Onward Jewish soldiers

One of the great pleasures of the last few months has been to read an excellent article by an old school friend of mine in the Journal of the Western Front Association.

Martin Sugarman is now the archivist of the Museum of the Association of Jewish Ex-servicemen, Ajex.

A few years ago he undertook an extensive research of the war memorial at the Brenthouse Road Synagogue in Hackney E9, not far from where I lived as a child. Sadly, as far as I can see this is not yet online

His paper begins with a explanation of his reason for doing so. One chilling reason is that he believed he had to set right the anti-Semitic myth that Jews did not contribute to the struggles faced by this country.

To some extent Martin shows where those myths come from. Within weeks of the outbreak of the First World War the Hackney Gazette was running stories alleging that Jews were not fighting. The truth was very different: in the early days of the war the Army Act forbade the recruitment of anyone not born in Britain or not naturalised. When Jews born abroad were finally allowed to join in large numbers they were subject to harassment at the recruiting offices.

In the event 24 members of the Brenthouse Road Synagogue paid with their lives. By using a whole web of resources Martin has been able to piece together the lives of each name on the memorial.

Two of his first names listed bring out the horror of that war. Second Lieutenant Robert Abrahams aged 24 of Massie Road, off Graham Road and Private Emmanuel Barnett of 82 Greenwood Road aged 30 lived just a few hundred yards from one another. They both died within a few days of each other in 1916.

Martin's paper is a wonderful treasure that brings to light a very forgotten part of British military and local Hackney history. It is a reminder that others who would not call themselves Christians were involved in the fighting. It also makes it all the more painful when fascist groups like the BNP try to hi-jack Remembrance Day.