Henny regularly attends Jewish Care’s Holocaust Survivors’ Centre who organised her 100th birthday party, where it took place. As part of the celebrations AJEX JMA National Chair, Dan Fox surprised Henny at the party and presented her with The Defence Medal and the War Medal 1939-45 together with her HM Armed Forces Veteran Badge.
Escaping Nazi persecution, Jewish teenager Henny Franks left Cologne, and came to Britain on the Kindertransport. Henny was proud to be part of the war effort and a member of the women’s branch of the British Army volunteering for the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) for many years until demobbing day. Henny was based at Chilwell where she was taught to drive trucks at the Central Ordnance Depot.
AJEX were made aware during an interview with Henny that she never received her medals and as part of the AJEX Medals Campaign they researched what Henny was entitled to.
National Chair Dan Fox 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".
The AJEX Medals Campaign was recently launched and its aim is to help ensure that any Jewish family who do not have their own or family members’ medals from war and other service can be reunited with them to guarantee the legacy of Jewish service lives on.
Whether you have lost family medals from the World Wars or other conflicts and service
or never claimed your own or your family’s medals, AJEX will help you identify what medals would have been worn and belong to you or your family member. The campaign encourages people to research and claim their family medals.
While the number of Second World War and National Service veterans declines, their families and direct descendants continue to thrive and are active with AJEX. AJEX hopes that many more first-time Parade goers will proudly march wearing these medals at the AJEX JMA Annual Remembrance Parade & Ceremony on 19th November 2023.
To claim and purchase replica medals visit www.ajex.org.uk/medals for instructions, including discount codes. The full list of medals awarded by the UK is at: www.gov.uk/guidance/medals-campaignsdescriptions-and-eligibility
Henny is bottom right in this picture.
