Chorley Wood Jewish Evacuees
Alec Tuckman writes about his war-time memories when he was evacuated to Chorley Wood
Late in 1940 my family evacuated from London to Chorley Wood where we lived at 54 The Mainway.
To begin with, there were not sufficient men for minyan, so my father and I (aged 12) walked for nearly an hour each way to the nearest shool in Rickmansworth every Shabbat.
Rev. Maurice Brody lived between Chorley Wood and Rickmansworth. He taught me for my bar mitzvah in June 1941.
By early 1941 minyanim were held every Shabbat and Yom Tov in the hall by Chorley Wood Common. I still have the tenach presented to me by the congregation on the occasion of my bar mitzvah for "services rendered" (mainly, I think, for going round to wake people on Shabbat and Chagim so that the minyan would start on time.)
At the time of my bar mitzvah, my Father was bedridden with a bad back and on that Shabbat the service was held in our living room.
We remained in Chorley Wood till 1944 when we moved to Brighton.
Alec Tuckman
