Sidney Mayer

Sidney was born in Böchingen, a small village in Germany, in 1925. His parents worked together as wholesale cattle dealers and ran the family vineyard, and Sidney enjoyed village life. By 1935, he was forbidden to attend school and his parents had to give up their business. On Kristallnacht his father was sent to Dachau. His mother secured Sidney a place on the Kindertransport and he was offered a home with a Jewish family in Glasgow. When correspondence from his mother stopped, he realised that he would never see her again. His strong will and determination saw him succeeding in business. He brought his children up in Scotland, which he always considered as home. (Dovercourt, Langside School - Glasgow, Giffnock Hebrew Congregation)

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My first thought when leaving was: ‘Thank God I’m getting away from Germany’ which was a terrible place for Jews. As a boy of 13 leaving his parents it felt like a great thing at first; I didn’t mind, although in other ways I wasn’t glad.

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Sidney with his parents before the war

Sidney as a young boy outside his house in Böchingen, Germany

Sidney’s father’s birth certificate was re-issued 43 years later in June 1939 and stamped with a swastika as mandated by the Nazi regime

Sidney’s parents (back left), maternal grandparents (middle) and his mother’s sister with her husband (back right)

Sidney’s maternal grandmother (middle) with his parents at his grandmother’s house

Sidney’s mother (far right) with the French soldiers who were billeted with his grandparents (front middle) after World War One

Sidney with his parents before the war

Sidney as a young boy outside his house in Böchingen, Germany

Sidney’s father’s birth certificate was re-issued 43 years later in June 1939 and stamped with a swastika as mandated by the Nazi regime

Sidney’s parents (back left), maternal grandparents (middle) and his mother’s sister with her husband (back right)

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