Leonard Lawrence: copy personal papers and diary

Identifier
WL1730
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 71162
Dates
1 Jan 1938 - 31 Jan 1965
Level of Description
Collection
Languages
  • German
  • Hebrew
  • Italian
  • English
Source
EHRI Partner

Biographical History

Leopold Weil was born in Karlsruhe in 1925. His father Nathan Weil was born in 1885 and died in 1937. His mother Irene Weil (née Kauders, born in 1899) emigrated to the USA. Leopold Weil went to school in Milan until 1938. He must have returned to Germany as he emigrated to England as a teenage refugee on a Kindertransport in 1939. There he changed his name to Leonard Lawrence. He initially lived at a camp near Ipswich, Suffolk, from where he moved to a hostel in London to work as a tailor. He served in the Lincolnshire Regiment. He was naturalised in 1947 and married Muriel Harris in 1963.

Acquisition

Diary and papers

Donated January 2007

Donor: Tessa Lawrence

Scope and Content

This collection contains copies of personal papers and a diary of the Jewish teenager Leonard Lawrence (formerly Leopold Weil) who came to England on a Kindertransport in 1939. Includes summary of diary contents in English.

Personal papers including his diary, 1939-1943 documenting his efforts to educate himself and make a living, his social life particularly his involvement with the 'Young Austrian' group and his perception of political events; as well as copy personal papers including his last school certificate from 1938, military service papers, certificate of naturalisation, marriage certificate and correspondence relating to his compensation claim regarding the disruption of his education. Also contains summary in English of diary contents.

System of Arrangement

Arranged chronologically

Conditions Governing Access

Open

People

Subjects

Places

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.