Liberal Jewish Cemetery, Willesden facts for kids

The Liberal Jewish Cemetery, Willesden is a special burial ground for Jewish people. It is located in Pound Lane, Willesden, in London. This cemetery is right next to the Willesden United Synagogue Cemetery.

It was started in 1911 by the Liberal Jewish Synagogue and opened its gates in 1914. At first, it was called the Liberal Jewish and Belsize Square Cemetery. Many famous British Jewish people are buried here. This includes members of the Sassoon family. The cemetery also has a war memorial that is a protected historical building.

Cemetery Buildings and Memorials

Prayer Hall: A Place for Reflection

The cemetery has a prayer hall, which is a building for services and quiet thought. It was designed by Ernest Joseph in the Queen Anne Revival style. This style was popular in the early 1900s. The hall was built in the 1920s and made bigger in 1963.

War Memorial: Remembering Heroes

Right across from the prayer hall is a Grade II listed war memorial. This means it's an important historical structure. It remembers 22 people who died in the First World War. Historic England says it's special because it's one of the few memorials that specifically honors Jewish soldiers from that war. Later, a plaque was added to remember those who died in the Second World War.

Famous People Buried Here

Many interesting people are buried at the Liberal Jewish Cemetery. Here are some of them:

• Sir Louis Baron, 1st Baronet (1876–1934): He was a very successful tobacco and cigarette maker. He was in charge of the Carreras Tobacco Company.
• Bernard Delfont, Baron Delfont (1909–1994): He was a famous theatre impresario. This means he organized and managed many shows and performances.
• Benno Elkan (1877–1960): He was a talented sculptor. He made the first statue of Sir Walter Raleigh in Britain. He also designed a war memorial in Frankfurt, Germany, which showed mourning mothers. His work also includes the Knesset Menorah in Jerusalem.
• Arnold Goodman, Baron Goodman (1913–1995): He was a well-known lawyer. He was also the Chairman of the Arts Council, which supports arts and culture.
• Lew Grade, Baron Grade (1906–1998): He was a big name in TV and film as a producer. He was the older brother of Bernard Delfont.
• Leslie Grade (1916–1979): He was a theatrical agent, helping actors and performers find work. He was the younger brother of Bernard Delfont and Lew Grade.
• Otto Metzger (1885–1961): An engineer and inventor from Germany. He invented a special process for making seamless metal cans. He and his wife are remembered by rose bushes in the cemetery.
• Sir Albert Sassoon, 1st Baronet (1818–1896): A successful businessman and philanthropist. A philanthropist is someone who gives money and time to help others. His family business was in Mumbai, India. He was first buried in a special building he built in Brighton. But in 1933, his body was moved to this cemetery.
• Sir Edward Sassoon, 2nd Baronet (1856–1912): He was Sir Albert's oldest son. He was also a businessman and a politician, serving as a Member of Parliament (MP). He was active in the Jewish community.
• Sir Isaac Shoenberg (1880–1963): An electronics engineer and inventor. He was born in what is now Belarus. He is famous for helping to invent the system used by the BBC in 1936 for the world's first public high-definition TV broadcast.
• Sir Andrew Shonfield (1917–1981): He was an economist. He wrote a famous book called Modern Capitalism. He was also the Director of the Royal Institute of International Affairs.
• Conchita Supervía (1895–1936): A very popular Spanish opera singer. She was a mezzo-soprano and performed in operas and concerts in Europe and America. Her tombstone was designed by a famous architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens. Her grave was fixed up by fans in 2006 after it had fallen into disrepair.
• Walter Wolfgang (1923–2019): He was a socialist and a peace activist. He was a leader in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and supported the Stop the War Coalition.
• Israel Zangwill (1864–1926): An author and a cultural Zionist. This means he supported the idea of a Jewish homeland and culture. He was a close friend of Theodor Herzl, a key figure in Zionism. Later, Zangwill supported a different idea, the "territorial movement," which looked for a Jewish homeland outside of Palestine.

War Graves

The cemetery also contains special graves for soldiers who died in wars. These are called Commonwealth war graves. They include:

• An officer from the Royal Flying Corps who died in World War I.
• From World War II, there is a Royal Navy officer, two soldiers and an officer from the British Army, and an airman and two officers from the Royal Air Force.

Images for kids

• 

  Arnold Goodman, Baron Goodman

• 

  Conchita Supervía

• 

  Walter Wolfgang

• 

  Israel Zangwill