Talk by Helen Fry on Pioneer Corps – now on sale

Please remember – the tickets for this event are now on sale – *only* at the following link – and there is a limited number available:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dr-helen-fry-digging-for-victory-refugees-in-the-pioneer-corps-in-ww2-tickets-49168686866

We’re excited and looking forward to it!

Hope to see you there.

(For information about future events you might find interesting in this context, please see the bottom of this post)

The Pioneer Corps was not the only outcome for Kitchener men when war broke out: some were too young to enlist, some were too old; some had poor health (and were rejected by the Army), especially following their time in German concentration camps, which resulted from their arrest during the events of November 1938; and some did not wish to fight for religious or ethical reasons, or because they had visas for onward travel and still hoped to be able to use these to rescue their families.

However, enlistment in the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps was a significant outcome for a large number of Kitchener men.

As we move into the autumn and Helen Fry’s talk, we will also be placing significant focus on the various other outcomes, including internment in the UK; internment overseas in Canada and Australia; other important war work carried out by Kitchener refugees.

To give some idea about how significant this part of our shared history is to the project, I have linked below to a few of the relevant items sent in by families over the last few months. My apologies that it is by no means a definitive list, but it will provide an indication of the interest in this part of our shared history – when Kitchener became a Pioneer Corps training ground in winter 1939.