ten-year-old evacuee Rolf Metzger has links close to home.

Sent from Mainz, Germany on the Kindertransport to Twickenham, he lived in a house in with nine other Jewish boys also fleeing Nazi persecution.

Cllr Jo Humphreys said:

“Holocaust Memorial Day provides us with an opportunity to come together, learn about and honour the experiences of people affected by the Holocaust and genocide. The moving banners and posters that we have unveiled in many locations across the borough provide a safe way for residents to engage with, learn from and commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day this year.

“I’m extremely grateful for the hard work of the pupils from Hampton School, without which this would not have been possible. I would encourage everyone to take time to stop and read some of the stories of those who were victims of the Holocaust.”

The Council will fly the flag outside the Civic Centre in Twickenham at half-mast on Wednesday, January 27, to mark the day.

Banners can be seen at Richmond Old Town Hall, York House, Randor Gardens and many other locations.